《Era-Of-Disaster》


 Chapter 1

    Living longer has always been the pursuit of humanity, a desire that will never fade!


    No matter in which legends, myths, animes or novels, those who lived long lives or had great strength all possessed some kind of special energy. This energy is commonly referred to as magic, spirit, qi¡­etc. These kinds of energy and the biological energy that are in our bodies are different, hence we refer to them as ¡®special energy¡¯.


    This is ¨C The Theory of Special Energy!


    Humans have studied various cultivation systems and while a lot of them seem logical, nobody has actually succeeded in cultivating before. Not to mention eternal life, even the tiniest amount of special energy has never been successfully cultivated.


    ________________________________________________________


    Origin:


    In 2003, one of the richest man in the world Carma Dovich suddenly thought of a Chinese idiom while watching the sunset ¨C the sun sets over western hills! (TN: It means going into decline/towards an end)


    Carma Dovich just turned fifty years old that year. To a wealthy and powerful man like him, this is the age where he should be enjoying his life the most. However, Carma Dovich suddenly felt terrified.


    At fifty years of age, a person would have just entered the elderly years. If it was an ordinary person, then he should have been content with life and waited peacefully for old age and death. However, Carma Dovich felt unsatisfied and could not resign himself to that fate. He spent half his life creating this huge business empire, how could he bear to grow old and die when he just started enjoying the fruits of his labour?


    A long life¡­is what everyone dreams of!


    Carma Dovich is no exception. He became extremely terrified upon discovering that he was just like any other man, unable to escape the ravages of time. He couldn¡¯t let go of everything he had. Wealth, power¡­ if he never had these things then maybe it would not be such a big deal, but now that he had everything it was incredibly painful to let it all go.


    He immediately used all the resources that he had, searching for a way to extend his life. To Carma Dovich, money and power are just inconsequential things, what is truly important to him is how to let himself live longer.


    Due to the money invested by Carma Dovich and various countries giving the green light, research into longevity began like wildfire. Maybe it was not just Carma Dovich who had this dream, but anybody else who similarly had money and power. Desiring to live a longer life is the nature of all humans, especially those who have much and are not willing to give everything up upon death.


    In many countries, there exists legends. The characters in those legends are not only strong but also have extremely long lives.


    While the existence of the people in those legends cannot be proven, various cultivation systems have been left behind by these legends. It can be observed that some people do have longer lives than others, being able to live to more than 100 years old.


    However, that was not what Carma Dovich wanted. What he wants is to live a long life full of enjoyment and pleasure. If they wanted him to live like ascetics and practice their cultivation methods then he would be better off dead. Moreover, those who practice those so called ¡®cultivation methods¡¯ all started from a very young age. It is just ridiculous to even consider that those who lived powerful and wealthy lives would undergo such cultivation.


    However, even though they have not managed to find a solution for longevity, the top biologist Dr Wang came up with a theory, the theory of special energy.


    Whether in China, ancient India or western legends, powerful beings all have one similarity¡­energy! The energy used to produce and control fire, ice, or the energy used to pierce the sky with a punch. No matter in which cultivation system, other than the basic biological energy of human beings there exists a different, special kind of energy.


    This special energy commonly has two purposes.


    First: Giving humans a physical body that far exceeds that of a normal person. They can run faster, jump higher and even control fire and electricity.


    Second: Giving people a longer life. Seemingly, no matter what kind of energy is used in these cultivation systems, a common effect is to delay the aging process.


    Under the large amounts of money used, various scientists from all over the world conducted experiments and discovered that normal humans are unable to absorb energy. No matter is it heat or electricity, normal humans can only withstand these energy to a certain degree but nobody is able to absorb these energy into their bodies and control it.


    Dr Wang then proposed a theory ¨C The Theory of Special Energy Conversion!


    Normal energy cannot be absorbed by humans because the human body is not suited for it. This is the balance achieved through a long period of biological evolution. However, there must be a way in which the human body can be changed to absorb this energy. Not long after, they captured ¡®cultivators¡¯ from various places and found traces of special energy in them.


    Of course, these hermit cultivators are only slightly different from normal humans and the special energy is only present in extremely small amounts. Moreover, there seems to be a need to cultivate from young for the body to remain in an energised state in the long term.


    ¡­¡­


    In a dormant volcano in the Pacific Ocean, humans found a species of algae, named devil algae. These algae contain a kind of activated cells that are capable of producing a kind of special energy that is different from biological energy.


    This discovery instantly caused the researchers to be overjoyed and immediately started a huge series of experiments. They no longer used white mice but rather directly experimented on human beings. Even though it was immoral, but under the push of their desires they could do anything.


    Even though white mice and humans are both mammals, white mice are still very different from humans. What better way to get accurate results than to directly experiment on human beings? Anyway, the world is currently suffering a crisis of overpopulation, using up some of the population is a good thing, no?


    Even though the activated cells have been discovered, problems arose when it came to transplantation. The activated cells have a very strong dependence towards the devil algae. It was unable to be transplanted to any other animals or plants.


    At this time, it has been 6 years since the start of the project. Carma Dovich is already fifty-six years old and fully stepped into his elderly years. Increasingly feeling the fear of old age, Carma Dovich feared death more and more and couldn¡¯t help but to give the orders to use any means possible to find the way to longevity.


    At this point in time, Dr Wang came up with another theory, since normal activated cells could not be transplanted to other animals or plants, then we just have to make these normal activated cells abnormal. To cause the genes of the cells to mutate, the most common method would be to use nuclear radiation. At this stage, even the use of nuclear radiation would not be strange.


    The mutation caused by nuclear radiation succeeded, even though a majority of the cells died due to the radiation but a portion of them successfully mutated and continued living.


    However, what these activated cells changed into is unknown and completely unpredictable, everything needed more detailed tests.


    Due to the huge danger from these experiments, choosing a suitable experimental ground is essential. Eventually, they decided to locate the experimental grounds at¡­New Zealand!


    New Zealand isn¡¯t considered big, but due to its position in the centre of the Pacific Ocean it is separated from other places by a vast body of water. Moreover, New Zealand is not some small deserted island but a place with plentiful resources. All in all, New Zealand is a very suitable place to hold the experiments.


    Honestly, even though they are just experiments, the people behind them were very worried as these experiments are just too dangerous. If what happened in the movies occur and there¡¯s a biological outbreak then the outcome would be catastrophic.


    Although the nuclear radiation caused the genes of the devil algae to mutate, the mutation could turn out beneficial or useless. Picking out the mutated cells that managed to become transplantable yet maintained the activated nature was a very complicated matter. Moreover, you won¡¯t find success in these kinds of complex experiments on just on the first try. Just like that, five years passed.


    In a stroke of luck, among the countless experiments and mutations, one of the experimental subjects was found to have finally assimilated the activated cells perfectly.


    This experimental subject was a Chinese woman, where she was captured from had already been forgotten. Up until now, all the experimental subjects used were real human beings.


    This mutated devil algae cells and woman from China NO. 31000137 assimilated perfectly, or it even could be said too perfectly. In a few short days, the transplanted activated cells assimilated successfully and rapidly changed the cells of the woman and caused them to become activated.


    The second part of the experiment, transplanting the cells of NO. 31000137 into other living organisms.


    After all, using radiation to mutate the devil algae cells contains a huge element of chance to it and the transplantation procedure is another obstacle to success. It took more than 30 million experiments to finally find one successful case. Even that success was largely by luck, if they had to repeat everything again then they may not be so lucky next time.


    Since humans were used in all the experiments, being able to do so to such a large degree is linked to all countries secretly supporting the experiments. Now, the longevity research is not just about Carma Dovich but it involves wealthy businessman, politicians and other people in high positions from all around the world. All of them desired to live longer.


    The female body of NO. 31000137 had already undergone a huge change. In a short period of one month, her body has grown by more than twenty times in size and changed to a distorted greenish-black shape. After those changes her body finally stabilized and stopped changing. However, at that point in time it was already impossible to tell that she was a human other than still vaguely retaining the shape of one.


    During this period, researchers continually extracted secondary activated cells from NO. 31000137 for later experiments and the future experiments also delivered good results. After repeated experiments the secondary activated cells could also be assimilated by humans perfectly and would no longer cause the body to mutate into that strange shape¡­provided that they do not come into contact with genes from other organisms.


    The researchers referred to NO. 31000137 as the ¡®Progenitor¡¯.


    The people inside the research facility did all these inhumane experiments due to their selfish desires. They did not know the woman whom they referred to as the ¡®Progenitor¡¯ had already regained her consciousness. Even though her eyes have disappeared due to the mutations, but some sort of perception field evolved over time in her. This allowed the progenitor to be aware of what is happening around her in a radius of a few kilometres.


    The Progenitor vaguely remembered going home from work one night and then getting struck by something blunt from behind. She fainted and then the next thing she remembered was this research facility. By this time, the Progenitor already knew where this research facility was and the goal of these people ¨C longevity!


    New Zealand now has over a hundred research facilities of varying sizes, some of them has no experimental subjects while others have more than ten thousand of them. All these experimental subjects are living humans supplied by countries all over the world for the sake of one goal ¨C finding the path to longevity.


    Knowing all these and seeing the true nature of these people, the Progenitor felt endless fury and deep hatred in her heart. There was only a single notion in her heart¡­revenge!


    23rd March 2020 midnight, Tongariro National Park, New Zealand. The secret research facility suddenly got destroyed by an invisible force. The Progenitor that was locked at the deepest part of the facility raised her head filled tumours to stare at the sky and screamed silently. Even though it was a silent scream, all organisms within tens of kilometres all seem to have heard the sound. It was a sound full of hate, sorrow and resoluteness¡­At a place closer to the destruction, all living organisms suffered from an invisible intimidation and fainted on the spot.


    The Progenitor is now more than forty meters tall, covered with warped and distorted muscles. However, after this scream, a hole split open on her head and all her flesh and blood burst out like a geyser through the hole, shooting towards the sky.


    An hour passed, the intimidation effect disappeared and finally people could approach the site. Dr Wang rushed here and discovered that the Progenitor is now extremely weak. All the flesh and blood in her body seems to have been sucked away, leaving behind a badly damaged and withered skeleton as well as an incomplete layer of dead skin.


    How did this happen!


    Dr Wang was shocked at this sight and then realised the implications of this matter. Nobody knew about the power of the Progenitor¡¯s activated cells better than him.


    ¡°Dr Wang, how do we handle this?¡±


    ¡°Do you still need me to teach you how to handle this?¡± Dr Wang said coldly. He then immediately rushed towards a laboratory inside the facility. Inside that laboratory is a new drug ¨C Prototy!


    Prototy original form drug ¨C it allows the body to retain its original shape even after fusing genes from other organisms.


    The activated cells possess powerful gene fusion capability and will fuse with the genes of other organisms once it comes into contact with it, causing the body to undergo great changes. In various research facilities over New Zealand, there are thousands to hundreds of thousands of experimental subjects. These experimental subjects fused with various genes from other organisms and coupled with binge eating all grew to look like a hideous mess. The only suitable word to describe them is¡­monsters!


    The original form drug is something that only got developed recently and allows humans to fuse genes from other animals without changing their own physical shape. Of course, this drug has not been completely developed and is still only a prototype. However, even if it is a prototype Dr Wang would not hesitate at all. If he did not guess wrongly, with this research facility as ground zero the activated cells of the progenitor would proliferate out everywhere. The only thing he didn¡¯t know was how far would it spread.


    When Dr Wang came to this laboratory, he found another guy anxiously searching for something.


    ¡°Eleanor, what are you looking for?¡±


    ¡°What am I looking for? Wang, you know what I am looking for, the original form drug! Damn it for something like this to happen, I don¡¯t want to become a monster!¡± Eleanor said, abruptly slamming his fists. He then looked at Dr Wang angrily, but this kind of anger would not put any pressure on Dr Wang.


    ¡°The drug has not been successfully modulated so there are no complete products. If you want to use it, you have to extract it from the petri dish.¡± Dr Wang said, then taking out two empty test tubes and threw one to Eleanor. Eleanor suddenly realised the truth. No wonder he couldn¡¯t find it after looking around for so long, so it hasn¡¯t been successfully modulated.


    ¡°What are you going to do from now on?¡± asked Eleanor. Although he was quite indignant about Dr Wang being in a higher position than him but he must admit that Wang¡¯s achievements in the field of biology is greater than his.


    ¡°Prepare a simple copy of data and then find a place to hide.¡±


    ¡°Huh, why?¡± Eleanor could not understand.


    Dr Wang did not explain, and just double tapped on the computer, revealing a hologram of a spreading area. With New Zealand Tongariro National Park as the centre, more than half of New Zealand and the surrounding ocean was encompassed inside. Eleanor was not an idiot, just by looking at the map he could tell that this was the area covered by the progenitor¡¯s activated cells.


    ¡°Although I find you annoying but I should still give you a word of warning. Don¡¯t try to leave New Zealand. The way these people does things, they will isolate New Zealand completely, letting it become an ecosphere for researching evolved lifeforms. Anybody who leaves from New Zealand will probably be¡­¡± Dr Wang pointed to the other side.


    That direction is where the experimental subjects are kept. This research facility where the progenitor is kept had the most experimental subjects, coming close to a hundred thousand. All of them had different genes fused into their bodies, capable of creating special energy, fierce and scary¡­monsters.


    After saying all these, Dr. Wang pulled out a microchip filled with data, straightened out his clothes and hurriedly left this place.


    Eleanor immediately thought of what would happen to this place in the future.


    If nothing goes wrong, the entire ecosystem of New Zealand would be affected by the activated cells of the Progenitor, resulting in various evolved life forms and finally completely becoming a devil island. This was the reason why the countries of the world decided to conduct the experiments in New Zealand. This country was in the middle of the Pacific Ocean so there was a vast body of water to cross before reaching any other country. It would be hard for anything here to affect other places.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Eleanor cursed and started to move hurriedly.


    ¡­¡­


    The progenitor was not a saint in the first place, she was just a normal woman who got captured by chance. Turning into this state, the progenitor was deeply in despair. She did not think about things like carrying on living in the state that she is in or conquering the world.


    Releasing the last brilliance of her life!


    The research facility holding the progenitor got damaged by a mysterious force in a split second, the progenitor¡¯s body withered away in a moment as if all her flesh and blood evaporated. The activated cells originating from the progenitor rapidly spread out, covering the entire New Zealand.


    New Zealand got a new name after this change ¨C Devil Island!


    Evolution¡­starts!

 Chapter 2

    Bai Yi walked along a road in Hamilton, New Zealand, his mood as terrible as the dark clouds above. After chasing her all the way from China to New Zealand, all he got was a resolute ¡®it¡¯s over¡¯ in return. However, Bai Yi was not somebody who would torment himself and become depressed over love. Since the love is already gone, he would also no longer hold on to it.


    Suddenly, the gloomy sky overhead started to pour and Bai Yi immediately ran under a roof at the side of the road.


    Just as he likened his mood to the weather, it really started to rain Bai Yi ridiculed in his heart. Staring at the pouring rain from the sky, he felt that it is time return to his home country. Since he already got a definite answer, there was no point in staying at this foreign place anymore.


    At this point in time, Bai Yi suddenly felt like he heard a baby crying and a dog barking.


    Turning his head slightly, Bai Yi listened carefully. However, the noise from the heavy rain covered up other sounds and he couldn¡¯t hear anything. Did I hear wrongly? Why would there be a baby crying at this time? Bai Yi questioned in his heart, hiding from the rain under the roof. After standing still for a while, Bai Yi couldn¡¯t shake off the feeling that he had in his heart. It didn¡¯t seem like he heard wrongly?


    ¡°Customer¡­!¡±


    The staff from the shop that Bai Yi was standing in front of opened the door intending to let Bai Yi go in to take shelter from the rain. However, just then Bai Yi suddenly ran out into the pouring rain. The staff stopped his right hand in mid-air and was still for moment¡­what a weird Chinese tourist. Shrugging his shoulders, the staff closed the door again and returned to the shop.


    Bai Yi followed the weak cry he heard before, running towards an alley along the street and looked around carefully. It should have been real, I really did hear a baby crying.


    Suddenly, he heard a small dog barking urgently. Bai Yi immediately perked up and ran towards that direction. Passing by a remote corner, Bai Yi found a small cardboard box and a small shar pei dog barking incessantly in the rain.


    Bai Yi immediately rushed over and opened the cardboard box.


    A female baby!


    A female baby of not even a year old laid in the cardboard box, however at this moment her entire body was soaked by the rain. Bai Yi was stunned for a moment and immediately carried the female baby and sheltered her with his jacket. He then sprinted towards the road outside and the small shar pei dog also cleverly followed behind him.


    ¡°Taxi, Taxi!¡± Bai Yi ran out of the alley and immediately stopped a taxi that just passed by, almost getting hit in the process.


    ¡°Go to the nearest hospital, thanks!¡± Bai Yi opened the door and entered the cab. The small shar pei dog also intelligently hopped onto the car with him.


    Seeing both Bai Yi and the small shar pei dog soaked with water, the taxi driver wanted to complain but then saw the baby in Bai Yi¡¯s arms. The rain wetted the baby¡¯s face, making her appear unusually pale. In an instant, the complaint that the taxi driver had wanted to say was swallowed down.


    ¡°Sit tight.¡± After saying those words, the driver immediately started the car and sped out.


    Very quickly, the taxi drove Bai Yi to a hospital. Bai Yi hurriedly opened the car door and frantically ran towards the hospital. The driver shook his head helplessly at Bai Yi¡¯s actions. This guy didn¡¯t even pay his taxi fare. However, the driver only smiled and didn¡¯t say anything, starting his car and driving off.


    ¡°Is there anybody! I have an emergency, hurry! She¡¯s going to die!¡±


    Amidst the shouting of the nurse at the reception desk, Bai Yi rushed towards the emergency room and kicked open the door. Inside the emergency room, a female doctor got a shock and almost dropped the teacup she was holding.


    ¡°Doctor, hurry and save her she¡¯s dying!¡± Bai Yi said anxiously, passing the clothes in his hands over.


    The female doctor initially wanted to say something, but upon opening up the clothes and seeing the pale baby she immediately turned serious and dutiful.


    After seeing the baby being sent to the emergency room, Bai Yi suddenly recalled that he hasn¡¯t paid the taxi fare yet and immediately ran outside. However, all he saw was a thick curtain of rain and not even a shadow of the taxi could be seen.


    ¡°Hey, wipe yourself and change your clothes, otherwise it won¡¯t be just the little princess you brought here but also you who needs a stay.¡± A nurse told Bai Yi, bringing him a towel and a set of patient clothes.


    Bai Yi saw the items in the nurse¡¯s hands and immediately appreciated it ¡°Thanks!¡±


    After Bai Yi changed his clothes, he returned to the outside of the emergency room and found the small shar pei dog still standing guard there. Bai Yi was quite surprised at this and stroked the head of the small shar pei dog. Feeling the hunger in his stomach, Bai Yi told the small dog ¡°Continue to stand guard for a while, I¡¯ll go buy something to eat.¡±


    ¡°Woof!¡± the small dog seemed to understand what Bai Yi was saying and barked lightly.


    After a while, Bai Yi carried two lunch boxes back and wolfed it down with the small dog. After that, they waited outside the emergency room until the doctor came out. Bai Yi immediately went up to the doctor nervously and asked: ¡°Doctor, how is it?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s out of danger, but what kind of father are you?! Your daughter has a congenital disease and you still do not take good care of her!¡± After the female doctor from the emergency room came out, she immediately started lecturing Bai Yi. Bai Yi just stood there blankly getting lectured by the doctor.


    ¡°Wait wait wait, she isn¡¯t my daughter!¡± Bai Yi finally retorted.


    ¡°What kind of joke is this? Having a daughter at such a young age, unless you don¡¯t want her anymore because of her congenital disease? Youngsters like you should have a limit when it comes to messing around, life isn¡¯t meant for you guys to play around with¡­¡± The female doctor was apparently quite appalled by this kind of irresponsible behaviour and Bai Yi just stood there getting scolded severely.


    ¡°She really isn¡¯t my daughter, I am just a tourist who reached New Zealand a few days ago! If you don¡¯t believe me you can check it up! I heard a baby¡¯s cry along the street and found her at a remote corner.¡± Bai Yi used his clumsy English to explain. The female doctor looked at Bai Yi doubtingly after hearing his explanation. After a long while, she reluctantly believed him.


    ¡°If it¡¯s like this, then her parents probably abandoned her here, what cold-blooded and selfish parents.¡± The female doctor let out a sigh after understanding the story.


    ¡°What congenital disease does she have?¡±


    ¡°She was born with a sight impediment, now she can only see a few meters away and as she grows older her eyesight will become worse. When she reaches around five years old, she will lose her sight completely. With such a congenital disease, no wonder the parents abandoned this child.¡± The female doctor said with waning enthusiasm.


    ¡°Just pay the warding fees, the emergency treatment fees will come from social welfare this time.¡±


    ¡°What will happen to her?¡±


    ¡°What will happen¡­what do you think? She will obviously be sent to an orphanage. However, do you think a blind girl will have a good life at a place like an orphanage?¡± The female doctor¡¯s mood got worse as she spoke and walked towards her office. Apparently, the female doctor¡¯s mood was quite low from this. You could tell that the doctor was a good person, but precisely because she was a good person that she felt even more helpless and frustrated at the situation.


    Bai Yi¡¯s mood was also very heavy, after the female doctor left he walked to the ward and looked at the female baby.


    A nurse was taking care of the baby at the moment, after seeing Bai Yi walk over she immediately said to the baby: ¡°look, your daddy is here, smile!¡± Apparently, the nurse and the female doctor both thought that Bai Yi is the father of this baby.


    Bai Yi forced a smile and did not bother explaining, but the baby who was originally quiet really turned around and revealed a young and tender smile to Bai Yi.


    Pure!


    The word instantly came up in Bai Yi¡¯s mind. He could not think of any other word to describe the smile on the baby¡¯s face. However, he now had to reject that smiling face as he isn¡¯t the father of this baby.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I am not her father.¡±


    ¡°What nonsense are you talking about, such a cute daughter, what if you hurt her with those words.¡± The pretty nurse said after standing blankly for a while. Apparently, she thought that Bai Yi was just joking around.


    ¡°I am not her father.¡± Bai Yi said, turning around.


    ¡°Stop, stop right now! How can you be so irresponsible, are you going to abandon your daughter and leave!¡± The nurse held onto Bai Yi at the door and criticised him loudly.


    ¡°What responsibility do I need to take? She is not my daughter.¡±


    ¡°How can she not be your daughter? You were so worried when you sent the little princess to the hospital. I thought you were a responsible man, I never expected you to be like this.¡± The nurse continued criticising Bai Yi. At this point in time, the other people inside the hospital discovered the commotion and started to gather around.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Look! This couple seems to be quarrelling!¡±


    ¡°Hmph! That guy must be a playboy, trying to run away after fooling around! In the end she came to make him take responsibility for the child.¡±


    ¡°Seems like there is even a daughter but he said that it wasn¡¯t his, it can¡¯t be that the woman had an affair?¡±


    ¡°Are you stupid? This is men¡¯s most common excuse! Just claim that the child isn¡¯t theirs after getting her pregnant, then they do not have to take any responsibility.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    More and more people started to gather around, even though they did not come close but they were whispering non-stop among themselves and the sound of this kind of whispering wasn¡¯t soft either. When the nurse heard the whispers of the people around them get more and more ridiculous she couldn¡¯t help but blush and then pinched Bai Yi¡¯s ear.


    ¡°Hey, hey what are you doing! What kind of a nurse are you? Let go of me, what did I do to you!¡± Bai Yi tried to struggle but the more he struggled the more painful his ear was.


    ¡°Did you see that, you must be this bold as a woman! Dare to grab the guy by his ears, or else you can just wait to be bullied by them.¡± The people around started to become noisy upon seeing the nurse¡¯s actions. Amidst the snickering of the crowd, the nurse pulled Bai Yi by his ear into the ward

 Chapter 3

    The nurse released Bai Yi after pulling him into the medical ward and said in a tone full of disdain: ¡°Irresponsible man!¡±


    ¡°I am really not her father!¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t know what else he could say.


    ¡°Look at how the little princess is now, do you still dare to say that you are not her father?¡± The nurse said angrily.


    Bai Yi turned his head and saw that the baby is crying, silently crying. She did not wail like other infants but tears silently fell from her eyes. However, the moment she saw Bai Yi walking in she immediately looked at him and revealed a happy smiling face.


    ¡°I really am not¡­¡± Bai Yi turned his head back, but he could still see the baby in his peripheral vision.


    When the baby saw Bai Yi turn around, the smile on her face gradually lessened and her eyes slowly became empty with disappointment. However, the baby still did not start wailing but tears fell silently from her eyes. When Bai Yi saw this scene, a feeling of pain arose in his heart from nowhere. Bai Yi could not understand what kind of feeling this was.


    However, he still walked out of the medical ward and closed the door. This time, the nurse did not continue pulling on him and let him leave the room.


    With his back facing the door, Bai Yi suddenly felt an incredible heartache. After pausing for a while, Bai Yi walked out with big strides, seeming as if he wanted to escape this place. He hurriedly walked to the hospital entrance but stopped his foot in mid-air right as he was leaving. Seemingly, he felt that if he took this step then he would never return here again.


    ¡°Hey we meet again! How¡¯s your little princess?¡± Suddenly, he heard a man¡¯s voice calling him.


    Looking over, he realised that it was the taxi driver from not long ago sending two other people to the hospital. However, Bai Yi apparently did not care about this but only the taxi driver¡¯s words kept echoing in his head ¨C Your little princess¡­your little princess!


    All of a sudden, Bai Yi kept his foot back and ran back inside the hospital.


    ¡°Hey, hey! This guy, why is he always in such a rush? Oh damn, could it be that he didn¡¯t want to pay the taxi fare?!¡± The taxi driver got angry sillily after recalling the matter.


    ¡­¡­


    Back at the medical ward, Bai Yi discovered the baby staring towards the direction of the door with incredibly sad eyes. When Bai Yi appeared at the door, the baby¡¯s eyes instantly lit up but very quickly the light dimmed and seemed to be even darker than before.


    Bai Yi walked towards the baby and stood beside her. He stretched out his hand to touch the baby¡¯s face but he was afraid of hurting this tender little fellow.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you leave? What are you back here for.¡± Apparently, the nurse had already heard the story from the female doctor.


    ¡°I¡­!¡± Bai Yi took a deep breath and looked at the baby¡¯s empty eyes. He then made a decision.


    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving anymore, if you are willing to let me take care of you then give me a smile.¡± Bai Yi said seriously. He himself did not know why he would make this kind of decision. She was just a baby he picked up by chance at the side of road. She was a baby that had a congenital disease. However, he just couldn¡¯t feel at ease.


    The fate between people can be so mysterious sometimes.


    The baby¡¯s eyes instantly became bright and alive as if she understood what Bai Yi had said, revealing a bright smiling face.


    Angel!


    The word instantly appeared in Bai Yi and the nurse¡¯s minds.


    _______________________________________________________


    3 years later.


    Inside the kitchen, a pot of fish head soup was boiling over a big fire. The aroma of the soup assailed the nose as it produced white bubbles while boiling. At this time, Bai Yi¡¯s hands were busy making green pepper and egg salad as well as honey roasted pork. His movements were neither fast or slow, even though there¡¯s only him in the kitchen but he seemed to be handling things with ease.


    He was now one of the head chefs in Waikato University in New Zealand, being able to do this much was expected of him.


    Fine, you might say that a head chef of a school doesn¡¯t require much skills anyway and well, that¡¯s actually not wrong. No matter which school we¡¯re talking about, the skill requirements for the head chef isn¡¯t very high. School food has always been something that students complain about. Bai Yi¡¯s culinary skills definitely couldn¡¯t be compared with those top chefs, however he was definitely a notch above the average person. As long as the person¡¯s sense of taste wasn¡¯t too picky, they would definitely say ¡°delicious!¡± upon eating Bai Yi¡¯s food.


    No need for those glamorous compliments, just a simple ¡®delicious¡¯ is the biggest affirmation to a chef.


    In the living room sat a four-year-old girl hugging a shar pei dog, sitting on the sofa and watching anime on the television. This girl is the baby that Bai Yi adopted 3 years ago. In a rush of emotion, he decided to adopt the baby only to know how troublesome it was later.


    Apparently, he could not bring the baby he wanted to adopt back to China so he had to find a job and settle in New Zealand. Luckily, the female doctor and the nurse he met in the hospital were both very kind and helped Bai Yi a lot. Although it was very troublesome, Bai Yi has never regretted or rather, he was glad for this decision.


    The shar pei dog is of course the small shar pei dog from before, after 3 years the shar pei dog grew up to have a silly looking frowning face. However, looking at the guy¡¯s strong and big body you can tell that he had a good life. At the very least, Bai Yi is still a chef and Sharpei as a member of this family would definitely eat well and become fat. Yep, just like how Momo is right now.


    Momo ¨C this is name that Bai Yi gave the female baby that he adopted. It was a simple name but it showed Bai Yi¡¯s love and care for the girl.


    ¡°Momo, Sharpei, time to eat!¡± Bai Yi shouted.


    ¡°Ok, coming!¡± Momo¡¯s eyes immediately lit up as she heard him, the shar pei dog who was just zoning out suddenly sprang up as well and they both ran towards the kitchen together.


    These two gluttons!


    Be it Momo or Sharpei, they were both absolutely gluttons. Having a chef with decent skills in the house coupled with a lack of restriction over her diet, Momo grew up to be a complete glutton. With such a little owner, Sharpei was not any better, ending up looking like a meat ball.


    ¡°Momo you became fatter again!¡± Bai Yi said while hugging Momo who pounced on him.


    ¡°Granny Machi said this is because I grew up and I am much healthier than Niniya!¡± Momo retorted. The granny Machi that Momo was talking about is their next door neighbour, a fifty plus years old lady living in his son¡¯s house. She helps to take care of her granddaughter Niniya. Niniya is already five years old, older than Momo by one year but looks a bit smaller compared to Momo. Of course, Niniya¡¯s bodyweight is incomparable to Momo¡¯s.


    ¡°Yes yes, Momo grew up.¡± Bai Yi dotingly said to Momo.


    ¡°I am free tomorrow, Momo where do you want to go to play?¡± Bai Yi asked while eating lunch.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Momo tilted her head, still chewing her food while seemingly thinking about where to go. After a while, Momo looked towards Sharpei and asked ¡°Sharpei, where should we go to play?¡±


    At this time, Sharpei was still vigorously chewing on the roasted pork on its plate. In this house, Bai Yi does not give Sharpei dog food but rather feed it the same thing that he and Momo have. To Momo, Sharpei is not just a pet but a friend and a playmate. To this father and daughter, Sharpei is part of their family.


    ¡°Woof!¡± Sharpei immediately raised its¡¯ head and gave a bark that Bai Yi could not decipher.


    Bai Yi did not disturb the moment and just smiled amusedly at Momo and Sharpei¡¯s interactions. He didn¡¯t think that Momo and Sharpei could converse, but perhaps it¡¯s because they grew up together that they seem to be able to understand what each other mean.


    ¡°Niniya said that she went to see butterflies a few days ago, I want to go as well!¡±


    ¡°Butterflies¡­you mean the butterfly garden within Hamilton Park? Ok!¡± Bai Yi nodded his head and decided. After that Bai Yi chatted with Momo about random things. Being a 4-year-old girl, Momo did not have much to talk about except her interactions with Niniya. Although it seems very mundane, but Bai Yi was not bored at all and listened eagerly.


    After lunch, Momo immediately brought Sharpei and ran out to find Niniya to play while Bai Yi stayed back to clean up. The security in the area is very good, and there is also Sharpei with her so Bai Yi wasn¡¯t very worried.


    ¡­¡­


    23rd July 2020, in the wee hours of the morning, Bai Yi felt that there was something heavy pressing on him. Opening his eyes, he discovered that Momo climbed onto him again, hugging his neck and lying on his chest.


    Having no mother from birth, Momo is extremely clingy to Bai Yi so she often climbs onto him at night. However, this time¡­Momo wetted the bed.


    ¡°Momo you are already four years old, why do you still occasionally wet the bed?¡± Bai Yi carried Momo and said helplessly. At this moment, Momo was still half asleep.


    Bai Yi put Momo on the sofa and started cleaning up. Luckily, it wasn¡¯t the first time and Bai Yi was already used to it. He replaced the bedsheet that Momo wetted with a new one and then carried Momo to the shower.


    Sharpei who was sleeping at the side also got awakened by the noise and went to look inside the door. Seeing Bai Yi carry Momo, the side of Sharpei¡¯s mouth raised up. Bai Yi wasn¡¯t sure why but it always seemed like Sharpei was laughing.


    ¡°See, even Sharpei is laughing at you for wetting your bed.¡±


    ¡°Daddy you are so mean, Sharpei you can¡¯t laugh!¡± Momo completely awoke at this moment and felt embarrassed at Bai Yi¡¯s words.


    Entering the shower and turning on the hot water tap, Bai Yi helped Momo to shower. After that, he threw all the dirty bedsheet and clothes into the washing machine. When he was done, he found Momo standing on the balcony wearing just a towel.


    ¡°Momo be careful of catching a cold!¡±


    ¡°Daddy, over there.¡± Momo turned her head to look at Bai Yi, then held onto the railing pointing towards the southeast direction. Sharpei was beside Momo happily shaking his tail.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Daddy you didn¡¯t hear it? There seems to be a really sad voice.¡± Momo stared at that direction blankly.


    A sad voice? Bai Yi walked to the balcony and looked towards where Momo pointed to. Bai Yi wasn¡¯t doubting his own daughter but there wasn¡¯t anything out of the ordinary. What sad voice? It was still in the early hours of the morning, other than a few sparse lights the city was completely silent.


    However, Bai Yi couldn¡¯t be too sure of this, though Momo¡¯s vision was almost gone but heaven gave her an extraordinary hearing ability. Maybe she really did hear something.

 Chapter 4

    LV0: Nascent Stage ¨C Normal humans, animals or plants who have been successfully infected by activated cells.


    Activated cells: Special cells extracted from devil algae after going through thousands of mutations due to radiation. It was finally developed and transplanted successfully on the human now known as the Progenitor. Activated cells have strong assimilating power, once it infects the host and gets awakened, it will gradually transform the organism¡¯s original cells and grant them activated capabilities.


    Activated capabilities: the ability to create special energy that is different from what normal living things use.


    ¡­¡­


    In every legend, myths, animes or novels, those with long lives or great power all possessed some kind or multiple kinds of special energy. These energies are referred to as magic, spiritual power, qi¡­etc. These energies are different from the biological energy used to sustain life, so humans referred to them as special energy.


    This is the theory that Doctor Wang proposed ¨C Theory of Special Energy!


    Humans thought about various cultivation systems, such as training the qi, training the mind and condensing qi, training the skin, bones, tendons¡­etc. However, as logical as these systems seem, nobody has successfully cultivated any kind of special energy. There is no qi, no magic, no spiritual energy, absolutely nothing.


    Since it cannot be cultivated, then let¡¯s use science to achieve this goal.


    Activated cells are the result of this endeavour. The process was cruel, involving millions of human experimental subjects and also a great amount of luck. However, it really did succeed in the end.


    The only problem was that the activated cells had a huge side effect, that is¡­


    _____________________________________________


    On the second day, the sky was sunny and clear. Nobody in New Zealand found anything wrong but the activated cells released by the Progenitor had already deposited themselves inside every living thing. Slowly, its starting to show its effects on various organisms.


    Momo had been extremely excited the whole morning ever since Bai Yi promised to bring her to see butterflies in the butterfly park.


    ¡°Sharpei, look after the house well!¡± Bai Yi said.


    Sharpei who was initially just as excited as Momo immediately became down and whined sadly. The face that already had plenty of wrinkles seem to be even more scrunched up. Momo immediately went up to Sharpei after seeing him act like that and whispered something into its ear. Momo and Sharpei grew up playing together, just like childhood playmates and friends.


    ¡­¡­


    Butterfly Garden is a special place of interest within Hamilton Park. There are a lot of flowers there and most importantly a lot of different species of butterflies. Once they reached there, Momo started running about excitedly within the garden, asking many questions while Bai Yi just followed behind Momo with a satisfied smile on his face. However, within the satisfied smile was a trace of heaviness. Momo is already four years old, her eyesight is getting really poor and soon, she will completely lose her sight.


    How can heaven be so unfair!


    However, Bai Yi did not express his feelings but just played around with Momo in the Butterfly Garden. Though neither of them have yet to notice, the activated cells have already started taking effect on them.


    Activated cells are usually in a dormant state when they occupy a host body. However, the activated cells will easily wake from this dormant state as long as it has enough nutrition. Seeing how all the members of Bai Yi¡¯s family are gluttons, the cells would have undoubtedly awakened. These cells have strong assimilating power, once the cells occupy a host body and gets awakened, it will rapidly transform the host body¡¯s original cells into activated cells as well.


    Bai Yi started to feel hungry but it wasn¡¯t even noon yet. That¡¯s weird, I had quite a heavy breakfast so why am I getting hungry so quickly? Bai Yi wondered in his heart but looking at Momo running around, he attributed it to the large amount of activity this morning.


    Bai Yi did not know but this wasn¡¯t because of the amount of activity he had, but that the activated cells in his body awakened and started transforming other cells in his body.


    Activated Capability: The ability to create special energy that is different from common biological energy.


    The normal cells that are gradually transforming are frantically sucking nutrients from his body and starting to produce special energy. Bai Yi felt hungry so quickly due to the nutrients in his body being rapidly depleted. After running for a while more, Momo who was excited also became tired and walked back. She hugged Bai Yi¡¯s leg and looked up at him ¡°Daddy, I¡¯m hungry!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, it¡¯s all because you were running around so much! But I am hungry too let¡¯s go grab something to eat!¡± Bai Yi said while laughing. It was already almost 11am, not considered too early for lunch.


    The two of them went to a nearby restaurant and started ordering food. Due to the two of them being hungry, Bai Yi ordered extra food this time. With Bai Yi¡¯s current income, ordering so much extra food is actually quite extravagant but he had never ill-treated Momo before.


    Once the food was served, Momo immediately started eating. Although her movements were not elegant, they were natural and absent of any stifling or troublesome ¡®etiquette¡¯. The plump little girl swallowed like a hungry wolf, causing sounds of cutlery hitting the plate to sound in the restaurant. The people around them looked over and gave a slight smile upon seeing what was going on.


    It wasn¡¯t clear if it was Momo¡¯s influence, but the people inside the restaurant also seem to have their appetite grow and they ate more than what they ate normally.


    At the end when he called for the bill, Bai Yi got a shock. He didn¡¯t expect the two of them to eat so much and it seems like they weren¡¯t even full yet. Bai Yi already felt like something was wrong, really wrong. This kind of appetite was clearly abnormal but Bai Yi could not think of any reason why.


    In the afternoon, the two of them once again went to the Butterfly Garden to play. However, in less than two hours, the two of them felt extremely hungry again. As more and more cells got transformed, the production of special energy will also increase, causing the two of them to get hungry more rapidly.


    ¡°Daddy, I¡¯m hungry again!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know why either, but we got hungry so easily today. Let¡¯s just go home and I¡¯ll cook a big meal for us.¡± Bai Yi rubbed Momo¡¯s head and said gently.


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    Bai Yi drove the car to a nearby food market and bought various ingredients. Along the way, Bai Yi was incredibly hungry and Momo wasn¡¯t any better, her face scrunching up. Even ghosts wouldn¡¯t believe it if he were to say that this kind of hunger and appetite was normal(TN: a chinese idiom to say that something is unbelievable). However, Bai Yi chose not to say anything so as to not worry Momo. Worry about other things later, filling up the stomach comes first. This indescribable hunger can probably only be understood by those who went on a hunger strike.


    Parking the car outside, Bai Yi immediately carried the bags of ingredients and rushed inside his house. The moment he opened the door, Sharpei ran out and whimpered grievously. Bai Yi looked around the house and discovered the place to be in a mess, any food that can be found by Sharpei was basically already all consumed.


    Even Sharpei was like this!


    Bai Yi suddenly had a bad premonition in his heart but he did not think too much and said to Sharpei: ¡°Sharpei, help Momo to bring the ingredients in, I¡¯ll start cooking now.¡±


    Sharpei immediately ran out to the car and helped Momo drag in the bags of ingredients one by one. Bai Yi had already proficiently switched on the fire and started cooking. Due to the unbearable hunger, Bai Yi decided to start steaming a pot of rice in the rice cooker before doing anything else.


    The whole afternoon until 7pm at night, Bai Yi has essentially been cooking and eating without pause. The only reason why Bai Yi stopped was not because they were full but all the food in the house was already consumed. Even so, Bai Yi felt like he was only 80% full and the energy in his body was still rapidly being depleted. He would become even hungrier in a short period of time.


    Due to having sufficient nutrients, the normal cells in Bai Yi, Momo and Sharpei got transformed at a faster rate than normal. With more and more activated cells in their body, energy was being consumed at a faster rate and they were getting hungry quicker as well. Their stomach was like a black hole, no matter how much they ate it would rapidly be digested and nothing would be left.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Momo, Sharpei, let¡¯s go to the food market!¡± Bai Yi wasn¡¯t an idiot, he knew that there was something wrong. However, earlier on he was too busy cooking and did not have time to think about this. Now that there was no more food in the house and the hunger showed no signs of stopping, it seems like he needed to buy even more things. No matter what, filling up the stomach comes first!


    Without even entering the food market, Bai Yi already found the atmosphere to be strange, it was too lively!


    It was completely different from the emptiness in the afternoon, the food market now was packed like a can of sardines. Every shop was filled with countless people crazily buying food. There were even some who just started cooking by the side of the road and eating ravenously. The smell of the food made the hunger even more unbearable for the people around.


    Surprisingly, they were not the only ones affected!


    Bai Yi got a shock in his heart, looking at the crowded road in front of him, he slowly drove the car forward squeezing through the crowd. Along the way, the buying and selling of ingredients was extremely fierce and the price of food also increased rapidly. The atmosphere continued to escalate and it seemed almost uncontrollable. By now, unless the person was dumb everyone had realised that something was wrong. This unimaginable appetite and hunger was just too abnormal.


    The shopkeepers apparently did not think too much, or rather thought about it but didn¡¯t care. Business flourishing is a good thing, the unimaginable hunger and appetite caused large numbers of people to buy food in a frenzy. They didn¡¯t even have time to be happy, who will think about the implications behind this scenario? Worry about shortage of food? It was impossible that the food supply would run out!


    Bai Yi went to the front of a shop. As one of the head chefs of Waikato University, Bai Yi came here frequently to select and order ingredients. Moreover, he had to order large amounts of ingredients every time so he was quite familiar with the boss of this shop.


    ¡°Hi Santos, where is Woolf?¡± Bai Yi called out to a store assistant.


    ¡°Hi Bai Yi, what are you doing here? Ordering ingredients for the school again? It¡¯s a bad time now though.¡± The black store assistant greeted Bai Yi after seeing him.


    ¡°Not ordering ingredients for the school this time, I am just looking for Woolf.¡±


    ¡°Boss is inside.¡± Santos pointed inside the shop and then turned around to deal with other customers. He was familiar with Bai Yi as he is a regular customer here and did not stop him from going inside. Bai Yi held Momo¡¯s hand and walked inside the shop and Sharpei also intelligently followed behind.

 Chapter 5

    LV1-1: Binging Stage ¨C once all the cells in the body are transformed and becomes activated, it will start to frantically produce special energy. Since various nutrients in the body will be used to produce special energy, the organism will feel extremely hungry and require large amounts of food. At this stage, the organism will go around looking for food, eating everything and entering the binging stage.


    ________________________________________


    ¡°Woolf!¡± Bai Yi easily found Woolf standing at one side eating while instructing the employees.


    ¡°Bai Yi, what are you doing here?¡±


    Bai Yi looked at the food stock and found that there was still more than half left, however at the rate that they were selling the food it would not last much longer. Bai Yi originally only wanted to stock up on ingredients and eat his fill, but now seeing the intense state that the food market was in he felt that he should plan ahead. Motioning for Woolf to put down the things in his hands, the two of them went to a small isolated room.


    ¡°Woolf, do you feel that something is abnormal?¡± Bai Yi jumped straight into the topic.


    ¡°What¡¯s abnormal?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you feel very hungry? Like no matter how much you eat you would not become full?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t notice much but I do get hungry faster.¡±


    ¡°Listen to me Woolf, I spent the entire afternoon cooking today and ate everything that I cooked. However, my stomach just could not be filled. At first, I thought that it was just something wrong with me and my daughter but now I can see that that¡¯s obviously not the case. Don¡¯t you find that the current situation in the food market is too strange? Everyone is unimaginably hungry right now.¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°What are you thinking of?¡±


    ¡°Stop selling the food. The situation now is too strange, judging by the level of hunger and appetite, the food stock in the market is going to rapidly run out.¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha, Bai Yi you worry too much, Vorster Food Market is huge! Anyway, it doesn¡¯t matter even if I sell out, I can just go to the next food market nearby to restock.¡± Woolf laughed loudly, thinking that Bai Yi was over worrying.


    ¡°What if the food market nearby is also in the same situation, or even the entire Hamilton, the entire New Zealand?¡± Bai Yi did not laugh but said seriously. Woolf was still smiling but upon seeing Bai Yi¡¯s expression, his smile gradually stopped. It can¡¯t be?


    ¡°I¡¯ll make a phone call and ask.¡± Woolf said.


    Bai Yi nodded his head. Though Woolf¡¯s business wasn¡¯t considered big, he was still in the food trade so he could get information easily. Very quickly, Woolf found out from other places that it was not just Vorster Food Market, not even just Hamilton but practically the whole of New Zealand was in the same situation.


    Damn it, Bai Yi¡¯s guess was actually right!


    Bai Yi could tell from Woolf¡¯s expression that he was right.


    ¡°I¡¯ll immediately tell the store assistant to stop selling.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± Bai Yi stopped Woolf. ¡°If you abruptly stop selling like this, you will definitely come into conflict with the customers. Continue raising the price and reduce the amount of food brought out to be sold. Create the illusion that food supply is short and then tell the customers that you are all sold out.¡± Bai Yi said to Woolf.


    ¡°Bai Yi, you are a really cunning fellow!¡± Woolf gave Bai Yi a thumbs up after hearing what he said.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but business has been too good and my shop has already run out of food to sell. If you wish to buy more food, please go to other shops.¡± Very quickly, they acted as how Bai Yi told them to do so. The customers were unhappy but since they said that they were out of stock, there was no point in continuing to stand there so everyone left gradually.


    ¡°Bai Yi, do you know what¡¯s going on?¡± Woolf asked.


    ¡°It would be strange if I knew, I only came here to buy more ingredients since I was still hungry but found myself in this situation. Enough of this for now, where¡¯s the kitchen? I am starving.¡± Bai Yi said to Woolf. Woolf knew that Bai Yi wanted to fill his stomach here, the relationship between the two was quite good and in addition to Bai Yi¡¯s help just now, using the kitchen was just a small matter.


    ¡­¡­


    This time, the cooking lasted until past midnight. In this period, nobody was actually full, or rather even if they were full, it only took one or two hours before their stomachs would start growling again. During this period, the atmosphere in the food market changed from lively to uneasiness. Everyone felt frightened by this mysterious hunger and appetite that suddenly appeared.


    A normal family¡¯s stock of food ranges from a week to a month. With this crazy hunger and appetite, this stock of food can be finished within a day. What would humans who have finished their food stock eat? More importantly, it seems that it was not just humans that became hungry but also animals¡­yes, animals!


    Animals and humans are different, they might have a bit of food stored but it definitely was not much. When their food is gone, what do these animals eat?


    Though there was a lot of discussion on this abnormal hunger on the internet, there was not a clear answer to be found. Other than a few select people, ordinary people were completely in the dark. Now on Woolf¡¯s computer flashed a news broadcast. It seemed to be about how a big group of people started looting food due to being overly hungry, causing great casualties in the process. Other than humans, animals also played a big part in this. A group of rats that became red-eyed from hunger came from nowhere and started climbing on humans and eating them.


    Bai Yi and Woolf looked at each other in dismay while watching the news broadcast. At the end, a few people got flooded by a mass of rats and screamed in pain while flailing on the ground. The sight of this caused the two of them to shiver inside.


    ¡°Ah, save me! Save me!¡± Right at this moment, a cry came from outside.


    Woolf immediately rushed outside while Bai Yi took a chopper that was used to chop bones. With things at this stage, Bai Yi felt more and more uneasy in his heart. Even the four-year-old Momo could feel that the atmosphere was different from before.


    When Bai Yi came out he immediately saw two big dogs from nowhere pinning down an employee to the floor, crazily biting and tearing at him. To the side, there was an overturned pot with fried fritters and pieces of meat on the floor.


    A dog¡¯s nose is extremely sensitive, these two dogs were obviously starving and came here after smelling the food. However, the employee did not intend to feed the dogs and wanted to chase them away. He never thought that the dogs who were known for being loyal would actually bite humans! No, it was not just biting but Bai Yi could clearly see one of the dogs tearing off a chunk of flesh from the employee¡¯s thigh and swallowing it down.


    It was eating people!


    ¡°Sharpei, protect Momo!¡± Bai Yi immediately said to Sharpei.


    Woolf immediately became scared upon seeing the two dogs bite his worker. If this continues then he could really die! Picking up a random stick from the side, Woolf fiercely smashed down with it but the dog suddenly jumped and dodged the strike, letting out a low growl. All of a sudden, the dog viciously pounced towards Woolf, flesh still stuck to its teeth.


    Woolf couldn¡¯t change his mindset from his previous common sense and was stunned. This ferociousness, how is it still a dog? It¡¯s even fiercer than wolves! Bai Yi looked at Woolf standing there in shock, If he got bitten by the dog then he was pretty much dead because judging from the dog¡¯s height of jump it was aiming for his neck.


    Without time to think, Bai Yi dashed into Woolf from the side and knocked him away, raising the chopper in his hand.


    The dog and Bai Yi crossed each other, nobody could clearly see what had happened but the two front legs of the dog were chopped off. At the same time, a deep cut could be seen on its neck as fresh blood splashed on both Bai Yi and Woolf. This sudden event caused the people and animal inside the courtyard to be shocked and after a while, the other dog released the employee he was biting with his mouth. It then turned to Bai Yi and gave a low growl towards him.


    ¡°Grrrr!¡± All of a sudden, the remaining dog pounced towards Bai Yi and tried to bite him.


    Bai Yi became extremely calm at that moment, the chopper held steadily in his hand. The dog that was pouncing towards him was nothing but an ingredient waiting to be prepared in Bai Yi¡¯s heart. Three lines of light cut through the air and the dog followed in its partner¡¯s footsteps and fell on the floor.


    Woolf was so frightened that he fell on the floor, shaking non-stop.


    Without waiting for him to calm down, they heard another fierce bark from a dog. Woolf instantly shivered and when he turned his head, he found the dog called Sharpei that Bai Yi brought pouncing out towards a rat that was almost 20cm in size and smacked it against the floor. In the shadows, there were quite a few red-eyed rats seemingly lured by the flesh and blood here.


    Sharpei lowered his body slightly, guarding Momo by her side. It showed its sharp teeth and let out a fierce growl.


    The Sharpei now didn¡¯t have a trace of its usual silliness and looked extremely ferocious. Looking at Sharpei, Woolf instantly got a scare. This was also a dog, although this dog was brought by Bai Yi but what if it ends up like those two dogs from before? The rats in the shadows got pressured by Sharpei¡¯s presence and withdrew, quickly disappearing without a trace. This is a food market, there are plenty of places with food so there was no need to risk their lives here.


    After the rats ran away, the people in the courtyard finally reacted as to what just happened.


    The courtyard originally had three employees, however now all of them were injured. Moreover, the one who first got pinned on the floor by the two dogs had stopped breathing.


    ¡°Somebody died¡­!¡± Woolf was in shock.


    ¡°Do you guys want to die? Don¡¯t worry about that and bandage our wounds first! Do you have rabies vaccine here?¡± Bai Yi saw Woolf in that state and immediately reminded him. After hearing Bai Yi¡¯s words, Woolf and the other two employees then realised that the wounds on their bodies were hurting.


    ¡°Right right, bandage our wounds first, we will explain when the police arrive, anyway this matter was not caused by us.¡± Woolf held the bloody wound on his shoulder and said. The two employees went to the room inside to find materials for bandaging. When walking past Sharpei, they were both extremely cautious. It seems like they were frightened really badly by the two dogs from earlier on.


    ¡°Bai Yi, I didn¡¯t think that you were so awesome, was that Chinese Kungfu?¡± Woolf wasn¡¯t a thoughtless fellow, after calming down he recalled the scene where Bai Yi killed the dog.


    ¡°No! It wasn¡¯t Chinese Kung Fu, just that I prepared a large amount of ingredients in the past, so I know the skeletal structure of dogs and their weaknesses. I just treated those two dogs like ingredients to be handled.¡± Bai Yi explained. However, this kind of explanation only made Woolf more confused.

 Chapter 6

    Woolf called the police but the line was constantly busy, increasing the uneasiness in Bai Yi¡¯s heart by another level. Due to the dog attack, Woolf brought a few people to seal up holes and cracks that animals could squeeze through. Bai Yi on the other hand secretly went out to scout the situation in the food market.


    It was already close to midnight, however the atmosphere in the food market did not seem to be calming down. The number of people buying food seemed to have increased several folds from the evening. Moreover, even the shop owners gradually felt that something was wrong and some of them decided to stop selling.


    On one side, there were the shop owners who had food but refused to sell. On the other, there were people who were hungry to the point of going crazy¡­the situation now is just like a ticking time bomb.


    This isn¡¯t good!


    Bai Yi looked at situation become more and more chaotic in the food market and sometimes even looting occurred. Only because of the moral values and social norms that they have been taught since young constraining them that the situation did not escalate further. However, Bai Yi knew how unbearable that extreme hunger could be. Probably not long after, this fragile stability will be broken.


    Sure enough, as Bai Yi was thinking this in his heart a shop in front of him had a commotion.


    ¡°You have food but won¡¯t sell them, what is the meaning of this?! It¡¯s not like I¡¯m not paying you, even though the price of food now is dozens of times greater than normal I¡¯ve been tolerating itwhat more do you want!¡± A plump and strong 2-metre-tall man starting scolding, spitting his saliva everywhere. Intense hunger gnawed away at the guy¡¯s mind, he felt like there was a devil inside his body, eating away at his body after consuming all the nutrients that¡¯s available.


    Autophagy ¨C When the nutrients inside an organism is insufficient, the activated cells will automatically start breaking down the body¡¯s muscles, fats, etc to absorb the nutrients inside.


    ¡°Scram! Your father wants to eat!¡± (TN: Your father is a thug-ish way of referring to yourself) The big sized man couldn¡¯t stand his hunger anymore, he grabbed the employee in front of him and pushed violently.


    With a loud bang, the employee smashed onto the door and slowly slid down limp.


    Even the big sized man got a shock at this scene, he didn¡¯t remember being this strong?


    What the man didn¡¯t know was that when the activated cells were consuming nutrients, at the same time they were also producing large amounts of special energy. This kind of special energy is much higher in grade than the biological energy of normal living things, thus bringing him great strength. He was completely in the dark about the changes in his body and used his strength just as he was used to, resulting in this scenario in front.


    Fuck it, I¡¯m not going to care so much!


    Since it already came to this, the man didn¡¯t bother controlling himself anymore and grabbed something to smash open the front door of the shop. He then ran inside the shop and started grabbing whatever food he could find. Since there was already a precedent, the people around him of course did not bother controlling themselves either and joined in the looting. The situation did not seem like it would stop at one shop but continue to spread.


    Bai Yi left the crowd and returned to Woolf¡¯s shop. At this time, Woolf and the employees were cooking while the corpse was still at the same spot as they did not want to thoughtlessly move the body.


    ¡°Bai Yi, you went outside, what¡¯s going on?¡± Woolf asked.


    ¡°Woolf, the trouble is huge, it is getting really chaotic outside. A lot of people have already started stealing and fighting over the food. It seems like the chaos is going to spread to this place soon.¡±


    ¡°Stealing? Aren¡¯t they afraid of breaking the law?¡± Santos questioned.


    ¡°Although it is breaking the law, but do you think they will be sentenced to prison over a piece of meat?¡± Bai Yi said mockingly. With those words, Woolf and the other also understood. It was just food, though it was breaking the law but it was unlikely that they would be sentenced to jail because of it.


    ¡°Now they are still constrained by social norms and common sense, however I believe that very quickly somebody would reach the same conclusion. Even if they were sentenced to jail, it would be better than starving to death like this.¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°Then what do we do?¡±


    ¡°The shop should have a basement, right? As much as possible, bring all the food to the basement and hide it well. Santos, you stand watch outside. Once you see the crowd heading over here inform us immediately. When they come to steal food later, we must resist but do not try too hard. Let them take what they want as long as nobody gets injured.¡± Bai Yi methodically gave out instructions to the rest. Woolf and the others were all couth people, their heads weren¡¯t too bright so they just listened to Bai Yi. Anyhow, Bai Yi was still somebody from Waikato University, though he was just a chef.


    ¡­¡­


    Ever since implementing Bai Yi¡¯s idea in the evening, nobody had come to bother them. However, very quickly the chaos spread over the entire food market and even Woolf¡¯s shop was not spared from this.


    A huge group of people smashed open the door and then rushed in, looking for the food store.


    Though people normally seem to be rational, but once they get agitated their brains would become very simple. These people were not just stealing from the food store, some of them even ran to the room behind. It was no different from robbing a person¡¯s home. However, when this group of people rushed into the room they found an Asian male standing in the centre. Beside this Asian male was a dead body on the floor lying in a pool of blood.


    Bai Yi held a chopper in each hand and had his head tilted slightly downwards, shrouding his face in shadows. Beside Bai Yi was Sharpei who had its body tensed and Momo hid in the room behind, watching the situation outside.


    ¡°I won¡¯t say anything about stealing food, I can understand since I¡¯m hungry as well. However, if any of you aren¡¯t thinking straight and decide to barge into my home, I will do what is necessary to protect myself. Let me warn you though, you may not be able to handle the consequences.¡± Bai Yi¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t loud, but the two bloody choppers slowly raised up and the people in front were almost frightened to death.


    Fuck, is the guy lying on the floor killed by him?


    Fortunately, this group of people have not completely lost their minds. After Bai Yi warned them, they immediately started to retreat backwards, fearing getting hacked by his two choppers. In a short while, the people running into the room all disappeared. The few people who ran in here afterwards also got frightened and ran away upon seeing the corpse and Bai Yi.


    ¡­¡­


    After a chaotic period of looting and resistance, the entire food store became empty. After the crowd stole everything from the store, it looked like a desolate mess. Santos walked over holding his bruised chin, intending to clean up the mess but Bai Yi stopped him. Doing the opposite of what Santos wanted to do, Bai Yi took a chair and started smashing a perfectly fine glass window.


    ¡°BaiBai Yi, what are you doing?¡± Woolf was stunned.


    ¡°Mess up this place even more, make it look even more desolate. When people come here, they will immediately be able to infer what had happened to this place and think that it has already been cleaned out. Only like this, would they not bother coming in here and we can survive from the rations in the basement for a few days.¡± Bai Yi explained to Woolf. At this moment, the window shakily fell down and broke over the floor.


    Looking at the shop again, it looked like a young woman who was raped multiple times.


    Woolf and the other two employees felt cold sweat dripping down, so this was Bai Yi¡¯s plans? In truth, even if it was them if they saw the shop looking as it did now they would only think that this place had been robbed clean. After this series of events, all of them found that they were hungry again even though they just ate not long ago.


    When the group returned behind, they found Momo standing quietly beside the door waiting for Bai Yi and Sharpei was sitting beside her like a loyal bodyguard.


    ¡°Daddy!¡± When Momo saw Bai Yi she immediately jumped over and hugged Bai Yi¡¯s leg.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok, everything¡¯s fine!¡± Bai Yi consoled Momo.


    ¡­¡­


    Although the food inside the store was all stolen, there was still quite a lot of food in the basement and the innermost room. There wasn¡¯t much food in his house so Bai Yi didn¡¯t bother going back, deciding to temporarily stay here with Momo. Although it was just a simple shop, this place wasn¡¯t too small.


    Since Bai Yi is here, the task of cooking naturally went to him. Initially, Bai Yi was still cooking like how he used to cook normally, making the food as tasty as possible with great aroma. However, very quickly Woolf barged into the room.


    ¡°Bai, Bai Yi!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Woolf?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make the food so aromatic, the best would be if it has no smell, hurry!¡±


    ¡°Just what is going on?¡±


    ¡°The smell is too good, I could smell it from outside! Other people definitely can smell it too and by then we would not be able to hide here.¡± Woolf explained worriedly.


    Bai Yi was stunned for a moment after listening to Woolf and then started laughing. He was afraid that the smell was too strong and would attract other people here? Could this fellow have a meticulous side within that rough exterior? However, since Bai Yi started cooking he has always been learning how to make food as aromatic and delicious as possible. If suddenly you wanted him to make food that had no smell it would be quite difficult.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try my best.¡± Bai Yi answered.


    ¡°Ok good!¡± Woolf replied. Looking at the pot of food that Bai Yi was cooking, he could not help but to swallow his saliva. The food that Bai Yi usually made was already quite good, and now the intense hunger made it even more mouth-watering. Sharpei was also sticking out his tongue at the side with saliva dripping all over the floor.

 Chapter 7

    Two days!


    Only two days have passed since the Progenitor¡¯s activated cells started proliferating on the 23rd and more than half of the people in New Zealand were struck with frightening hunger and appetite. People feared this appetite. It was just like a black hole, no matter how much they ate they could not be full. The number of fights that started over food in New Zealand were innumerable.


    This was still just the human world, in the natural world the battles between animals were even more cruel and bloody.


    Very quickly on the dawn of the 25th, the government of New Zealand announced the release of emergency war rations. At the same time, they reassured the citizens and asked them not to panic as it was only hunger, an easily solvable issue. We are living in modern society right now, it was not like in ancient times where people starved to death in droves during famines. Moreover, the world already knew of the circumstances in New Zealand and have started offering aid and donating resources.


    Once people received this news the situation in New Zealand became better, but only by a bit. This is because the kind of hunger they are experiencing now is completely different the hunger they feel normally, it was really too unbearable. Moreover, there were recently a few cases of animals attacking and eating humans. Humans aren¡¯t the only ones hungry but animals too and these animals aren¡¯t constrained by things like rationality and morals.


    Even though it has only been two days, the economy came to a halt as everyone stopped working except chefs. During normal times, nobody expected ¡®eating¡¯ to be so powerful. Extreme hunger could make people drop everything they are working on and focus solely on filling their stomach.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Damn it, just what is going on? Why am I getting hungry so quickly?¡± Woolf cursed at the side.


    Other than the few people here initially, there was the addition of Santos¡¯ wife and eight-year-old son. As for the other employee Ballant, he was single. These people had consumed all the food in their homes and then contacted Woolf. They found out that there was still quite some food left in the food market and rushed here early in the morning.


    A few of them surrounded the computer looking at the news on the screen. All of them let out a breath of relief when they knew that the government is giving out emergency war rations. Only Bai Yi was taking stock of the remaining ingredients and calculating how long it could last them.


    Although the emergency war rations got released, but in a short period of time it would not be able to be delivered to their location. However, the hunger was something that was unceasing. More importantly, with things being this abnormal there was definitely some cause behind it.


    Bai Yi also contacted Mavis and Sara and they checked-in with each other if they were safe. Mavis was the female doctor that Bai Yi brought Momo to in the ER, while Sara is the nurse that criticised him. After Bai Yi decided to adopt Momo, they helped him greatly in the process. Otherwise as a tourist, how could he adopt a baby? Bai Yi¡¯s job at Waikato University was also introduced to him by Mavis.


    ________________________________________________


    At this point in time, a group of students in Waikato University were discussing on where to go to look for food. There were a total of eleven people and nine of them were international students from China. They were all friends who were quite familiar with each other.


    ¡°The food market that is closest to here is Vorster Food Market, if we want to find food then that is our best bet. Although there were a lot of looting incidents recently, there would definitely still be food leftover there. There is no need to do things like stealing, as long as the price is not too ridiculous I can fork out the money to buy food.¡± Qin Kai Rui stood on stage, smiling confidently.


    ¡°If any schoolmates below have any thoughts, you can voice it out and we can discuss about it.¡±


    Yu Han looked at Qin Kai Rui on stage, feeling a slight jealously in his heart. This guy is part of the student union and also the chairperson of the Chinese Hometown Association. He was handsome, capable and had a good background. That was why he could stand on top of the stage. Yu Han felt indignant in his heart but that was all he could do. With his status now, he was just an extremely ordinary member of the group.


    ¡°I have some thoughts!¡± Yu Han said raising his hand.


    ¡°Yu Han schoolmate, what thoughts do you have?¡±


    ¡°We need to have an additional member in our group¡­a chef! I believe nobody here is skilled in cooking, we may be able to find ingredients but who here have the confidence to turn the ingredients into delicious food? As for who to be our chef, I already have a person in mind! I believe everyone should be familiar with him, he is one of the head chefs in our canteen, Uncle Bai!¡± Yu Han said.


    ¡°Accepted, this is a good suggestion, a chef is extremely important.¡± Qin Kai Rui agreed without hesitation.


    Bai Yi was also Chinese and had an amiable character. Moreover, most of the people here were quite familiar with him so he was agreeable to Yu Han¡¯s recommendation.


    ¡°Anybody else have any opinions to voice out? Speak out first and then we will handle them all at once. Once we finish this, begin making your own preparations and we will head out to Vorster Food Market.¡± Qin Kai Rui continued.


    ¡°Since I mentioned the matter about Bai Yi, let me go look for him with another person.¡± Yu Han said as the meeting was being dismissed.


    ¡°No problem, who do you want to go with you?¡±


    ¡°Khina, come along with me.¡±


    Khina Bailey, Yu Han¡¯s girlfriend. A local New Zealand girl, she was not considered pretty, a bit plump and even had a few pimples on her face.


    Of course, every guy likes beautiful girls. However, the real world is not so idealistic, those scenarios where a beautiful girl falls in love with a loser only happens in fantasies or dreams. With Yu Han¡¯s status, having a girlfriend is already considered good. What more to dream of the faculty belle or school belle? Moreover, although Khina Bailey was not considered pretty but she really loved Yu Han.


    As for Yu Han¡¯s choice to pick Khina, the rest did not question it either as everybody knew that they were a couple. After deciding on this, the group discussed a few more issues, set their next meeting time and dispersed to do their own preparations.


    ¡­¡­


    Yu Han and Khina went to Bai Yi¡¯s place to knock on his door, however after a long while there was no answer.


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t seem to be around.¡±


    ¡°He probably went out to find food. Uncle Bai dotes on Momo a lot, he definitely won¡¯t let Momo starve.¡± Khina understood Bai Yi quite well. He would feed Momo so well normally that she became quite plump, he wouldn¡¯t let her starve now.


    ¡°That makes things troublesome, let¡¯s just wait for a while more then.¡± Yu Han creased his eyebrows.


    ¡°I have Momo¡¯s number.¡± Khina took out her phone and said to Yu Han. Yu Han didn¡¯t expect Khina to have the little chubby girl¡¯s number. So they had a good relationship?


    ¡°Momo, is your dad with you?¡± Khina asked.


    ¡°Yep he¡¯s here!¡±


    ¡°Can you pass the phone to Uncle Bai? I want to talk to him a bit.¡± Khina said.


    In Waikato University, those Chinese international students usually called Bai Yi Uncle Bai. In reality, Bai Yi was only 26 years old now, not much older than those university students. However, Bai Yi had a daughter, making him feel like he is an entire generation older than them and hence addressing him as Uncle Bai. Of course, that¡¯s just a respectful way of addressing him, other than a few girls like Khina the rest usually called him by his name.


    ¡°Ok!¡± Momo nodded.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Khina, calling me at this time, it can¡¯t be that you want me to cook for you?¡± Bai Yi laughed. He immediately thought of the reason why Khina would call him.


    ¡°Uncle Bai is really smart, we have temporarily formed a team to search for food but we realised that none of us can cook, so we thought of Uncle Bai.¡± Khina did not beat around the bush. Khina did not ask Bai Yi where he was but it wasn¡¯t too late to ask if Bai Yi was willing to join the team.


    ¡°You guys have food?¡±


    ¡°No, now we do not. We intend to go to Vorster Food Market and purchase from there.¡±


    ¡°How many people are there in your team and who are they?¡± Bai Yi asked. There was quite a lot of food here, but he did not know how many people are there in the team. If the numbers are too large, then the food left would not be enough to go around as well. Bai Yi wasn¡¯t the type to do things that didn¡¯t help others yet harmed himself at the same time.


    ¡°Eleven of us, we¡¯re all from Waikato University, there¡¯s Yu Han, Qin Kai Rui, Hong Qi Hua, ¡­¡± Khina briefly went over the people in the team.


    ¡°Got it, let me ask my friend.¡± Bai Yi nodded. If it was others then he wouldn¡¯t bother, but if it¡¯s those youngsters from the Chinese Hometown Association then he should give them a hand.


    ¡°Ok.¡± Khina nodded.


    Very quickly, Bai Yi told Woolf about the team. However, even Woolf who held much admiration for Waikato University felt hesitant at this time. Food was limited, adding in new members to the group now didn¡¯t seem like a wise choice.


    ¡°Woolf, do you feel that the situation now is normal?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°How can it be normal?¡± Although he was a bit slow, Woolf was not an idiot. If somebody were to say that there was no reason behind New Zealand¡¯s changes, even ghosts would not believe it. If not, why is it that only New Zealand experienced these changes but other countries did not?


    ¡°I feel the same way Woolf. Even if it was just the few of us, the remaining rations can only last for four or five days. At that time, we will still have to go out and look for more food. Honestly, I do have the intention to help those youngsters but I also feel that a team formed by a group of mature students is safer than teaming up with strangers. What do you think?¡± Bai Yi still wanted to carry on explaining but Woolf patted Bai Yi¡¯s shoulders.


    ¡°Okok, I can¡¯t understand all this, Bai you can decide, I trust you.¡±


    Bai Yi smiled. This guy, isn¡¯t he afraid of getting sold away? Since Woolf already said so, Bai Yi gave Khina a call and told her that he was already at Vorster Food Market.


    ¡°Vorster Food Market!¡± Khina told Yu Han.


    ¡°He did go there! The foodstuff around here basically all came from Vorster Food Market. Bai Yi as a chef from the University would be more familiar with the people there and headed there to look for food.¡± Yu Han pressed his index finger to his forehead, a look of intelligence on his face. Although he only knew the answer after Khina told him, but love blinds people so Yu Han¡¯s appearance now was still quite attractive to Khina.


    The two of them returned and made their own preparations. The eleven of them soon gathered and in three cars and headed towards Wurst Food Market. None of them brought much things as they only saw it as a trip to purchase food. Yu Han was also like this, but when leaving his room, he saw this bag hanging from his wall. Thinking for a moment, he decided to grab it as well. Inside the bag was a sword, it was known as a Japanese sword, or a katana. It was a treasure that Yu Han acquired by chance.

 Chapter 8

    At a research facility in Hamilton, a researcher got so hungry that he could not take it anymore. All of a sudden, the researcher remembered where there was food. The food originally prepared for the experimental subjects. He recalled the strangely shaped food and subconsciously swallowed his saliva.


    Those things are edible, right?


    Sometimes, a person¡¯s choice can become completely different with just a small influence.


    The researcher was unable to bear with the intense hunger and decided to go out to retrieve some food. Although the food was weirdly shaped, there was still some among it that looked like one of the more common meats.


    Past midnight on the 25th, in the northern district of Hamilton an ordinary looking mansion suddenly collapsed. A giant yet distorted figure climbed out from it. The figure was crawling on the floor with 8 giant spider legs, every one of them 4 to 5 meters long. At its back, there was a python like tail, or rather it was an actual python. Yet, contrary to our expectations, the figure had the upper body of a human, just that his arms were like the sickles of a praying mantis.


    An experimental body! Fusing genes from various animals and transforming into a monster that has completely different form!


    This guy climbed out and rapidly disappeared into the darkness. From that giant hole, various monsters of different forms climbed out unceasingly. This was the Northern Hamilton Research Facility, one of the 121 research facilities containing 3311 experimental subjects.


    The night seemed especially dark!


    ___________________________________________________


    A group of students from Waikato University drove to Vorster Food Market and found that the situation there was even more chaotic than imagined. In most of the shops there were people crowding in front of it and fighting over food. On the contrary, situations where people actually used money to purchase food was far and few in between.


    Can we really buy anything here?


    Everyone grew doubtful after seeing the situation. There was completely no order in the food market now, everything was gotten through theft and violence. People who are starved to the limit really can become capable of doing anything. In any case, going to jail for stealing is better than starving to death and the police are too busy anyway.


    ¡­¡­


    The few of them drove to shop that Bai Yi was talking about. When they reached the location, they saw a door so damaged and shaky that it looked like it would fall off once the wind blew. Comparing the shop with the surroundings, this place seems especially desolate. Anybody who saw this would think that this place has long been robbed clean.


    Has it really been robbed clean?


    With the exception of those complete bookworms, those who are capable enough to study overseas are not dumb. Even if their reaction was slightly slower, they could still think of the reason behind why this place would seem to be so broken down. Expectedly, when this group walked into the innermost area they found quite a lot of food that was already prepared and Bai Yi busy working inside.


    Although they were very hungry, the students still maintained their basic courtesy and did not start eating. They only started to eat after Bai Yi served up all the food.


    While eating, everyone was discussing this frightening hunger and appetite that came from nowhere, checking if anybody had any clues. Suddenly, Bai Yi seemed to hear a vague scream. He looked towards the north and doubtfully creased his eyebrows. A misperception? Bai Yi then looked at the rest, they were still eating and didn¡¯t seem to hear anything.


    ¡°Woolf, did you hear any scream?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°What?¡± Woolf asked confusedly.


    ¡°I think I heard a scream from the north¡­¡± Bai Yi just finished saying those words and a scream came from that direction again. Moreover, it didn¡¯t come from just one person but countless people continuously screaming. This time, not only Bai Yi heard it but the rest who were eating heard it as well.


    What happened?


    Santos and Bai Yi instantly ran outside, the others also looked outside while still vigorously chewing food in their mouths. It was just past noon now and the line of sight was wide. The two of them haven¡¯t even rushed outside but could already see a human faced bird that had a wingspan of more than 10 metres in the sky. The bird dived down and grabbed two humans, tearing them apart and swallowing them.


    ¡°What the hell is this!¡± Santos stared at the gigantic bird with his eyes opened wide.


    Bai Yi was also shocked but his reaction was quick and didn¡¯t just stand dumbly on the spot. He immediately ran back inside the room and shouted to the others ¡°Quick, stop eating and get on the car! Hurry and leave this place!¡±


    ¡°Uncle Bai, what happened?¡± Hong Qi Hua questioned.


    ¡°Not good, not good! Monsters suddenly appeared outside, the biggest is more than 10 metres tall and they are eating people!¡± Santos at this time also ran back and shouted. Bai Yi didn¡¯t have to explain anymore, but everyone had a doubtful look on their face¡­monsters, what are they talking about?


    Right at this moment, a dragon-like creature more than 15metres in wingspan flew across from the side and ferociously dived to the floor. Numerous painful screams could be heard. Now, nothing more needed to be said and the people in the courtyard all blanked out and then started to run away in a panic. They only wished that they had two more legs so that they could run away faster. Their initial elegance and temperance was completely abandoned in this situation.


    ¡°Pa~!¡± Yu Han viciously slapped Qin Kai Rui on the face and a heavy sound of a slap could be heard.


    Everyone was shocked by Yu Han¡¯s actions, only then did they realise that Qin Kai Rui had already returned to the car. He was starting the car and preparing to run away, not even bringing his girlfriend Jiang Lin Lin along.


    ¡°We are a team now, if you try to abandon your teammates again I will kill you!¡± Yu Han said coldly. At this moment, Yu Han took his katana out of the sheath and placed it on Qin Kai Rui¡¯s neck, looking extremely serious and ruthless.


    Everyone was stunned again, since when did Yu Han have this side to him?


    ¡°Hey! I was only starting the car, why the fuck did you slap me?¡± Qin Kai Rui almost went crazy, he got slapped for nothing and was accused of abandoning the rest.


    However, now was not the time to argue and all of them moved very quickly. They didn¡¯t bother to bring anything and rushed into the car and quickly started it. The 11 of them drove here in 3 cars, so the numbers were just right. Woolf also had a car used for delivery so all of them could sit in a car.


    ¡°Hurry, hurry and start the car! Bastard do you want to die?¡± The goods car that Santos¡¯s family and Ballent was sitting in experienced problems and could not start. It was hard to tell if it was because they were nervous or there really was something wrong with the car.


    ¡°Santos, quick¡­¡±


    Woolf stuck his head out of the car window and wanted to warn him, but the strangely shaped ¡®dragon¡¯ that landed just now pounced over, claws that were a few metres long instantly pressed on the car roof and it opened its huge mouth. Woolf¡¯s voice got stuck in his throat¡­it¡¯s all over. Everyone felt a sense of hopelessness and nobody thought Santos¡¯ group could survive through this.


    Bai Yi saw all this happen from his car¡¯s rear mirror. Though he felt pity for them but he still skillfully started the car and quickly dashed out of the street.


    Bai Yi sat in his own car and Woolf was also inside the car. Only Ballent, Santos and his family were in that goods vehicle.


    The streets were in a mess, many people were escaping in a panic when they saw the monsters that suddenly appeared. However, the more you panic the easier it is for you to make mistakes. By now the street was completely blocked and it was impossible to drive through.


    Bai Yi had no choice but to do an emergency brake when he was about to have a collision. Damn it! It can¡¯t be that we are stuck here? Bai Yi did not think the group of them could escape from these monsters with just their legs. At this moment, Bai Yi saw a big truck and the flimsy shops at the side.


    ¡°Momo, get down! Woolf follow me!¡± Bai Yi told Momo and then opened the car door and ran out.


    Momo is very smart, she immediately opened the door and followed Bai Yi and Sharpei followed intelligently behind too. Only Woolf blanked out for a moment and only started moving when he saw Bai Yi making his way for the truck.


    At this time, the 3 cars behind also stopped. All of them stared at the congregating monsters behind them, intense fear creeping into their hearts. Just what are these monsters, we aren¡¯t acting in a monster movie!


    Bai Yi opened the truck¡¯s door, pushed Momo up and then climbed onto the driver¡¯s seat. Woolf this time was also quick witted and sat in the passenger seat. Bai Yi gave a quick check, sure enough the driver of this truck ran away in a hurry and did not take out the key.


    Bai Yi gave a breath of relief and then started the truck.


    ¡°Momo, grab my back!¡± Bai Yi said, then drove the truck boldly towards the shops and smashed into them. These shops were not too thick but were not too thin as well, they were only there for the sake making the sale of ingredients more convenient. The quality of the buildings was definitely incomparable to normal apartments meant for living. If a normal car crashed into it then the car would probably be destroyed, but it was a different story for a big truck.


    The truck shook violently and the shops obstructing in front collapsed. The big truck carried on with its momentum and continued smashing through towards the outside.


    Yu Han and the rest were astonished at this scene but instantly reacted. Without anybody giving instructions, Hong Qi Hua started the car and followed behind the big truck, heading towards the outside. There can be no hesitation now, they must fight for the slightest chance to live. Since Bai Yi already opened a path for them, they must treasure this chance and follow closely.


    The few cars burst out from the collapsed buildings and finally made it to a highway.

 Chapter 9

    New Zealand is a big country with sparse population, resulting in a lot of space so the highways were built to be more spacious. Even though there were a few accidents on the road, it was still possible to drive through. Bai Yi didn¡¯t dare to stop, driving the car along the expressway and heading southeast. Everyone was still in shock from what happened just now. We actually made it, we actually made it!


    The car sped towards the urban district in the southeast side and everyone felt like they had a new lease of life after the calamity.


    However, in an instant this kind of mood turned for the worse. Bai Yi, who was driving the big truck in front suddenly swerved and tried to stop. Even so, the truck still went into a giant concave hole in front of them. The few cars following behind were also alarmed and they stopped, realising that the floor suddenly started moving. A round, two meters plus wide mouth suddenly rose from underground and the sharp teeth inside constantly rotated and grinded.


    Looking at the unfamiliar and sinister monster in front of them, everyone was stunned.


    What the fuck is that thing?!


    Even the most demure girl would curse in her heart at this time.


    Great Devil Snake ¨C Fused genes unknown, highly probable to be a mutated creature. Length ranges from 20 to 40 meters, the head is a circular mouth with countless sharp teeth inside, looking just like a meat grinder. Around the head are a few tentacles that have mouths of their own, as well as weak light sensitive organs to detect the presence of other organisms.


    Great Devil Snake is just a general term of reference, God knows how many similar creatures those researchers made.


    When Yu Han saw the Great Devil Snake, he immediately knew that going forward absolutely meant death. He unhesitatingly reversed the car and tried to escape the other way. However, the cars following behind were also trying to escape from the monsters coming from the north. Those cars didn¡¯t stop and they crashed into each other. Yu Han¡¯s car only managed to reverse by dozens of meters before crashing into the other cars. He was lucky that he was sitting in front or else he would have been squashed into meat paste.


    ¡°Fuck!¡± Yu Han forcefully opened the car door and brought his katana with him.


    ¡°This way!¡± At this time, the others also got out of the car and Hong Qi Hua shouted towards the rest of them.


    Everyone could see that both the path in front and behind were completely blocked. The road in front was ruined by the Great Devil Snake and impossible to cross. The cars colliding also caused the road behind to be blocked. At this moment, everyone was panicking and without any idea of what to do. Since somebody took the lead and said to run in that direction, everyone looked in the direction that Hong Qi Hua pointed to and ran towards it.


    Running at the very back was Gan Zhi Ming, he very quickly got caught by the Great Devil Snake and was swallowed in one month. The monster¡¯s mouth filled with rings of teeth squeezed shut¡­a meat grinder! His scream was cut short and Gan Zhiming was grinded into meat paste.


    Hearing the scream, everybody shivered and summoned every last ounce of energy to run for their lives.


    All of them thought that Bai Yi¡¯s group was finished. They even fell into the hole that the Great Devil Snake came out from, how could they be alive? However, when the Great Devil Snake was chasing the rest, a sharpei dog suddenly ran out with Momo on its back. Following behind were the two guys Bai Yi and Woolf.


    Coming into close proximity, Bai Yi and Woolf could smell the terrifying stench coming from the Great Devil Snake¡¯s body. Nobody had a deeper and more personal experience than them being suffocated by the stench.


    ¡°Sharpei, take Momo and run, hurry!¡± Bai Yi shouted at Sharpei.


    Sharpei was already sprinting from the start, it was very smart and followed Hong Qi Hua and did not run around thoughtlessly. Of course, Bai Yi and Woolf were also running, but they were also paying attention to the Great Devil Snake¡¯s movements. Sure enough, it immediately discovered the ¡®food¡¯ that came out from the metal lumps and stretched a tentacle over.


    Although it¡¯s called a tentacle, it was at least as thick as a person¡¯s forearm. Even smaller tentacles grew from that tentacle and similarly the smaller tentacles had large mouths dripping with saliva.


    ¡°JUMP!¡± Bai Yi roared.


    Woolf followed Bai Yi¡¯s words faithfully and threw himself forward and the tentacle instantly passed right over his back. The hard ground was pierced like tofu by the tentacle and it went down and then back up again, viciously biting towards Bai Yi.


    ¡°Fuck you, die!¡±


    Bai Yi grew vicious and when the tentacle stretched over again, he abruptly turned around and hacked with the chopper in his hands. ¡®Kacha!¡¯ The chopper didn¡¯t even manage to cut 1cm into the tentacle! This action only served to enrage the great devil snake and it let out an ear-piercing roar. At the same time, the main mouth of the Great Devil Snake approached from another direction. Woolf stumbled while running and almost ran inside the giant mouth.


    Woolf could see in front of him the flesh and blood from an unlucky guy stuck inside the mouth and numerous sharp teeth!


    At the last moment, Bai Yi pulled Woolf from behind and with a ¡®kacha!¡¯ the giant mouth closed, practically brushing against Woolf¡¯s body. Smelling the obnoxious stench from the teeth in front of him, Woolf felt goose bumps rise all over his body.


    ¡°This way!¡±


    Bai Yi grabbed Woolf and pulled him towards a lobby of an unknown building. Both of them were acting instinctually and did not think about where they were going. Moreover, the Great Devil Snake seemed to have locked on to Bai Yi as an enemy that injured it. It immediately chased after them and the lobby echoed with a series of crashing noises.


    ¡°Faster!¡±


    Bai Yi and Woolf ran for their lives up the stairs and at the same time running with them were the people who were initially in the building. What white collared workers, elites of society, none of it counted for anything now. All of them were scared to the point of peeing themselves, only wishing that they could grow two more legs to run with.


    Fuck, how could you not run! To chase Bai Yi, the Great Devil Snake revealed half of its body. Just the diameter of the snake was more than 1 meter and its length was more than 20 meters. The head was a circular hole with countless teeth rotating and grinding inside and five tentacles as thick as a forearm surrounded it. Countless tiny centipede-like legs like grew from all over its body and no matter how it was looked at, it was just disgusting and sinister. With a pounce from the snake, a big chunk of the building was bitten off like a piece of tofu.


    ¡°Ahhh¡­ !¡± Woolf was slower by a bit and the staircase underneath him was bitten off by the Great Devil Snake. All of a sudden, it was just empty air below his feet and he started to fall.


    If he fell, it would basically spell his death. However, Woolf suddenly felt a grip on his hand and realised that Bai Yi had caught him in the nick of time.


    ¡°You bastard, don¡¯t die!¡± Bai Yi scolded him, but Woolf felt that there were no better sounding words in the world.


    The two of them frantically ran up the building. At times like this, things like thinking of an escape route was all meaningless, running away from this terrifying monster was the priority. At first, the Great Devil Snake just followed the two of them up the stairs, but very quickly it discovered that this method was too slow and changed to a different method.


    Boring a hole!


    The entire building became like a toy for the Great Devil Snake. When the gigantic mouth bit down, the sturdy building would instantly have a big hole appear and this guy would use the hole to go around the sides of the building, constantly spiralling around the building to chase upwards. Only now could everybody see the full figure of this monster.


    A diameter of roughly 2 meters and a length exceeding 30 meters. In front of it was a sinister head and from its body grew countless thin legs that looked like centipedes wriggling around. There was a fork at its tail and at the end of it were two long stingers. The snake burrowed in and out of the building, moving upwards in a spiral motion revealing its entire figure. The people in the surrounding area were shocked into a daze looking at this monster.


    ¡°This¡­what the fuck is that thing?¡± Qin Kai Rui and the rest were on another street, looking at the Great Devil Snake spiralling around the tall building. All of them were staring dumbly with wide open eyes, muttering meaningless questions from their mouths.


    ¡°Who cares what is that thing, run away first!¡± Yu Han didn¡¯t want to stay here and wait for his death.


    ¡°Daddy, I want daddy¡­ wuuuuuuuu.¡± Momo laid on Sharpei¡¯s back, crying sorrowfully.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t come out? At first, they thought that Bai Yi had come out, but with Momo¡¯s crying everyone¡¯s hearts dimmed. Hong Qi Hua hugged Momo tightly and did not say anything. At this time, no matter how much confidence they had in him, all of them felt like Bai Yi and Woolf would not be able to escape death. No ordinary person can live after facing this kind of monster.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Momo, but your dad probably isn¡¯t coming back anymore, let¡¯s just leave quickly.¡± Yu Han creased his eyebrows and told Momo.


    ¡°How can you say things like that!¡± Tang Ping immediately criticised.


    ¡°What I say is none of your business, I only spoke the truth. These monsters came from the north and we do not know how many of them there are. Do you think that this place is safe? If you want to die, then carry on staying here. I will not accompany you.¡± Yu Han said coldly and looked towards Hong Qi Hua.


    ¡°Go!¡± Hong Qi Hua immediately carried Momo and ran in front.


    Unexpectedly, of all the people here only Yu Han and Hong Qihua were extremely decisive. Yu Han was an ordinary person, and Hong Qihua from the looks of it was also a quiet and introverted girl, there was nothing particularly outstanding about them. However, in reality, the majority of people would only be able to show their brilliance under special circumstances and in special times.


    With somebody leading, nobody else continued to stand around. There was no meaning in them continuing to stay here other than becoming food for the monsters.


    Momo was carried by Hong Qihua, her small hand pointing towards the building and wailing non-stop. Hong Qihua stretched out a hand to gently stroke Momo¡¯s head, a trace of sadness flashing past her eyes. Behind the group, the building crumbled under Great Devil Snake¡¯s destruction.

 Chapter 10

    ¡°Shh!¡± Bai Yi put his finger to his lips, hiding at a hidden location at the 10th floor with Woolf. The Great Devil Snake let out a few sharp roars, being especially unhappy due to losing the two of them. It continued to burrow everywhere around the building in search of them. Bai Yi and Woolf were so anxious that they felt that their hearts were at their throats, in fear of being found by the monster.


    All of a sudden, their bodies shook and the floor gradually started to tilt.


    OH! OHHHH¡­FUCKKKK!


    The two of them looked at each other and Woolf¡¯s eyes were full of despair. Due to the Great Devil Snake burrowing in and out of the building, the supporting pillars broke and now the 20 plus floors above started to tilt slowly towards the east. The two of them were still at a height of 10 floors, if it falls then other than death the only other thing awaiting them was still death.


    100% chance of death!


    Neither wanting nor willing to just die like this, Bai Yi grew ruthless and resolute in his heart and suddenly pointed to the window at the west side.


    ¡°Follow what I do later, our chance of escaping isn¡¯t high but I will not die like this.¡± Bai Yi said softly, revealing unyielding determination in his eyes. Bai Yi did not look at Woolf but paid attention to the Great Devil Snake who was still causing destruction. The more chaotic the world became, the more Bai Yi didn¡¯t want to die like this. Momo is only 4 years old, if he wasn¡¯t there to take care of her then how is she going to survive in this chaotic world?


    Woolf looked at Bai Yi in surprise. Even at this time you still have not given up hope on living?


    Silently nodding his head, Woolf waited for Bai Yi¡¯s signal.


    Bai Yi stared silently at the tilting floor. When the angle reached 30 degrees, he pointed at the west side of the building which is now tilted upwards.


    ¡°Run!¡±


    With a single word, Bai Yi and Woolf immediately ran towards the west side. The building was quite big, there were 30 plus stories to it and the area of each floor was rather large as well. The two of them did all they could to sprint to the window at the west side while the floor had already slanted to a 45 degree angle. Along the way, Bai Yi grabbed a chair on the floor and violently smashed it against a window on the west side wall.


    With a crash the glass window shattered!


    ¡°Get out and run upwards!¡± Bai Yi said and climbed out first. He then ran on the slanted wall towards the east side. With the building continuously tilting towards the east, the initial vertical wall became more and more horizontal. Woolf did not expect Bai Yi to be so crazy to think of this idea. As for why he did not head downwards, the part that broke was between the 9th and 10th floor so there was no way to get down from there.


    Woolf felt that the entire world was going crazy but he was no exception, the two of them panted heavily and frantically sprinted towards the top of the building. At this time, the tilting of the building became more and more severe and almost hit the floor.


    ¡°Jump!¡± Bai Yi¡¯s voice was already somewhat hoarse.


    Woolf did not think of anything but when he heard Bai Yi¡¯s voice the two of them jumped up with all their strength.


    With a huge boom, the broken part of the building crashed onto the ground, the entire building shook tremendously and all the glass on it shattered. If the person was observant, he would notice that although the two of them did not jump too high, but it was just enough to escape contact with the building¡¯s walls. That small gap allowed the two of them to avoid the moment of impact where the building crashed into the floor.


    With not even a second of air time they landed again. Bai Yi stumbled and fell on top of the wall, rolling towards the east side. That location was originally the top floor, but now it has fallen to the ground. Woolf was not much better, rolling downwards with Bai Yi.


    The two of them could not control their momentum and were only able to roll continuously towards the edge. Along the way, countless glass shards cut into their bodies and left numerous injuries.


    Suddenly, Bai Yi felt his body lose its weight and abruptly fell off the side of the building. At this moment, he was still 4-5 stories away from the ground.


    However, a hand suddenly appeared and grabbed Bai Yi, Woolf revealed his big face that was full of cuts and blood.


    ¡°Hahahaha, we are even now.¡± Woolf laughed and told Bai Yi.


    ¡°Fuck, you can still laugh, hahaha¡­¡± Bai Yi looked like he was scolding Woolf, but as he spoke he started laughing as well. No matter what, they were still alive now, their luck seemed to be quite good.


    Bai Yi managed to climb up with the help of Woolf¡¯s right hand and returned to the surface of the wall. Without waiting for Woolf to say anything, Bai Yi covered his mouth and told Woolf in a soft voice: ¡°quietly!¡±


    The Great Devil Snake completely lost track of the two of them after destroying the entire building. At this moment, that guy was still burrowing in and out of the building not far away. Luckily it had its butt facing the two of them, if it was the head and they were to be found now, even Bai Yi had no confidence that they could escape.


    The two of them headed towards the tip of the building which was now in shambles after smashing on the ground.


    To climb down from a height of 4-5 stories without the help of any tools, this was something the two of them would not even dare to think about before. However after experiencing the building collapsing they felt like it was just a trivial matter now. At the end, though the two of them were in a sorry state they managed to safely reach the ground from the collapsed building. Only now did Woolf feel his legs go soft, but they did not have time to stop and rest.


    Only when they were far enough that the building was no longer in their sights did Bai Yi and Woolf stop, panting heavily for air. At this time, Bai Yi took out his phone only to see that it was reduced to a few broken parts. However, Bai Yi still retrieved his SIM card and quickly searched a corpse that was lying nearby for his phone. Nowadays, almost everyone had a phone, finding a replacement was quite easy.


    Switching the SIM card, Bai Yi immediately dialled Momo¡¯s number.


    At the other side, Hong Qi Hua was carrying Momo while escaping when Momo¡¯s phone suddenly rang.


    ¡°Momo, where are you now?¡±


    ¡°Daddy! Daddy is still alive! Wuuuuuuuu!¡± When Momo heard Bai Yi¡¯s voice she became excited again.


    Still alive! Hong Qi Hua and the people around her got a shock. Bai Yi actually managed to survive in that kind of situation, should I say that he has a tough life or that he has a tough life? Seeing Momo having signs of continuing to cry, Hong Qi Hua immediately took the phone from Momo.


    ¡°Uncle Bai, we are running towards the south, intending to go to Ohaupo.¡± Hong Qi Hua said.


    ¡°This voice, so its Qi Hua. I will have to rely on you to take care of Momo. I will rush over asap, keep in contact.¡± When Bai Yi heard this voice, his heart eased slightly. If Momo still has somebody familiar with her then it wasn¡¯t too bad. Now was not the time to talk so after a few words and deciding on the meeting location Bai Yi hung up the call.


    After the call, Bai Yi discovered that Woolf had already found a car. Bai Yi smiled to Woolf and gave each other a high-five to celebrate their successful escape. Afterwards, the two of them got onto the car and with Woolf as the driver headed towards Ohaupo.


    Along the way, anybody they met was frantically running, apparently the news of monsters appearing on Hamilton¡¯s north side had spread. On the road, Bai Yi got Woolf to stop a few times to pick up food that people have left behind. These people ran away in such a panic that they even left food behind. Bai Yi would not do something like this especially in such a critical situation, he knew how hard it was to bear that extreme hunger.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Stop the car, stop the car!¡± When they were reaching the highway, a skinny middle-aged man waved by the side of the road. However, everyone was frantically trying to escape from the north side, why would anybody bother about him? Quite a few times the man almost got knocked down instead. When the man was about to despair, all of a sudden a small car stopped in front of him. The man stunned for a moment and then reacted, excitedly walking to the car door.


    ¡°Get on.¡± Bai Yi opened the car door and said to the man.


    ¡°Thanks a lot! My name is Martin, Martin Anderson!¡± This guy introduced while squeezing himself beside the pile of food in the car.


    ¡°I am Bai Yi, he¡¯s called Woolf.¡±


    ¡°Really so grateful to you guys, those bastards really have no sympathy, none of them stopped for me. None of them realised that saving me was better than running away blindly in such a chaotic manner. Unless they managed to escape out of New Zealand, the only possible end waiting for them is death.¡± Martin started rambling after getting on the car.


    At first Bai Yi did not pay much attention to it, but when Martin said those words his heart suddenly grew suspicious. What did this guy mean? Does he know the reason behind the changes and the appearance of monsters in New Zealand?


    ¡°Hi Martin, could you explain it clearer, what do you mean when you said that the only thing waiting for them is death if they could not escape out of New Zealand?¡±


    ¡°Bai Yi, you are really smart, as repayment for saving me I will tell you guys some things.¡±


    ¡°I am one of the researchers for the Northern Hamilton Research Facility. You¡¯re not sure of which facility is that? It doesn¡¯t matter, you will find out very soon. See those monsters? You are right, those monsters all came from the Northern Hamilton Research Facility, a total of 3311 of them.¡± Martin said composedly, while Woolf got a fright and slammed on the brake hard.


    With a ¡®dong¡¯, Martin¡¯s head hit the seat in front and he gave a cry of pain.


    ¡°Bastard, how do you drive like this!¡±


    ¡°How I drive is none of your business! You said that those monsters were created by you guys?!¡± Woolf questioned back rudely. Seeing that the two of them had signs of quarrelling, Bai Yi stretched out his hand to stop the two of them.


    ¡°Woolf, focus on driving in case those monsters catch up with us. Martin, tell us everything you know, absolutely everything.¡± Bai Yi¡¯s voice became colder.


    Woolf now was quite willing to follow Bai Yi¡¯s words, and though Martin wanted to retort, the words in his mouth got stuck upon seeing Bai Yi¡¯s bloodshot eyes.

 Chapter 11

    Martin¡¯s insider information was about the series of events following the super-rich Carma Dovich and his quest for longevity. At first, it was only Carma Dovich who sought longevity, but very soon the same desire took over the entire world.


    Plenty of civilizations in history had tried to achieve longevity. For example, the old Qin dynasty from China looked for the immortal island, Egypt had its pyramids and various other historical remains are evidence of humans seeking the path to longevity. However, very sadly, from our point of view these people undoubtedly failed as none of them truly acquired long life. Hence, most people felt that it was impossible.


    On the other hand, some people just didn¡¯t accept it. Moreover, with all the technological advancements, maybe humans really could find some way to achieve longevity?


    When a civilization reaches the peak of its time, it will start having thoughts of longevity. This time is no exception. However, this time, it was not just a single civilization but the entire world.


    _______________________________________________


    ¡°I was invited to take part in the research 4 years ago, but only after I joined did I realise what was being researched in the lab. At that time, I wanted to leave, but I could no longer do so. I didn¡¯t have a chance; although the experiments were extremely cruel,they were something all 195 countries of the world secretly supported.¡± Martin became silent for a while, then started explaining in a low tone.


    ¡°If it was not for those damnable experimental subjects escaping, I would not have had the chance to escape as well. You guys should know, although I had the qualifications to participate in the research, I had no freedom to enter or leave so as to prevent information from leaking.¡±


    ¡°Those damnable experimental subjects you were talking about are human beings!¡±


    ¡°Not just humans, animals are also able to accommodate activated cells. However, I can only say that a portion of them¡­were humans! If I did not do anything, I would very quickly become one of them, fused with genes from other organisms and then transformed into a hideous monster.¡± Martin shrugged his shoulders and said indifferently. After seeing so much, he wasn¡¯t really surprised by these matters anymore.


    ¡°Monster?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Although the research in activated cells was successful, there was a huge side effect: the ability to fuse genes.¡± Martin did not hide anything at this point, telling them everything that he knew.


    ¡­¡­


    Gene Fusion Capability:


    Other than the activated capabilities of the cells, one huge side effect of activated cells was that they had a powerful gene fusion capability. If an organism that contained activated cells came into contact with fluids from other organisms, it would begin to undergo gene fusion.


    This gene fusion capability coupled with consumption of large amounts of food results in evolved lifeforms experiencing big changes to their physical bodies. The number of times gene fusion can occur depends on the level of the activated cells, normally ranging from 1-9 times. The higher the level of the activated cells, the more times other genes could fuse into the body. The more genes fuse into the body, the number of times the physical body changed would increase as well, becoming further and further away from the initial physical shape.


    This was the origin of those monsters!


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Then what do you plan to do now?¡± Bai Yi wanted scold him really badly now but endured the urge in the end. Since Martin knew so much, he definitely could not run around as he wished.


    ¡°I am only a researcher. Although I did participate in this matter, I had limited power. Two days ago, everyone suddenly started experiencing extreme hunger. Though we did not know what happened, there was only one possibility: activated cells had occupied our bodies. I did not want to become a monster, so I intended to look for the drug to regain human form. I overheard by chance that the research facility inside Tongariro National Park was researching the drug,¡± Martin said, looking at Bai Yi.


    ¡°This guy, are you trying to get us to go with you?¡±


    ¡°Haha¡­¡± Martin laughed awkwardly but did not deny it.


    ¡°You guessed it, I have no confidence to reach there alone, so I wanted to look for some reliable companions.¡± After Martin was seen through, he did not feel awkward but casually shrugged his shoulders instead.


    ¡°You are so confident that we will follow you?¡±


    ¡°Ha, Bai, Bai Yi, do you think I am joking? Nobody knows the power of activated cells better than us researchers. Maybe you guys haven¡¯t realised it yet, but you have already fused with genes from other organisms, be it through coming into contact with them or consuming their meat. The hunger started from the 23rd; by the 26th at the latest you will be able to see for yourself the changes in people. When you guys start transforming into monsters, you will definitely follow me.¡± Martin said while smiling.


    ¡°You!¡±


    If Martin wasn¡¯t lying, then they definitely did not want to become monsters. Going to the research facility in Tongariro National Park and finding the drug to regain their human form was their only choice, even if it was extremely dangerous. In any case, they were currently heading towards the southeast now, so in conclusion¡­they would wait and see. Everything would be discussed when they met up with the group of students.


    ______________________________________________


    Only on the night of the 25th did Bai Yi manage to meet up with the rest at the Memorial Park in Ohaupo. Although they knew that Bai Yi and Woolf had escaped from the Great Devil Snake, seeing the two men in front of them again still caused everybody to be extremely surprised. When they left, they briefly saw two people being chased up the building, how did they manage to survive?


    ¡°Daddy, Daddy, wuuuuuuuu.¡± The instant Momo saw Bai Yi, she immediately ran over and hugged his leg tightly, refusing to let go no matter what. Sharpei also came over and ran around Bai Yi, sticking out its tongue. Bai Yi consoled Momo for a while then walked towards the center.


    ¡°Thank you so much for taking care of Momo.¡± Bai Yi said to Hong Qi Hua and the others, then saw that they were now eating their food. Everybody¡¯s food was not placed together but instead was rationed out and held in their own hands. Was the food insufficient now? They had started to distribute food to each person.


    Originally Bai Yi wanted to move the food from the car down, but all of a sudden, he looked at Momo.


    ¡°Where is Momo and Sharpei¡¯s share?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°Over there.¡± Huo Qiu Yang pointed at a plate on top of a stone stool, on top of which was Momo¡¯s unfinished food.


    With Bai Yi¡¯s knowledge of cooking, he could immediately tell that the food inside the plate was the least tasty part and low in nutrition. Moreover, there was only 1 portion.


    ¡°Momo is just a child, how can she eat as much as us? Sharpei is also just a dog, letting the two of them count as one is quite appropriate.¡± Huo Qiu Yang said, as if giving Momo and Sharpei one portion of food was already doing a good deed.


    ¡°Oh so it¡¯s like that.¡± Bai Yi said coldly and carried that plate of food over.


    Any bit of food was extremely important now, and this was also what Momo should have gotten; Bai Yi was not one to be willful and reject it. After taking the food over, Bai Yi stroked Momo¡¯s head. ¡°It¡¯s ok, Daddy brought quite a lot of food here. I¡¯ll make a feast for Momo.¡±


    After saying that, Bai Yi brought out quite a few ingredients from the car as well as a simple stove. Now that they were outdoors, cooking wouldn¡¯t be as convenient as in their homes with a fully equipped kitchen. Even so, Bai Yi still had ways to make food delicious. Huo Qiu Yang was stunned upon seeing this; who knew that Bai Yi would come here at this time, bringing the thing that everybody needed.


    Smelling the aroma coming from the stove, all of them instantly regretted their decision. The food that they made was only barely able to be considered ¡®cooked food¡¯. It was like the difference between heaven and earth when compared to the food that Bai Yi cooked. The most crucial thing was that Bai Yi seemed to be pissed over the original distribution of food.


    Although Bai Yi was angry, he did not really intend to eat everything by himself. In the end, Momo was just a little girl. If they hadn¡¯t helped, she would not have been able to make it to this relatively safe place in that chaotic situation where everybody was busy running for lives. Moreover, even though some among them were more annoying, the rest of them were still his friends.


    ¡°Come and eat together.¡± Bai Yi said to the group after he finished preparing the food.


    The few of them who were planning how to repair relations with Bai Yi in their hearts felt quite embarrassed. Only Hong Qi Hua and a few others were calmer and walked directly towards him. Bai Yi¡¯s words opened a hole in the quiet and awkward atmosphere, causing the atmosphere to be not so silent anymore. When the group of them started to eat quietly, conversation also gradually started to flow.


    ¡°Uncle Bai, how did you run away? We almost got frightened to death seeing that monster from afar!¡± Khina asked curiously. This was also the question that the others were curious about.


    ¡°Actually, it wasn¡¯t anything much.¡± Bai Yi did not say more and continued cooking. The conditions here weren¡¯t good, so it required more patience to cook well.


    Although Bai Yi didn¡¯t bother saying anything, Woolf held nothing back. Honestly, thinking about the scenes from before, he still felt his knees go weak, but it was also because of this that he felt especially proud in his heart. Hell, living for dozens of years, his entire life did not add up to be as thrilling as today. Most importantly, he managed to survive in end.


    Woolf described the situation they were in before. Upon hearing that Bai Yi got the two of them to run up the wall, everybody was so shocked that they could not close their mouths. That was too daring! Who would have known that the two of them could survive from that kind of dangerous situation! After Woolf finished his story proudly, even though everybody knew that there was bound to be some exaggeration in his story, they begun to look at Bai Yi with more respect.


    Even Martin didn¡¯t expect Bai Yi and Woolf to be so daring and escape the mouth of the Great Devil Snake. Martin knew the Great Devil Snake was a mutated experimental subject; among all the evolved experimental subjects, its strength was one of the highest.


    Upon seeing this scene, Yu Han felt a bit of jealousy in his heart.


    It must feel nice being respected and trusted, if only it was me in that position. Being able to react calmly when facing danger, planning in a clear and orderly manner, and being strong were the conditions for getting people to follow you. Yu Han knew the only thing he could do was to feel jealous, if there were no big changes¡­his place in the world would just remain the same.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about all this, we need to discuss the next truly important matter.¡± Bai Yi clapped his hands and attracted the attention of everybody around him.


    Truly important matter?


    Everyone stood there confused for a while. The initially lively atmosphere gradually cooled and they looked at Bai Yi with their minds full of questions.

 Chapter 12

    ¡°Before we start discussing this matter, I want to introduce somebody.¡± Bai Yi pointed to Martin and said, ¡°This is Martin Anderson, one of the researchers from Northern Hamilton Research Facility. He knows the cause behind our hunger and the appearance of those monsters.¡±


    Everybody was shocked and their eyes instantly changed once they heard what Bai Yi said. So there really was a reason behind the current state of New Zealand?


    _____________________________________________________________


    LV0: Nascent Stage ¨C when activated cells successfully infect ordinary humans, animals or plants.


    Activated Cells: Extracted from devil algae, a special type of cells that were successfully developed in the Progenitor¡¯s body after millions of attempts to create them via nuclear radiation. Activated cells have strong assimilating power, once they successfully infect a host and get awakened, they will start to transform the original host body¡¯s cells into activated cells and grant them activated capabilities.


    Activated Capabilities: The ability to produce a type of energy that is different from normal biological energy. This energy is referred to as special energy.


    Regardless of whether they¡¯re from legends, myths, animes or novels, those who have long lives or great strength all possessed some form or multiple forms of special energy. These energies are commonly referred to as magic, spiritual energy, qi, etc. These energies and the biological energy that supports life are different, so they are referred to as special energies by humans.


    Awakening: Activated cells are normally in a dormant state, but it is easy to awaken them. All it requires is for the host body to be healthy and have sufficient nutrients for the activated cells to consume.


    LV1-1: Binging Stage ¨C when activated cells have been successfully awakened, they will start to assimilate the normal cells in the host body and furiously produce special energy. At this stage, the nutrients in the body will be rapidly depleted. The host will feel unimaginably hungry and will require large amounts of food for sustenance. Evolved lifeforms at this stage will go around looking for food, eating anything and everything, thereby entering the Binging stage.


    Gene Fusion: Activated cells have powerful gene fusion capability. If lifeforms at the binging stage come into contact with fluids from other lifeforms, they will start to fuse genes from the other lifeforms to their own genes.


    During the Binging stage, due to the large consumption of food and the newly formed gene fusion abilities, the physical bodies of evolved lifeforms change greatly. The number of times gene fusion occurs is determined by the level of the activated cells, normally ranging from 1-9 times. The higher the level of the activated cells, the more times gene fusion can occur; the more times gene fusion occurs, the more times the physical body will undergo changes, straying further away from the initial physical shape.


    Moreover, due to the production of special energy, these evolved lifeforms now possess greater strength and speed. However, they are unable to manifest the energy externally.


    _____________________________________________________________


    ¡°Activated cells have levels too, normally ranging from LV1-LV9. The number of times gene fusion can occur corresponds to the level of the activated cells, up to a maximum of 9 times. With multiple gene fusions coupled with a great amount of food intake, the changes to a lifeform becomes even greater, eventually turning it into a monster! Most importantly, even if the activated cells did not come from the Progenitor but from other evolved lifeforms that came after, they have the same ability to infect other organisms.¡± Everybody subconsciously swallowed their saliva after hearing what Martin said.


    This can¡¯t be true, isn¡¯t a chain infection like this the same as those zombie outbreaks in the movies?


    ¡°What about corpses?¡± Bai Yi suddenly asked. The scariest part about zombie outbreaks is not the ease of infection but the reanimation of corpses.


    ¡°It¡¯s not possible for corpses.¡± Martin shook his head.


    ¡°If corpses cannot be infected, then it means that they can still be killed. That also means that activated cells have 3 main capabilities: 1. Activated Capability, the ability to assimilate normal cells and produce special energy. 2. Gene Fusion Capability, the ability to fuse genes from other lifeforms that come into contact with the host. 3. Reinfection Capability.¡± Bai Yi came to a conclusion and then closed his eyes to think.


    ¡°What nonsense is this special energy! Have you read too many novels? Who here can actually feel such a thing?¡± Huo Qiu Yang said mockingly.


    Although the rest felt that Huo Qiu Yang¡¯s attitude was quite rude, they did not disagree with his words. In truth, nobody could feel any kind of special energy within them, not to mention energies like spiritual energy or qi in novels.


    ¡°You think that I¡¯m joking? With just pure bodily strength, do you think those monsters can be that strong?¡± Martin retorted, as if he was angry at being doubted.


    ¡°I did not lie, activated cells were created for the sake of producing special energy. The reason why you are unable to feel it now is because you have not reached that stage yet. It is just like how everybody is able to use their physical strength, and everybody knows that they have biological energy inside their bodies, but who can feel it? Who can control the biological energy inside their bodies? Some people may be very strong physically, but that is just a passive usage of biological energy. Can they use and control their biological energy as they wish?¡± Martin looked at the confused expressions on their faces and continued explaining.


    ¡°Only after entering the LV2 Metamorphose Stage and obtaining the Absolute Life Field can evolved lifeforms and humans actively control the special energy inside their bodies.¡± Martin explained.


    ¡°LV2, Absolute Life Field?¡±


    ¡°That refers to the level of evolved life forms. This isn¡¯t like the simple levels you see in a game, but something decided upon based on the changes of the evolved lifeforms. Currently, in the research facility, the lifeforms that evolved the fastest are now at LV2 Metamorphose Stage. I heard that after reaching LV2, you will possess an Absolute Life Field and gain the ability to actively manipulate the special energy inside your body. Of course, this is just what I heard. I have never seen it before since I am not a core researcher.¡± Martin shrugged his shoulders at this point.


    ¡°Can you tell us the detailed breakdown of the levels of evolved lifeforms?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    LV0 ¨C Nascent Stage


    ¡ô[Awakening]


    LV1-1 ¨C Binging Stage


    LV1-2 ¨C Brutal Stage


    LV1-3 ¨C Hypersomnia Stage


    ¡ô[Metamorphosis]


    LV2 ¨C Metamorphose Stage


    In the end, Martin only said the names. Other than the LV0 Nascent Stage and LV1-1 Binging Stage, he did not know the meaning behind the other names.


    ¡°Tsk, why don¡¯t you know anything.¡±


    ¡°If I knew everything, then I wouldn¡¯t be just a side researcher; I¡¯d be a core researcher. Hmph, no matter what, I still know more than you guys.¡± Martin retorted. Huo Qiu Yang and the rest were pissed at his words but couldn¡¯t find a reason to retort; he really did know more than them.


    Everyone was deep in thought. After a while, Yu Han asked, ¡°Bai Yi, are you sure this guy isn¡¯t joking around?¡±


    ¡°Joking? I also wish that I was just joking, damn it. I really hope that this is all just a joke.¡± After hearing what Yu Han said, Martin¡¯s expression went a bit crazy.


    ¡°Listen well, this is absolutely not a joke. Although I do not know what happened, the Progenitor¡¯s activated cells have already been completely proliferated. Almost everybody in New Zealand has been infected; if we do not do anything, then we will also become monsters like the ones we saw before. While you guys were unaware, I¡¯m afraid all of you have already fused with a few genes from other lifeforms.¡± Martin said with a slightly malevolent expression.


    ¡°I still don¡¯t believe you¡­¡±


    ¡°You are a pig head, stupid and stubborn! Let¡¯s do it this way. From the experiments in the research facility, it normally takes 3 days to start seeing changes in the host body due to infection and gene fusion. Today is the evening of the 25th. We can rest nearby for a night, and you will know if I am telling the truth tomorrow.¡± Martin said after scolding them with a few words.


    It was impossible for him to go to Tongariro National Park to look for the drug to regain human form alone, and this group of students from Waikato University seemed to be a good team.


    ¡°I won¡¯t believe it no matter what!¡± Qin Kai Rui blurted out.


    ¡°Hmph!¡± Martin couldn¡¯t be bothered to say any more.


    ¡°Actually, I think that going back to our country is not a bad idea. If you saw the recent news, only New Zealand was affected by these issues. If we go back to our country, there will definitely be sufficient food and a safe place to stay,¡± Huo Qiu Yang said, looking at the rest expectantly. The majority of them instantly agreed with this suggestion; the prospect of going home seemed really good right now.


    Hong Qi Hua turned around and took out a laptop from the car. She then plugged in her wireless data dongle and started searching the internet.


    ¡°You are right. According to reports on the internet, only animals and humans in New Zealand experienced changes. The other countries are still very normal.¡±


    Huo Qiu Yang and the rest were wild with joy at the news, but Hong Qi Hua¡¯s next words poured cold water on their hearts.


    ¡°However, most countries in the world have announced that they will temporarily not accept any humans or animals from New Zealand. Any humans or animals discovered will be detained and quarantined,¡± Hong Qi Hua said calmly, lapsing into silence. She then placed her laptop on the stone table for everybody to see. Ever since escaping from the Food Market, it had been too hectic to check the latest news. Who would have expected that things would progress to this stage?


    Huo Qiu Yang and the rest immediately squeezed over and carefully read the news on the screen, their faces slowly darkening.


    ¡°Have we really been infected by some activated cells and other countries are afraid that the activated cells in our bodies will further spread the infection¡­¡± Huo Qiu Yang muttered.


    ¡°That¡¯s obviously the case. I told you guys that these experiments are secretly supported by the entire world!¡± Martin mocked.


    ¡°Ok that¡¯s enough, no more arguing.¡± Bai Yi stopped the rest who wanted to continue quarreling.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go with what Martin said first, we will rest here for the night. Other than that, although we do not feel anything like spiritual power or qi like in the novels, I can feel that my strength has increased a bit. It seems pretty ridiculous now that I think about how me and Woolf managed to escape from that monster. Our stamina shouldn¡¯t be that good.¡± Bai Yi raised an example.


    Bai Yi¡¯s words among the group had more weight behind them, and the example of him and Woolf escaping from the Great Devil Snake also made the rest believe Martin¡¯s words more.

 Chapter 13

    For the entire night, everyone felt as if there was an irrepressible restlessness in their bodies.


    Yu Han couldn¡¯t sleep well either. He would recall the snow-white body of Ning Xue once he closed his eyes and the image seem to become even clearer and more enticing. Speaking of which, although Khina was his girlfriend, they had never really done it before. She was always saying that she wanted to save it for marriage. Putting on airs when she wasn¡¯t even pretty¡­tch.


    ¡­¡­


    It was the 26th!


    Yu Han abruptly woke up, feeling extremely warm in his body. He couldn¡¯t help but to get up and walk to the mirror. With just a look, Yu Han was instantly at a loss for words; he immediately ripped apart the clothes on his body and meticulously observed the changes to his body.


    First came his eyes. His irises turned into slits like that of a snake and small, dense golden scales appeared around his eyes. When Yu Han stuck out his tongue, he found that the tip of his tongue had split and became a forked tongue. Other than that, pincers that looked like ants¡¯ mandibles appeared on the sides of his mouth, but they weren¡¯t too obvious yet. In addition, he felt that his body now contained explosive strength and he felt two small bumps on his back.


    ¡°Fuck,¡± Yu Han cursed softly.


    In reality, everyone already had some mental preparation ever since seeing Ning Xue¡¯s cat ears last night. However, seeing yourself transforming into a monster was still hard to accept for most. Yu Han stared at himself now and somehow, the more he looked, the uglier he became. In the end, he could only sigh helplessly and close his eyes.


    At this time, many panicky and frightened screams came from many of the other rooms.


    Yu Han didn¡¯t barge into any of the rooms this time but came to the living room alone and silently waited. In the group, he could be considered to be one of the more composed ones. In a short while, Bai Yi came with Momo and looked at Yu Han. Yu Han realised that Bai Yi had undergone some changes as well, but they weren¡¯t as huge as his. Around Bai Yi¡¯s eyes there were some colourful patterns and the color of his eyes changed to a complicated myriad of hues.


    When Bai Yi entered the living room, he saw Yu Han whose appearance had changed greatly. As expected¡­ What Martin said was really true!


    Not long after, the rest of the group slowly came down. However, Woolf, Qin Kai Rui, Ning Xue and a few others were all using things to cover their head, hiding their faces from the rest.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be that you guys changed into monsters as well?¡± Ning Xue softly said.


    Upon hearing that, the rest of them immediately tried to look at their faces, but other than Bai Yi and Yu Han, they were all trying to hide their appearances so they couldn¡¯t see anything. Woolf, upon seeing how indifferent Bai Yi was, finally decided to pull away the clothes covering his head and revealed his appearance ¨C a dog¡¯s head! Of course, it wasn¡¯t a complete dog head, but characteristics of a dog started to appear on his face and two small horns grew on the side of his head. They seemed to be cow horns.


    ¡°I was only playing around with my cat at home, why did I become like this?¡± Ning Xue also revealed her appearance. This time the change was even greater than that of last night and she had truly turned into a cat woman. Ning Xue¡¯s initially delicate face was mixed with a hint of wildness now, making her look even cuter than before.


    ¡°Don¡¯t, don¡¯t look at me!¡± Qin Kai Rui felt the others looking at him and spoke while hiding his face.


    ¡°Qin Kai Rui, what did you turn into?¡± Dai Yu Yao asked.


    Qin Kai Rui kept on trying to hide, but eventually sighed helplessly and removed the scarf around his head. Something like this could only be hidden for a moment, it was impossible to hide forever. Moreover, after a short period of time, everybody would become monsters as well, nobody would appear to stand out too much.


    Pig Head!


    Not in a figurative sense (TN: pig head means stupid/has the brain of a pig), but a true literal pig head. If we were to say that Ning Xue looked quite cute with her features of a cat, then Qin Kai Rui¡¯s features could only be described as ugly.


    ¡°Uncle Bai, what genes did you fuse, why can¡¯t I tell?¡± Dai Yu Yao asked.


    Woolf¡¯s dog head and cow horns, Yu Han¡¯s snake eyes and ant mandibles, Ning Xue¡¯s cat head, and Qin Kai Rui¡¯s pig head were all quite indicative of which animal¡¯s genes they fused with. However, for Bai Yi, although they could see some changes in him, it was just some faint patterns and colourful irises.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably butterflies; on the 23rd I brought Momo to the Butterfly Garden to look at butterflies and it was on that day that we discovered that we grew hungry very quickly.¡± Bai Yi explained.


    Once he said that, the rest suddenly realised that the patterns on Bai Yi¡¯s face resembled that of a butterfly, but why did his eyes turn so colourful? Moreover, Momo should have fused with butterfly genes as well, why weren¡¯t there any changes for her?


    ¡°Due to differences between people, even if they fused with the same genes, it is not necessary for them to have the same changes.¡± Martin stood out to explain. Nobody was dumb here, so a simple sentence was enough for them to understand.


    ¡°Martin, is there any way to not fuse with genes?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s actually rather simple, as long as you do not come into contact with fluids from other lifeforms and do not consume any raw food you will be fine. In other words, when eating, it¡¯s best if you consume thoroughly cooked food.¡± Martin explained. After Martin¡¯s explanation, the rest of them could more or less guess how the genes they fused with came about.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s do our own preparations, and then we will head to the research facility that Martin was talking about.¡± Bai Yi said


    This time there were no objections, but now there were problems when it came to allocating the cars. Other than Bai Yi and Woolf who sat in the same car, the rest of them did not want to sit together with Yu Han and the others who were transformed. Even if it was the normally lovable Ning Xue, nobody wanted to sit with her as they were afraid of being transformed into monsters as well. Ning Xue could only stare dumbly at them, her eyes starting to water.


    ¡°Come with me.¡± Yu Han held onto Ning Xue and went to the garage. The owner of this villa looked pretty rich so there probably were a few cars inside his garage. Yu Han pulled Ning Xue into one of the cars and then stared seriously into her eyes.


    ¡°I will protect you, I guarantee it.¡±


    At the start, Ning Xue was still trying to pull away, not daring to look Yu Han in the eyes. However, after a long while, she realised that Yu Han was still holding on to her with his eyes unmoving, causing her to raise her head again. Yu Han¡¯s eyes were very serious; although his stare looked quite sinister now with his slit eyes, once Ning Xue thought of the alienation from the others she couldn¡¯t help but feel her heart soften.


    ¡°En, thank you!¡± Ning Xue replied softly.


    At this time, Khina suddenly opened the car door. Ning Xue instantly jumped and tried to remove herself from Yu Han¡¯s hands. The two of them, the two of them¡­Khina did not know how to respond; although she was Yu Han¡¯s real girlfriend, she felt like the third wheel right now. In truth, Yu Han was feeling unhappy now too. Ning Xue was at her most vulnerable right now; with just a little more effort he could have successfully captured her heart! However, everything was ruined with Khina¡¯s appearance.


    ¡°What are you here for?¡±


    ¡°I want to go along with you.¡± Khina pursed her lips.


    ¡°Forget about it. We are now monsters, it¡¯s better if you follow the others,¡± Yu Han said as he closed the door and started the car. With those words, in Ning Xue¡¯s heart grew a sort of acknowledgement and acceptance. Yes, he¡¯s right, we are monsters; only monsters will not disdain monsters.


    ¡°Yu Han!¡± Khina shouted for him but did not receive any reply.


    Khina bit her lips at Yu Han¡¯s cold behaviour. Just a few days ago they were still so loving, what did she do wrong? She didn¡¯t think that it was just because guys loved beautiful girls; if there was a chance to get a girl as beautiful as Ning Xue, of course he would abandon the fatty Khina.


    ¡°Damn it, I really became a monster now.¡± Woolf cursed and then punched the car in frustration. However, just that one punch almost produced a dent in car.


    ¡°Woolf, you idiot, what are we going to sit in if it breaks?¡± Bai Yi immediately stopped him.


    ¡°Everybody let¡¯s get in the cars, there¡¯s no need to alienate each other so much. It might be that all of us have fused with some genes, just that it hasn¡¯t shown itself yet. Moreover, aren¡¯t we going to look for the drug to regain human form now? Enough with being difficult. Once everyone is done with their preparations we will head out, before the monsters get a chance to come here.¡± Bai Yi said, putting Momo in the passenger seat and then sitting in the driver¡¯s seat.


    ¡°Woolf, what are you zoning out for? Hurry and get in.¡±


    ¡°Ba-Bai Yi, my strength increased by a lot! Did you see how I almost smashed a hole in the car?¡± Woolf sat in the car and said dumbly.


    After the lecture from Bai Yi, everybody started to move and got into their cars, preparing to search for the drug that could let them regain human form. Hong Qi Hua looked at Khina¡¯s blank look and shook her head, pushing her into the car as well.


    For all guys¡­no, rather, for all people, the first thing they see is someone¡¯s appearance. Maybe some will talk about inner beauty, but something like the heart needs a long period of interaction and getting to know each other before it can be truly seen. If the other party is ugly, one¡¯s first reaction would be just disgust, what long term interaction was there to talk about? Even though judging people by their appearances seems quite superficial, it is a reality of life that nobody can deny.


    ¡°I really hope that things will go smoothly¡­¡± Bai Yi muttered.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Woolf asked. At this time, Sharpei laid on the seat in front and suddenly turned its head to the back. He seemed very curious towards this human who now looked very similar to him.


    ¡°Woof!¡± Sharpei barked at Woolf and affectionately stuck out his tongue.


    ¡°Sharpei, this is Uncle Woolf, not your friend.¡± Momo hugged Sharpei and spoke in a young and tender voice.


    Woolf immediately felt like crying when he saw Sharpei¡¯s watery eyes that were filled with curiosity. Just as Bai Yi said, he really hoped that they could easily find the drug mentioned by Martin. Otherwise, how could he meet anyone again looking like this?

 Chapter 14

    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Bai Yi couldn¡¯t help but laugh upon seeing the interactions between Sharpei and Woolf. While he was laughing, Bai Yi happened to glance at the rear mirror and suddenly his face changed completely. He abruptly turned his head and above the roof of the villa a head of a bird that was at least as big as half a car stretched out.


    ¡°HUO QIU YANG, RUN!¡± Bai Yi immediately shouted.


    What?


    Everybody was unable to react in time and suddenly, a giant bird more than 6 meters in wingspan dived down from the air. Huo Qiu Yang¡¯s expression froze and with a ¡®kacha!¡¯, the giant bird¡¯s mouth closed. Huo Qiu Yang¡¯s head was instantly torn off and blood spurted out like a fountain from his neck.


    ¡°AHHHHHHHHH¡­!¡± Countless screams rang out among the group and those who were more quick-witted instantly started the car and prepared to escape.


    ¡°Hold on tight!¡± Bai Yi said, abruptly reversing the car and ramming into the giant bird. Initially Bai Yi just wanted run into the bird to buy some time for the rest, but a giant claw violently grabbed onto the roof of the car before the car could hit the bird¡¯s leg,.


    ¡®KUANG!¡± The car shook violently and the glass window shattered and fell onto the floor.


    At this moment, one of the seven snake tails¡­no, one of the seven snake heads attached to the back of the giant bird stretched over, sticking out its forked tongue at Bai Yi and the others in the car.


    ¡°AHHH!¡±


    ¡°WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!¡± Momo¡¯s screams and Sharpei¡¯s barking filled the car.


    Just when the snake head stopped in preparation for a bite, Woolf viciously sent a punch towards it. Previously, Woolf discovered that his physical strength has multiplied by several times but he was unsure by how much exactly. With this punch, the snake¡¯s head instantly bent, giving off an ear-piercing shriek and spraying out a cloud of green mist.


    ¡°Momo hold your breath!¡± Bai Yi shouted.


    At this moment, Bai Yi frantically floored the accelerator and the wheels of the car continuously skidded against the floor almost to the point of producing sparks. The strong pushing force allowed the car to slowly separate itself from the giant bird¡¯s claw. From the tip of the claw of the giant bird, deep tears appeared on the roof of the car, almost splitting it into a few segments.


    Come on, move!!


    Bai Yi roared in his heart and with a sudden pushing force, the car was freed from the claw of the giant bird, speeding out of the courtyard. At this moment, almost the entire roof of the car was ripped off and a few deep tears could be seen on it. Thanks to Bai Yi delaying the giant bird, everybody else had already gotten into a car and had long since reached the road. However, when the prey in its claws escaped, the giant bird instantly let out a few strange shrieks and abruptly flew up.


    ¡°Fuck, another monster!¡± Woolf looked behind the car, seeing the entire appearance of the bird.


    Seven-tailed Snake Vulture ¨C possessing a wingspan of more than 6 meters with multicoloured feathers. It appears to be very beautiful, but at the back of this bird were seven snake tails. Not tail feathers, but tails formed by 7 snakes. The colours of these snakes were all different, twisting and stretching continuously, appearing extremely disgusting.


    At this moment, when everyone was frantically trying to escape, they discovered the giant bird chasing them behind.


    ¡°I told you we should have left last night but you guys insisted on finding a place to rest for the night! See! The monster is right on our tail!¡± Tang Ping said with incomparable fear in his eyes. It was an emergency so nobody cared about whether they were mutated or not; Tang Ping, Hong Qi Hua and Dai Yu Yao all sat in the same car.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Hong Qi Hua said fiercely and took off her glasses.


    After removing her glasses, she was shocked for a moment, but very quickly she realised that her vision was even clearer than when she was wearing glasses. As expected, it was not only Bai Yi and some others who changed but she was also changing. It¡¯s just that her changes weren¡¯t as obvious as theirs.


    Vision had always been a wound in her heart. As an orphan, she studied very diligently for the sake of going abroad, but ruined her own vision in the process. She never expected that there would be day when her vision would recover. Tang Ping wanted to retort but suddenly, he stopped and stared blankly at Hong Qi Hua. He never thought that after taking off those big and old-fashioned glasses, Hong Qi Hua would actually be so beautiful!


    The giant bird apparently only managed to reach this place last night and found the rooftop to rest on by chance. None of them had realised it and due to the commotion from splitting cars, it had awoken from its sleep.


    Hong Qi Hua looked at the giant bird and then at Dai Yu Yao beside her.


    At this time, Dai Yu Yao¡¯s expression was extremely nervous and frightened; although she was driving the car, Hong Qi Hua realised that her hands were trembling. This was pure fear, fear coming from the depths of the heart. Dai Yu Yao was just an ordinary girl, she was unable to suppress her fear and remain calm. If it was normal times, Hong Qi Hua would try to console and reassure Dai Yu Yao, but now was not the time. Now they were in the car and more importantly, Dai Yu Yao was the one driving.


    ¡°Dai Yu Yao, swap places with me, I¡¯ll drive.¡± Hong Qi Hua said without offering any explanation. With the mental state of Dai Yu Yao now, it was likely that they would get into an accident at any time. She didn¡¯t want to die because of something like this.


    ¡°Are you crazy! That giant bird is still chasing us, stopping the car is equivalent to death!¡± Tang Ping shouted.


    ¡°No need to stop, we can just swap. It¡¯s a straight road in front of us. I¡¯ll hold onto the steering wheel and then you climb into the back,¡± Hong Qi Hua said, but the fear on Dai Yu Yao¡¯s face just increased.


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t dare to do it!¡±


    ¡°Hurry up and switch! With your mental state now, do you want to kill everybody?!¡± Hong Qi Hua shouted at her.


    The stretch ahead was straight so it didn¡¯t require any complex maneuvering; if she held onto the steering wheel then the car wouldn¡¯t veer off-course. Dai Yu Yao took the chance to climb into the back and Hong Qi Hua smoothly took her place in the driver¡¯s seat. Hong Qi Hua¡¯s face was extremely calm and the car also drove steadily. Even Tang Ping had to concede that she looked much more reliable than Dai Yu Yao who was a nervous wreck.


    Without needing to drive, Dai Yu Yao¡¯s expression became a bit better and she just stared at Hong Qi Hua blankly with Tang Ping.


    Hong Qi Hua was very quietly normally and always wore that pair of big, old-fashioned glasses. There was nothing outstanding about her, but her reaction now was much more mature and calmer than theirs. Why? Could it be that she wasn¡¯t scared at all? Bai Yi and Yu Han were also the same, they couldn¡¯t help but feel that these three became much more outstanding than usual.


    This is probably because some people belonged to certain times!


    Some people can only release their own brilliance when undergoing different experiences. When they were in an era that did not belong to them, many outstanding people were like precious stones buried underneath the rock, only able to stay buried forever and remaining ordinary for the rest of their lives. Apparently for Hong Qi Hua, she was more suited for this changed world.


    ¡­¡­


    This is bad!


    Bai Yi felt his head getting dizzier and these words appeared in his heart. He felt that things were bad when the snake sprayed out the green mist just now, so he shouted for Momo to hold her breath. However, because of that shout he held his breath a bit too late and breathed in a bit of the mist.


    Without needing to think about it, it was obvious that the mist was some kind of poison. Luckily, the poison was not the kind that was instantly fatal, but with how dizzy he was feeling, driving could prove fatal for all of them.


    ¡°Daddy, can I breathe now?¡± Momo suddenly asked tenderly.


    ¡°Ah¡­yes you can.¡± Bai Yi¡¯s dizzy brain was surprised for a moment, but then he laughed. His daughter was really silly, but from the looks of it, Momo didn¡¯t inhale any of the mist. It was already a great fortune within the misfortune.


    ¡°Woolf, you didn¡¯t inhale any of the mist? Why do you appear to be so energetic?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°Of course I inhaled some, it even sprayed some onto my face. How could I not inhale any? But it doesn¡¯t seem to have any effect on me; I¡¯m not sure why either.¡± Woolf replied dim-wittedly.


    Bai Yi shook his head as if trying to shake out the dizziness. Really¡­ so it was only him who got poisoned? What bad luck. Woolf wasn¡¯t affected by the poison, maybe because the genes he fused with were from some poison-resistant life form. However, it was not the time to think about this now.


    ¡°Woolf, I got poisoned and now my head is very dizzy. In front of us is a straight road, you must come and hold the steering wheel steady and I will climb into the back. You will drive.¡± Bai Yi said. Bai Yi and Hong Qi Hua¡¯s decisions were similar, just that one was taking over the driving seat and the other was giving it up.


    ¡°Hey hey, Bai Yi, you are too crazy, changing drivers at this speed! If there are any mistakes, we could die!¡± Woolf shouted in shock.


    ¡°We could die if we don¡¯t change now; my vision is already starting to blur.¡± Bai Yi laughed bitterly.


    When Woolf heard Bai Yi, he couldn¡¯t help but hesitate for a moment before gritting his teeth. Woolf knew that Bai Yi was a practical and realistic person; if it wasn¡¯t absolutely necessary he would never say such things. After agreeing, Woolf stretched out his hand from behind to take hold of the steering wheel and Bai Yi carefully compacted his body and climbed behind.


    The car wasn¡¯t big from the start. Not only was it uncomfortable compacting his body and trying to swap seats, they had to do it at high speeds as well. Along the way there were quite a few near misses; the car almost crashed a few times and killed all of them. Luckily, by this time, everyone nearby had already escaped other than themselves. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t have went so smoothly.


    Sitting in the back seat, Bai Yi panted heavily and stared behind him. With just a look, the giant bird seemed to overlap with itself, chasing them from behind. Bai Yi breathed heavily for a while then took out his phone and tried to focus, calling Martin¡¯s number.


    ¡°Martin, I got poisoned. Do you know how to cure the poison from this monster?¡±


    Martin was shocked when he received the call from Bai Yi. He got poisoned¡­ Bai Yi got poisoned. Even Martin, who had just joined, could see that only with Bai Yi¡¯s presence could the team remain stable. If Bai Yi died, then this team would very quickly break apart.


    ¡°There is. This monster is called a Snake Vulture. They are categorised according to the number of tails they have, ranging from one to nine. Normally the poison in every tail is different, and the poison is very difficult to cure. Luckily, the snake gall of the particular snake head that poisoned you can remove the poison,¡± Martin told Bai Yi.


    Bai Yi couldn¡¯t help but laugh bitterly. Now they couldn¡¯t just try to run away, he had kill this monster too in order to survive!

 Chapter 15

    Very quickly, everyone knew about Bai Yi getting poisoned and how the only way to remove the poison was to kill the Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture and eat its snake gall. However, nobody responded after finding out. It¡¯s true that Bai Yi helped them a lot, but to risk their lives trying to kill the bird for his sake was something that they wouldn¡¯t think of doing.


    Bai Yi laid on the back seat of the car with his eyes closed, faintly gasping for air.


    He did not feel much resentment towards the rest as their actions were very normal. From the start, they didn¡¯t have any special or close relationship with him, to expect them to risk their lives for him was just being unrealistic. In the end, this wasn¡¯t something that could be done so easily; any carelessness while trying to kill the Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture would easily result in their deaths.


    The speed of the Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture wasn¡¯t too fast and the shadows of the first few cars that left couldn¡¯t even be seen anymore. Only Woolf slowed down slightly to bait the Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture. If Bai Yi wanted to live then he had to kill that monster, what was the point of just running away?


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but could you guys describe to me any special characteristics of the road in front? Such as tunnels, bridges, and things like that.¡± Bai Yi held his heavily giddy head and spoke into the phone.


    ¡°There is a bridge in front of me here, but it¡¯s very small and probably not of much use.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s an accident scene here blocking half of the road, but we can still go through it. There¡¯s also an abandoned heavy truck here.¡±


    ¡°I just checked the online map, this is a ring-shaped road.¡± Randt said.


    ¡°4.5km from Fushui Bay there is a tunnel, roughly 200m long.¡± Qin Kai Rui who drove the fastest also described what she saw. Everybody knew Bai Yi was trying to gather information to find a way to kill the Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture. Of course, nobody would reject such a simple request, but none of them thought that Bai Yi would succeed.


    Bai Yi held his head and panted heavily. Suddenly, an idea shot through his head and he hung up the phone. At this time, the others were also trying to come up with a safe way to kill the Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture. However, no matter how much they thought, to kill such a monster without any weapons was simply a fantasy.


    ¡°Woolf, do you trust me?¡±


    ¡°Of course I trust you! Bai Yi, do you have an idea?¡± Woolf gave Bai Yi a big thumbs up.


    ¡°Just a last attempt to save myself, I¡¯m not sure if it will succeed.¡± Bai Yi smiled gravely.


    ¡°Woolf, later when we reach the accident scene, slow the car down and I will get out of the car. After that, bring the Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture along the ring-shaped road and make one round back. You must continue to bait it and let it follow behind you, so it¡¯ll be rather dangerous. Most importantly, you must create a chance for it to grab onto the car and that must happen when you are about to enter the tunnel. Of course, it would be best if you were able to lure the Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture into the tunnel itself.¡± More and more cold sweat appeared on Bai Yi¡¯s face.


    ¡°When entering the tunnel, keep to the left side; upon entering the tunnel immediately move towards the right. I will be on your left driving the heavy truck out.¡± A hint of green surfaced on Bai Yi¡¯s face now.


    ¡°Bai Yi this is too dangerous!¡±


    ¡°Listen!¡± Bai Yi shouted. ¡°I know that this is very dangerous, but I have no choice now. I can feel that the poison inside my body is extremely fierce; even though I only breathed in a small amount, I¡¯m already at my limit. Remember all this well, I don¡¯t have many chances so I¡¯m relying on you. Also, if I die¡­please take care of Momo for me.¡± It sounded like he was delivering his will.


    ¡°Daddy, Daddy! Please don¡¯t abandon Momo.¡± Momo held Bai Yi¡¯s hand, tears already streaming down her face.


    Bai Yi intimately rubbed his forehead against Momo¡¯s forehead and then said: ¡°Momo you have a mission as well, if you want to save Daddy then you must do as I say ,ok?¡±


    ¡°Later when you enter the tunnel, you must use the phone to coordinate the timing with me. Count ¡®5, 4, 3, 2, 1;¡¯ ideally the moment when the countdown hits 1 is the moment the car enters the tunnel, got it?¡± Bai Yi told Momo.


    ¡°Daddy, wuuuuu, Daddy!¡±


    ¡°Remember well, Daddy¡¯s life is in your hands, Momo.¡± Bai Yi said. At this moment, the car just happened to pass by the accident scene.


    Before Woolf could react, Bai Yi abruptly opened the car door and jumped out. The strong forward momentum caused Bai Yi to roll continuously on the road and smash into a heap of ruined cars. From the friction against the floor, countless abrasions appeared on his body and the impact caused his organs to bleed.


    This is just seeking death!


    Woolf cursed in his heart, but he knew very well that even if it was like seeking death, this was the only method that could save him. Seeing that Bai Yi did not die there but got up swiftly and hid under a damaged car, Woolf took a deep breath. Since Bai Yi was already risking his life out there, what more was there to think about.


    ¡°Momo, sit tight.¡± Woolf told Momo.


    ¡°En!¡± There were still tears on Momo¡¯s face, but she still took out her phone.


    Woolf slowed down the car to allow the Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture to catch up and there were quite a few close shaves where the giant bird almost grabbed hold of the roof of the car. This was also what Bai Yi wanted, to continuously bait the Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture to follow them and not let it to think that there was no hope of catching them.


    After the Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture followed the car and left, Bai Yi got up while holding his left arm. His left arm hung limply from his shoulder, fractured, and his face also chafed severely against the floor, leaving an abrasion so deep that you could practically see the bone. However, Bai Yi did not mind all this now as these were all superficial wounds. Although it looked gory, it wasn¡¯t fatal; what was fatal was the poison inside his body.


    Bai Yi came to the truck and opened the door, only to find that there was no key inside.


    ¡°FUCK!¡± With a bang, Bai Yi violently punched the dashboard and cursed loudly. Bai Yi shook his head in frustration, but there was no point being anxious now, he could only learn from the movies and try to hotwire the car. He pulled open the cover and continuously touched two wires to each other, hoping that the heavy truck would start .


    Perhaps heaven was taking pity on him today; after trying for 2 minutes, he finally got the truck to start.


    Bai Yi let out a breath of relief and drove the heavy truck towards the tunnel. At the same time, Bai Yi took out his phone and called Momo. ¡°Momo, tell Woolf that I have already positioned the heavy truck; he can lure the Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture over now.¡±


    ¡°Daddy, rest assured, I will do well!¡± Momo guaranteed with tears in her eyes.


    ¡°Good girl Momo, I know you will do well.¡± Bai Yi encouraged Momo. In truth, even Bai Yi didn¡¯t know how well his 4-year-old daughter could do.


    The severe pain from the injuries he suffered when jumping off the car served to help Bai Yi focus his hazy mind. Bai Yi silently started the heavy truck again, the low rumbling sound like the roar of a metal monster. Not long after, Momo¡¯s voice came from his phone.


    ¡°10¡±


    ¡°9¡±


    ¡­¡­


    The heavy vehicle started and Bai Yi begin to accelerate. When Momo counted to 3, Bai Yi drove the heavy truck into the tunnel from the other side. When the countdown reached 1, the Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture happened to dive down, grabbing onto the roof of Woolf¡¯s car at the edge of the tunnel. However, due to the strong momentum, it lost its grip on the car and instead the giant bird was pulled into tunnel.


    Now!


    Woolf fiercely swerved to the right as Bai Yi instructed. At this time, the headlights of a heavy truck whizzed by. The two vehicles practically scraped past each other and the heavy truck brutally smashed into the Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture with tremendous force.


    The Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture tried to fly in a panic, but it was stuck inside the tunnel and got hit by the heavy truck with a loud ¡®BOOM!¡¯. Even if it was a monster, in that instant, the eyes of the giant bird were filled with fear as the heavy truck crushed it.


    Go and die for me!


    Bai Yi¡¯s expression at that moment became incredibly malevolent, as if he was merging with the vehicle, forming a single body. In an instant, the head of the giant bird was smashed like a watermelon. Even the head of the truck became dented. An airbag instantly burst out from the inside of the truck.


    The truck continuously pushed the Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture out of the tunnel and eventually squashed it against the side of the mountain wall (TN: tunnels are usually built through a mountain, if you are confused about where the mountain came from) and finally stopped. At this time, Woolf also stopped his car and looked outside while panting heavily. Slowly, Woolf turned his car around and came out of the tunnel, finally seeing Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture squashed against the mountain wall. The Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture was still twitching, but it clearly wouldn¡¯t be alive for much longer.


    Woolf opened the car door but Momo was even faster, running to the side of the heavy truck and shouting ¡°Daddy!¡±.


    Woolf opened the door of the heavy truck and helped Bai Yi down. Only then did he discover that Bai Yi¡¯s state wasn¡¯t very good and that he had almost lost consciousness. He really had to give it to this guy, to be able to do something so dangerous in such a state. Woolf gave a thumbs up to Bai Yi whose eyes were slowly starting to lose focus.


    ¡°Snake¡­gall!¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°En, I will find it for you immediately.¡± Woolf said, heading towards the Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture.


    At this time, Sharpei was barking loudly at the giant bird but didn¡¯t dare to approach too closely. This giant bird had shocking vitality, even after being smashed to this state it was still not completely dead. The 7 snake heads on its rear were still slowly moving around, their deaths approaching swiftly.


    Woolf did not go over immediately as this guy wasn¡¯t completely dead yet. It would be a huge loss if he accidentally got bitten from approaching too closely now. After a short while, the giant bird completely lost all signs of life and Woolf dissected a snake gall from the snake that he had punched before. He then let Bai Yi swallow the snake gall.


    At this time, nobody was thinking about the issue of gene fusion; it wasn¡¯t like they had the luxury of cooking the snake gall first.


    Bai Yi swallowed the noxious, fist-sized snake gall and gave a bitter smile. At this moment, Momo was already hugging Bai Yi¡¯s left arm and bawling her eyes out. Bai Yi didn¡¯t say anything but gently stroked Momo¡¯s head with loving tenderness in his eyes.

 Chapter 16

    ¡°Bai Yi, those students cannot be relied on,¡± said Woolf, stopping beside Bai Yi.


    ¡°I know!¡±


    Bai Yi sat on the floor breathing slowly. Ever since he ate the snake gall, the dizziness in his head had receded by quite a bit. Apparently, Martin¡¯s words could be trusted, but the poison needed time to be removed completely. However, with the poison receding, the injuries on his body became more pronounced and the pain became hard to bear. Ever since yesterday afternoon, Bai Yi had suffered from numerous injuries, just that they weren¡¯t that obvious. Now, after risking his life again, all the injuries and pain came crashing down at once.


    Abrasions, bruises and internal bleeding!


    However, apparently the activated cells could enhance the physiological functions of the body. Bai Yi could still survive even with injuries as serious as these.


    ¡°I know that a lot of them aren¡¯t dependable, but for now it¡¯s best that we group together. Let¡¯s follow our initial plan and acquire the drug to regain human form. Though from now on¡­ we can be a bit more selfish. How laughable; initially I just wanted to ram into the strange bird with the car to buy some time for the rest, but in the end I almost lost my life.¡± Bai Yi said, grabbing Woolf¡¯s right hand and slowly standing up.


    ¡°I¡¯m just reminding you. It¡¯s good as long as you know, in case we end up throwing our lives away.¡±


    ¡°En, got it.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°What do we do with this guy?¡± Woolf asked.


    ¡°Food! Haven¡¯t you realised that our stomachs are almost empty now? This big fellow just happened to deliver itself to us. Come, help me to find two branches to be a splint, my left arm fractured from the impact just now.¡± Bai Yi said to Woolf. Woolf couldn¡¯t help but tap on Bai Yi¡¯s left arm lightly, causing Bai Yi to twitch from the pain.


    ¡°This fellow, I still thought that you weren¡¯t in pain.¡±


    ¡°Rubbish! I¡¯m in so much pain I wish I could die right now!¡± Bai Yi scolded.


    At this moment, sounds of cars driving could be heard coming from the tunnel, a small car soon came rushing out and braked sharply. Hong Qi Hua was astonished upon seeing this scene. She tried thinking of many ways to kill the giant bird, but they just did not have that capability right now. The solution she thought of was to make use of external forces and immediately thought of the tunnel. She didn¡¯t expect that when she came back here she would find the Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture already dead.


    ¡°Hey, we can¡¯t kill that monster, so don¡¯t throw away our lives, did you hear me?!¡± Tang Ping shook the seat in a frenzy.


    At the start, when Hong Qi Hua was driving, both him and Dai Yu Yao were quite at ease, but when she decided to turn back it frightened the two of them to death. Did Hong Qi Hua go crazy? She really planned on trying to kill that monster! They did not even have guns with them; going up against the giant bird was the same as throwing away their lives. Of course, even normal firearms may not have been able to kill the Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture.


    ¡°It¡¯s already dead!¡± Hong Qi Hua said and opened the door, walking downwards.


    ¡°Dead?¡± Tang Ping looked in Hong Qi Hua¡¯s direction and found that at an angle towards the front was a heavy truck pressed against the mountain wall. Between the truck and the mountain wall¡­ wasn¡¯t that thing the strange bird? Tang Ping was in shock and opened his mouth wide, completely unable to believe that that frightening guy died just like that.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Uncle Bai, I just thought of a way but didn¡¯t expect that you would have already killed this strange bird.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing much, my luck is just good. Since you are here, come give me a hand to prepare this bird, this is a good quality ingredient.¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t blame Hong Qi Hua. If they were to swap places, he wouldn¡¯t have taken the risk either if he did not have a safe way to kill the bird.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to handle food,¡± Hong Qi Hua said seriously.


    ¡°It¡¯s a small matter, I¡¯ll teach you. My left arm is broken now, so it¡¯s inconvenient for me to do such things,¡± Bai Yi reassured. Suddenly, Bai Yi creased his eyebrows and walked to the snake that Woolf had removed the snake gall from. He discovered a shade of green rapidly spreading upwards from the head of the snake.


    ¡°Woolf, quick, bring the chopper here and chop off the snake at this area!¡± Bai Yi said anxiously.


    Woolf now had an almost blind trust in Bai Yi; after hearing his words he unhesitatingly did what Bai Yi told him to do. Right after chopping off that part of the snake, the green colouration spread all over the chopped off part in less than 10 seconds. Just by looking at it, you could tell that the meat was already inedible.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Only now did Woolf have the chance to ask what happened.


    ¡°The poison spread; I think you accidentally ruptured the snake¡¯s venom sac when you were searching for the snake gall. If we were a bit slower, not just this snake but the entire body would have become inedible.¡± Bai Yi looked carefully at the chopped off snake head and explained.


    ¡°Qi Hua, come and try cutting the snake,¡± Bai Yi said to Hong Qi Hua, realising afterwards that she didn¡¯t have a knife in her hands.


    ¡°Woolf, take out the kitchen knives that I prepared.¡± Bai Yi instructed.


    ¡°Why are you always telling me to do things¡­¡± Woolf complained, but still went to get the kitchen knives. Along the way, Bai Yi had passed a shopping mall and specially went inside to find a set of cooking tools. Kitchen knives were indispensable tools for any chef.


    ¡°I¡¯m injured and Qi Hua is a beautiful girl.¡±


    ¡°Yes yes yes, I got it.¡± Woolf pulled out a small case from the car. After opening it, a row of more than 10 knives of different shapes and sizes could be seen.


    ¡°Use this. This is a Willow Leaf Knife, suitable for precise dismantling of meat,¡± Bai Yi said to Hong Qi Hua.


    Hong Qi Hua blankly held the Willow Leaf Knife in her hands and stared at it. In Hong Qi Hua¡¯s eyes, kitchen knives were just kitchen knives, how were there so many different types? However, in the area of culinary skills, Hong Qi Hua was just a novice and completely incomparable to Bai Yi. Since he already said so, she could only follow.


    ¡°The way you hold the knife is wrong!¡± Bai Yi said again when Hong Qi Hua lifted the knife. Hong Qi Hua could only cry inside, there were even requirements for holding the knife?


    ¡°I have never handled an ingredient like this before, but from the spread of the poison, the position of the venom sac is different from normal venomous snakes. If we were to make a mistake in the preparation, the poison would spread very quickly. With no way to counteract the poison now, the entire ingredient would become unusable after the poison spread.¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°At this spot, cut down 2cm deep and then make an incision vertically while maintaining the depth.¡± Bai Yi pointed at a place and did a demonstration.


    Hong Qi Hua wasn¡¯t even nervous when speeding with the car but she started to feel nervous now. Woolf, Momo, Sharpei and even Tang Ping and Dai Yu Yao who just got out the car, held their breath as they looked at her, afraid of disturbing her focus. When Bai Yi saw how the rest acted, he couldn¡¯t help but laugh; did he subconsciously put such great pressure on everybody?


    ¡°No need to be this nervous, this is a snake head that has already been tainted by poison, letting you practice on it is just to train your ability to control the knife precisely and also to determine the position of the venom sac. Only after that would you prepare the other 6 snakes, so even if you make a mistake, it¡¯s fine.¡± Bai Yi explained.


    After Bai Yi gave his explanation, Hong Qi Hua could finally calm down and made the cut following his instructions.


    Maybe because she was relaxed or maybe because she didn¡¯t have to be worried, Hong Qi Hua¡¯s hands were exceptionally steady. Her only flaw was not being very accurate when it came to the depth of the knife and control of her strength. However, that wasn¡¯t something a first-timer could grasp. If there really was such a person, then ¡®genius¡¯ wouldn¡¯t be enough to describe him; ¡®monster¡¯ would be a better word.


    Following Bai Yi¡¯s instructions, Hong Qi Hua dissected the snake and the muscle grain she produced was orderly and clear. Other than the faint green coloration, Hong Qi Hua couldn¡¯t believe that this was the ingredient that she prepared.


    ¡°Long shaped poison gland, longest point is 141cm below the teeth of the snake, judging from the size of the snake¡¯s mouth,¡± Bai Yi said, meticulously looking at the muscle grain pattern of the dissected meat. At this time, Hong Qi Hua was like a student following behind Bai Yi, listening seriously to his every word.


    ¡°After this is the true ingredient preparation. Cut down from here and make a horizontal slice.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Horizontal slice?¡±


    ¡°Yes, horizontal slice, directly cutting away the poison gland and discarding the brain portion. Why, did you really want to remove the poison gland?¡± Bai Yi smiled and told Hong Qi Hua. ¡°If you want to practice, you can use the snake head that you removed, but now you can¡¯t. I can¡¯t let you use edible ingredients to practice.¡±


    ¡°Ok, I know.¡± Hong Qi Hua nodded.


    Bai Yi wasn¡¯t wrong, now wasn¡¯t the time for her to practice. She also knew that when she was trying to dissect the poisoned snake head, she made dozens of mistakes while cutting. That was the nature of the poison gland; any mistake and the poison would be completely released, leaving nothing left to eat.


    ¡°Remember to change the knife.¡± Bai Yi reminded.


    ¡°En!¡± Hong Qi Hua nodded, the Willow Leaf Knife had already been used to dissect the poisoned snake head, of course it couldn¡¯t be used to prepare the remaining six snakes that were still in good condition.


    As Hong Qi Hua was carefully preparing the ingredients, the rest of the group also drove back one after the other. Honestly speaking, they were all very curious as to how Bai Yi and Woolf managed to settle that Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture.


    Upon seeing the marks left on the mountain wall by the heavy truck, all of them suddenly got it. So it was like this; he used the heavy truck to ram into the giant bird in the tunnel? After realising that, they took it lightly as if it was a simple solution, but even if they knew of this method, would they dare to actually carry it out?


    Only Martin was astonished when he saw Hong Qi Hua preparing the ingredients seriously and Bai Yi explaining in detail beside her.


    ¡°Hey hey Bai Yi, what are you planning on doing? Are you going to eat this fellow?¡± Martin questioned.


    ¡°Of course, now we don¡¯t have much food left, what do we eat if not this fellow? Unless¡­there¡¯s some chemicals in its body?¡± Bai Yi immediately thought of a problem; this guy escaped from the laboratory, could it be that it contained poisonous compounds within it?


    ¡°There are some hormonal compounds in it, but they aren¡¯t poisonous as they¡¯re just for the sake of accelerating growth. There¡¯s nothing much inside it that will have an influence on us, I just didn¡¯t expect that you would think of eating this big guy.¡± Martin shrugged.


    ¡°So it¡¯s edible?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s edible!¡±


    ¡°Then that¡¯s fine.¡± Bai Yi nodded. After Hong Qi Hua heard the conversation between Bai Yi and Martin she also continued to prepare the Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture.

 Chapter 17

    ¡°Hey, do you think there will be some crystal core in the bird¡¯s head? You know the kind that will increase the constitution of your body after eating it and turn you into a superhuman?¡± Qin Kai Rui suddenly said while Hong Qi Hua was still preparing the ingredients.


    ¡°Heh.¡± Yu Han gave a cold snort after hearing what Qin Kai Rui said.


    Martin was confused by Qin Kai Rui¡¯s words and only understood after he explained in detail. After knowing what he meant, Martin shook his head.


    ¡°I think you read too many novels; this isn¡¯t like those novels where the apocalypse happened for no reason but it is a biological evolution caused by human actions. Maybe in some worlds you can grind monsters for crystal cores and raise your strength just by eating them, but that world is definitely not ours. True strength is raised step by step through an evolution of our biological state.¡± Martin explained.


    Qin Kai Rui looked quite embarrassed, was he lecturing him?


    Bai Yi of course noticed this scene as well and couldn¡¯t help but shake his head inside.


    ¡°We should just be wary of any other monsters around. This Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture already flew all the way here; if there are any other monsters around then we would be caught unaware.¡± Yu Han suddenly said, standing beside Ning Xue. At this time, Khina looked at her boyfriend, feeling that Yu Han was so far away from her now.


    ¡°Those monsters definitely came from the Northern Hamilton Research Facility. Although they come in many different shapes and sizes, generally they can be split into 4 categories ¨C flying type, land type, underground type, and water type. These monsters, other than looking for food, would normally not have any other goals. We are at Ohaupo now, which is neither too close nor too far from Hamilton. Taking into account the speed of these 4 types of monsters, only the flying types will be able to reach here. However, I don¡¯t think that our luck will be so bad as to meet two flying type monsters in a row, so I think we can be at ease.¡± Martin analysed the situation calmly.


    The rest of the group thought about it and also nodded their heads. Martin understood those monsters the best here; since he already said so then it should be all right. Meeting this giant bird was already shitty luck. If there was a second one, it would really be the death of them all.


    ¡­¡­


    This Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture was gigantic; they wouldn¡¯t be able to carry all the meat with them since their cars weren¡¯t made for carrying goods. Since everybody got hungry very quickly now, they decided to cook the meat and eat it here first. Under these conditions, there was no need to think about eating delicious food, they should already be thankful if the food was cooked properly.


    Luckily, as a chef, Bai Yi carried basic seasonings on him so the meal wouldn¡¯t be too bland.


    When Hong Qi Hua cut open the Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture¡¯s stomach, a corpse was revealed within it. It was the body of Huo Qiu Yang, who got swallowed by the giant bird. The corpse wasn¡¯t completely digested yet but because of this, it looked even scarier. A few of the girls immediately started vomiting. It was really hard to endure seeing a companion that was still with them not long ago become food in some monster¡¯s stomach.


    Hong Qi Hua¡¯s expression also changed and she barely held it in. The preparation of the body was done by her, so she had the clearest view of the corpse out of everyone here.


    ¡°You guys go and find some firewood, we need it to start a fire for cooking the meat.¡± Bai Yi said after seeing the unbearable looks on their faces.


    When the rest heard Bai Yi¡¯s words they instantly nodded and went out to find firewood. The bloody corpse with the skin dissolved by gastric juices and the bloody dismemberment of the Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture were just too shocking and gory. Any one of these things would be unbearable to these students, who had never seen such bloody scenes.


    So it¡¯s this bloody when food is being prepared!


    Not long after, the food was cooked. By now, everybody¡¯s hunger and appetite wasn¡¯t something that could be explained by reason, so nobody tried to be courteous. As soon as Bai Yi announced that they could eat, everybody started at once. The Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture became their food. The brain was also opened up in front of everybody, revealing that there was nothing else inside and definitely no signs of a crystal core.


    Other than that guy who wished to reach heaven in one step (TN: means getting great rewards with little effort) by eating the crystal core, nobody else was disappointed by it.


    The roasted meat wasn¡¯t too tasty, but this Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture let everyone truly fill their stomachs for the first time in these few days. Also, the naturally flavoured snake soup was quite delicious as well. The meat of this Seven-Tailed Snake Vulture seemed to be more filling than normal food; the group only managed to eat less than half of the meat and the rest was brought along with them.


    As for the six snake heads that were chopped off, they were all rendered inedible. Although Hong Qi Hua was extremely careful, she still didn¡¯t manage to produce one that could be used. All of them had their venom sac accidentally ruptured and their respective heads contaminated with poison. Bai Yi expected this scenario from the start, so he just smiled and didn¡¯t say anything. Even if it were him, he wouldn¡¯t be able to succeed on the first try.


    ¡°Uncle Bai, I have something to ask of you.¡± Hong Qi Hua looked for Bai Yi.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Can you give me this Willow Leaf Knife?¡± Hong Qi Hua asked.


    ¡°I thought it was something serious. If you like it, then you can take it. I have quite a few kitchen knives left; they are sufficient for my use. Normally speaking, a chef would have his own dedicated knife that would be good enough to handle most ingredients, We would only use other knives or tools when handling those special ingredients,¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t that, I just like this Willow Leaf Knife.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­so it¡¯s like that. Again, it¡¯s fine as long as you like it.¡± Bai Yi was stunned for a moment, but then started laughing. He forgot that Hong Qi Hua wasn¡¯t a real chef but was just a student, today might be the first time she had even handled raw ingredients.


    ¡°Thank you, Uncle Bai Yi!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. Make sure you keep your knife sharp!¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°En, I will remember.¡± Hong Qi Hua carefully held the Willow Leaf Knife in her hand and observed it seriously. She didn¡¯t know why, but from the moment she first held it in her hands, she fell in love with this small and delicate knife. Spinning the knife in her hand a few times, Hong Qi Hua revealed a smiling face.


    By now, everyone had already discovered that Hong Qi Hua was very pretty, really very pretty. Nobody expected that after removing those wide and old-fashioned glasses, she would become this eye-catching.


    However, Bai Yi saw Hong Qi Hua like this a long time ago, so he wasn¡¯t surprised at all. Hong Qi Hua and Momo¡¯s relationship was quite good, so they were more familiar with each other.


    While eating, Yu Han and the other guys were looking at Hong Qi Hua and then the other girls in the group. They realised that there were quite a few pretty girls here.


    There was no need to talk about Jiang Lin Lin; since she was Qin Kai Rui¡¯s girlfriend, she was definitely good looking. Ning Xue was also a petite and pleasant beauty, while Dai Yu Yao wasn¡¯t bad either. Initially they thought that under those huge glasses Hong Qi Hua¡¯s appearance wouldn¡¯t be anything worth looking at it, but after she removed them she was actually that beautiful. From the looks of it, only Khina was a fatty.


    The group set out again. As for the matter of them abandoning Bai Yi and Woolf, nobody tried to talk about it and all of them let the matter get buried. Bai Yi didn¡¯t mention it either. For this kind of thing, it was enough to understand in your own heart. If it were to be brought out into the open, then everyone would become awkward and it benefits nobody. It was good enough that he and Woolf understood in their hearts, and like Woolf said, they should be a bit more selfish in the future.


    ¡­¡­


    At this time, New Zealand completely and utterly descended into chaos. If the extreme hunger from before was the appetiser, then the monsters that escaped from Northern Hamilton Research Facility were the soup. Now, the majority of people undergoing mutations played the role of the true main course.


    People can bear with the hunger, all they have to do is find food to eat. Monsters can also be tolerated; since everybody have watched quite a few monster movies, it doesn¡¯t matter what gets reported in the news as long as they do not encounter them. However, why were their bodies undergoing such transformation? A majority of the people living in New Zealand realised that characteristics of animals started to appear on their bodies. When these changes happened to themselves, nobody could bear with it any longer and the entire country went crazy.


    Not everyone was like Bai Yi¡¯s group, knowing that these changes could be reversed. When they found out that they had become monsters, their reason collapsed. Combined with the disorder from before, New Zealand¡¯s society completely crumbled.


    Law enforcement?


    What¡¯s the use of law enforcers; are they very special? They are also humans. Now that they had become monsters too, who would care that much? Moreover, most of the people in power in New Zealand had already fled to other countries and were detained, leaving nobody around to handle this situation.


    Moreover, it wasn¡¯t just humans. Other animals were also undergoing the same changes. Animals like dogs, cats, pigs, and chickens that we were familiar with suddenly turned into monsters and started eating humans. In this kind of situation, who could maintain their state of mind?


    When everything they knew was thrown into chaos, the people could not hold on. New Zealand completely descended into chaos!


    ¡­¡­


    At this time, other countries¡¯ internet connection to New Zealand had been completely cut off. The changes in New Zealand could not be shown to normal citizens or else they would cause great unrest. At the same time, the leaders of various countries were still discussing how to handle the situation in New Zealand.


    The Longevity Project was something that almost every country had a hand in.


    With a part of the experiments already a success, nobody thought that something like this would happen. After months of discussion, every country reached an agreement. They would ban all sorts of lifeforms coming out from New Zealand to try to completely isolate the country from the world, and turn it into a natural ecosphere for researching evolved lifeforms.


    From now on, the name of New Zealand on the world map became ¨C Devil Island!

 Chapter 18

    Doing some quick checks after killing the seven-tailed snake vulture and eating their fill, they quickly set off for the road again. The giant bird was just an interlude in their original plans, though this interlude was pretty much a dance with death. One of them even died while Bai Yi was covered in injuries from top to bottom.


    Although Hong Qi Hua didn¡¯t know how to cook, she was good at first aid. Before heading out she helped Bai Yi to bandage his wounds and then they headed to their next destination ¨C Te Awamutu.


    Tongariro National Park was very far from this place, even in normal times it took a day or two by car. In this kind of chaotic situation, how long it took to reach the place depended on their luck. If their luck was bad enough taking dozens the amount of time was entirely possible.


    In the end, they were struck by bad luck. When they weren¡¯t even halfway through Ohaupo Road they had no choice but to stop.


    On the side of the road abandoned cars gradually appeared and the group of them moved forward slowly with suspicions in their hearts.


    Very quickly, Qin Kai Rui¡¯s car at the front stopped and helplessly looked at the long chain of cars that crashed against each other. The rest of them also got off their cars and walked to the scene of the accident and shook their head sadly. At least 30 cars collided with each other and blocked off the entire road, fires from the collisions still burning. A burnt smell wafted through the air and broken glass littered the floor.


    ¡°How pitiful.¡± Yu Han said coldly.


    ¡°Be careful, look for a way through this mess. If there isn¡¯t any then we probably have to abandon our cars like the people before us.¡± Bai Yi said to the rest after looking at the scene with Momo. Although there was no explicit confirmation, Bai Yi was already the de facto leader of the group.


    Khina got down the car and ran over anxiously intending to search for any injured people. Just as she was about to run to the accident scene Hong Qi Hua stopped her.


    ¡°Be careful, the cars here are still burning and they might explode.¡± Hong Qi Hua said.


    After hearing what Hong Qi Hua said, their initial curiosity cooled down a bit and they only observed from afar. They tried looking for a possible path for their cars to cross but this accident was really massive and blocked off the entire road. The sides of the road were the mountain wall and a steep descending slope, so there was no way for them to drive around either.


    At the edge of the road there were even some corpses, Khina immediately jogged over upon seeing them, trying to see if there was anybody that could be saved. However, the moment she ran over she immediately let out a high-pitched scream and starting to swat something on her body.


    ¡°Khina!¡± Hong Qi Hua shouted and immediately rushed over, however in an instant she found a small and thin shadow pouncing for her face.


    Hong Qi Hua quickly grabbed her willow leaf knife and swung it at the shadow and her sharp knife instantly split the figure into two halves. After staggering for a few steps, she finally saw that the shadow she cut was a bug that was a few centimetres long. However, it seemed completely different from a normal bug and at this time even more bugs started climbing out from the corpse on the floor and pounced towards Khina and Hong Qi Hua.


    ¡°Quick follow me towards the fire!¡± Hong Qi Hua grabbed Khina and ran towards a place that was still burning.


    At this moment, the bugs started to attack the rest of them as well. Although the bugs were quite small, their mouths were filled with very sharp teeth. After hearing Hong Qi Hua¡¯s words, the rest of them also ran towards a burning flame. These bugs seemed to be very afraid of fire, after they neared the fire the bugs stopped approaching and only jumped around at the side.


    ¡°Look for fire and disperse these things.¡± Bai Yi said.


    After he spoke, Woolf immediately grabbed hold of a car that was half in flames and exerted his strength. Everybody stared at Woolf with a stunned look. This guy, what is he doing? However, the muscles in Woolf¡¯s body bulged and creaking sounds appeared from all over. Slowly, the small burning car was barely lifted up by him.


    ¡®Bang!¡¯ Woolf threw the burning car out, flames and debris flew everywhere and those bugs also scattered to the side.


    ¡°HEHE, Bai, Bai Yi, did you see? I¡¯m super strong now!¡± Woolf said proudly.


    The rest of them were shocked at Woolf¡¯s actions while only Yu Han felt the power in his muscles and wanted to try as well.


    ¡°Yu Han you can forget about it, with your skinny frame how can you compare to Woolf!¡± Seeing Yu Han grabbing hold of a car as well, Qin Kai Rui started to mock him.


    However, the ant mandibles on Yu Han¡¯s mouth twitched a few times and then he forcefully exerted his strength. With a creak, the car was instantly thrown out by Yu Han and rolled uncontrollably on the floor, flames flying everywhere. With that Qin Kai Rui instantly shut his mouth and opened his eyes wide at Yu Han. What is this, this guy is even stronger than Woolf?


    Activated cells!


    The phrase flashed past everyone¡¯s minds, the main function of activated cells was to produce special energy. Sure enough, although nobody could feel the special energy yet but their strength and speed had obviously increased. Moreover, this probably had to do with the genes that they fused with, ants could be said to be the Hercules of the natural world, capable of carrying hundreds of times of their weight. Apparently, Yu Han had fused with the genes of an ant.


    All of them blanked out for a moment and stared at Yu Han in astonishment.


    Although Yu Han didn¡¯t have much expression on his face but he secret felt happy in his heart. The feeling of being looked up to by others really felt quite nice.


    ¡°That¡¯s great, since you guys have become so strong now please make use of it and clear a path for us.¡± While the others were still in shock, Bai Yi suddenly patted Woolf¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Woolf heard Bai Yi¡¯s words and then held his head in annoyance.


    Bai Yi this guy, he really knows how to order people around! However, if they wanted to go through this place then they did have to clear a path for their cars to cross. If it was in normal times, they definitely would not have the ability to do so but now all of them had their strength increased by a significant amount. Yu Han and Woolf¡¯s strength was among the best in the group, with the two of them around it wasn¡¯t much of a problem.


    ¡°Be careful!¡± Bai Yi reminded.


    While they were busy clearing a path, everybody was thinking¡­activated cells not only changed people into monsters but also granted them strength that far exceeded a normal human. If the drug to regain human form really existed like Martin said¡­would they still retain this strength after regaining their human form?


    ¡­¡­


    After the corpses were set on fire and cremated, some of the small bugs inside were also burnt to death while others escaped into the grass. After the path was cleared, everyone got onto the car again and continued driving towards Te Awamutu.


    ¡°Martin, what is this?¡± Bai Yi held a dead bug in his hand and asked.


    ¡°Bai, I remembered telling you before that not only humans were infected by activated cells. I¡¯m not sure why but the majority of lifeforms in New Zealand were infected by it. These bugs are no exception, they will also feel hunger and attack people for consumption. Look, it has already started changing and evolved a set of sharp teeth specially for hunting for food.¡± Martin grabbed the dead bug and pointed to its head and said to everybody.


    Although these small bugs were similar to common locusts or grasshoppers, but they looked much more vicious. They had characteristics of other lifeforms and were much larger than normal bugs, the largest one of them was close to 10cm long.


    ¡°Will organisms infected by activated cells normally grow bigger?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°For the experiments in the research facility, their physical bodies can grow bigger by 1-50 times their original size but growth by 1-3 times are the most common.¡± Martin said.


    ¡°This is really terrible!¡±


    1-50 times increase in physical size, if a human grew bigger by the upper limit he would become 100 metres tall! Moreover, after fusing genes from other organisms their appearance would also undergo great changes. Combined with the size of their body, what are they if not monsters?


    ¡°How big is the biggest experiment in the research facility?¡±


    ¡°Great devil snake, 30 metres long but it isn¡¯t the heaviest one. You¡¯re quite lucky, should have met it before.¡± Martin joked.


    Looking at Martin¡¯s wide grin, Bai Yi really wanted to kick his face. My luck is good? What nonsense is this, I met the biggest experiment in the research facility in such a short time.


    ¡°Haha, do you think I¡¯m joking? I¡¯m saying your luck is good for being able to escape from the mouth of the great devil snake. The great devil snake is extremely strong, even among the other experiments it is among the peak. To imprison these monsters, we have to use specially crafted anti-corrosion ceramic steel to create their prison. Because they are too strong, there are only 3 monsters of this size in the entire research facility!¡± Martin explained in detail.


    ¡°Three of them, but this is only the number in the Northern Hamilton Research Facility, right? How many research facilities are there in the entire New Zealand?¡±


    ¡°121 of them!¡±


    ¡°What¡­fuck!¡± Bai Yi bit his teeth but really couldn¡¯t hold in it and cursed. 121 research facilities, Martin said that there were 3000 plus experimental bodies in Northern Hamilton Research Facility, doesn¡¯t that also mean that the whole of New Zealand had 30000-40000 experimental bodies?


    ¡°There aren¡¯t so many, research facilities differ in sizes as well. The small ones do not have any experimental bodies or maybe only a few, they are just there as a supporting role. New Zealand isn¡¯t too big as well so the total number of experimental bodies is probably around 10000. Moreover, not every experimental body is as strong as the great devil snake.¡± Martin explained after Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk about it like it¡¯s nothing! If they all get released then New Zealand is finished, right!¡±


    ¡°You know it.¡± Martin shrugged.


    Bai Yi pointed his middle finger at Martin, he couldn¡¯t be bothered to curse anymore. This guy is really numb to all these things, becoming a standard example of a dead pig not fearing boiling water. (TN: Chinese saying! I guess Martin¡¯s pretty desensitized.)

 Chapter 19

    Bai Yi and the rest of them finally reached Te Awatumu when it was close to noon on the 26th. However, even before entering the city they could see columns of smoke rising from the city centre. This isn¡¯t just any smoke but smoke produced from a number of great fires. Billowing clouds of smoke rose high up into the sky all over the city, the blaring sounds of car horns and human screams merged together as they rang throughout the city.


    ¡°Monsters shouldn¡¯t have reached here yet, right?¡± Khina found the state of her hometown now hard to swallow.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not monsters, just humans!¡± Bai Yi suddenly thought of something.


    ¡°Hong Qi Hua, can your computer still go online? Post the reason for the changes of New Zealand online but keep the matter of the drug in the research facility hidden.¡± Bai Yi told Hong Qi Hua and then explained to Khina.


    ¡°By chance, we happened to meet Martin and got to know of the reason behind the changes. Hence, we didn¡¯t fall into a panic but it isn¡¯t the same for other people. They do not know the real reason behind everything and I¡¯m afraid by now people have been randomly speculating and probably thought that it is the end of world or something like that. Fear is an infectious emotion, combined with their transformation into monsters many people have broken down and started to behave destructively.¡± Bai Yi hit the nail on the head with his explanation.


    ¡°I can still connect to the internet, do I post on all the major forums in New Zealand?¡±


    ¡°En, I¡¯m not sure how many people will see it but we can just do our best.¡±


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t we telling them about the drug in the research facility?¡± Khina asked again.


    ¡°Listen well, there are experiments locked up in that research facility, you have seen for yourself how powerful they are. If they enter the research facility without understanding this then it is very likely they might accidentally let these monsters out. New Zealand is already chaotic enough now, if those experiments manage to get out then we are really doomed. Moreover, you can consider it as my selfishness but we do not know how many of those drugs that can regain human form are there. Before acquiring those drugs, I do not want there to be other people ahead of us.¡± Bai Yi¡¯s tone was calm and cold.


    Khina wanted to retort at the start, but as the words reached her mouth she couldn¡¯t say it out.


    Is this Uncle Bai?


    Although he liked to help people, he wasn¡¯t naively kind. At times like this he still maintained his own bottom line and rationality. Bai Yi¡¯s words seemed to be selfish but this is just human nature. Moreover, looking at the expressions of other people in the group it did not seem like they wanted to tell more people about the drug as well, but can they be blamed for being selfish?


    ¡°I¡¯m done posting, not sure how many people will see it!¡± Very quickly, Hong Qi Hua posted the reason behind everything online.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go then, into the city! Be careful!¡± Bai Yi told everybody.


    ¡­¡­


    Every city had a centre, and from the centre it gradually developed and expanded outwards. Te Awamutu wasn¡¯t an exception but the total population of New Zealand was only around 5 million people so there weren¡¯t many people living in the suburbs.


    Entering the city centre, the buildings around them suddenly increased and numerous signs of destruction covered them. Some fires have yet to be extinguished and it slowly released black smoke into the sky, creating a hot environment. Without driving much further, they came to a cross junction where a pile of cars from an accident blocked off the entire road.


    Bai Yi pulled Momo off the car and the rest of them also followed. Looking at the heap of ruined cars in front, they waited for Bai Yi¡¯s instructions.


    ¡°Do we need to clear the way?¡± Woolf asked Bai Yi.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to, it¡¯s even more chaotic in the city so there¡¯s bound to be even more accident scenes in front blocking our paths. Our best option is to continue by foot and then find new cars again at the southern edge of the city.¡± Yu Han analysed after hearing Woolf¡¯s question.


    Although that seemed to be the best option, everyone still looked at Bai Yi.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, as Yu Han says we should abandon our cars and continue on foot. We will find cars again when we reach the southern edge of the city.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    After Bai Yi¡¯s words, everyone started to move and brought out the seven-tailed snake vulture meat from the car. After starving yesterday, they would never forget about the importance of food again. Standing on one side, Yu Han turned his head to look at the rest and then looked at Bai Yi. It was him that brought up their most optimal plan of action, yet in the end they chose to wait for Bai Yi¡¯s approval before moving.


    ¡°Where did all the people in city go to?¡±


    ¡°Everybody knows that monsters appeared in Northern Hamilton so they definitely ran away. As for those who didn¡¯t run¡­¡± Bai Yi said as he looked at those houses that were more undamaged. There were apparently people still inside those houses but they seem to be very frightened. The most they would do is to discretely scout the situation from the corner of their windows.


    ¡°It¡¯s very dangerous for them to stay here, those monsters would probably reach here very soon.¡± Khina said worriedly.


    ¡°Worrying so much about others, why not worry about yourself?¡± Yu Han said, grabbing tightly onto the katana in his hands.


    Suddenly, sounds of fighting came from the building opposite them. A group of ¡®people¡¯ with crazy expressions came out from there and the moment they saw each other both sides were surprised for a moment. Upon seeing Bai Yi¡¯s group, the group of people opposite them looked at them excitedly. Food¡­these people have food in their hands and even women!


    Bai Yi and his group looked at them shocked, seeing the blood stains on their weapons and recalling the screams coming from the building earlier. Almost instantly, everybody knew what this group of people wanted to do. They were going to rob them of their food and maybe even more than that.


    ¡°Guys step in front, protect the girls.¡± Bai Yi said calmly.


    It had already been 3 days, due to the frightening hunger and appetite most of the food in the city had been consumed. At this point in time, there was probably not much food left. As for the emergency war rations released by the government, not even a shadow of it could be seen. Maybe even the army had given in to panic and chaos. At this time, the majority of people had already started showing characteristics of other animals, beginning the transformation into monsters.


    The unease and fear in the hearts combined with the unbearable hunger turned a portion of the people hysterical. This emotion was apparently spreading and infecting the city at a rapid pace.


    ¡°Hand over all your food and women!¡±


    The so-called rationality and morals of humans is actually something that breaks down very easily. After a part of it had already crumbled, there was not much point in upholding the rest of it. It wasn¡¯t too hard to go from stealing food to stealing belongings to stealing women, eventually reaching the point where they would destroy things just to vent themselves. This was the reason why the city seemed to be so chaotic.


    There weren¡¯t many people in the other group, only 8 of them. Their numbers were a bit lesser than theirs but all of them were carrying weapons and had expressions full of madness on their faces. Their eyes burned with desire upon seeing the food in their hands and the women in their group.


    Bai Yi lifted up his chopper and Yu Han also held his katana but the others were empty handed, there wasn¡¯t even a decent weapon in their hands. Bai Yi had more than 10 kitchen knives with him but he didn¡¯t have the time to distribute it to the rest now.


    Qin Kai Rui and the rest were quite nervous. In the end, they were just some students who grew up in a peaceful environment, maybe they were good in some areas but when it came to street fights¡­


    ¡°Scram!¡± Bai Yi stepped forward and said coldly.


    Bai Yi¡¯s actions made a part of the group feel extremely shocked. However, Yu Han and Hong Qi Hua understood that at this time they cannot show even a hint of weakness or compromise. Apparently, the moral values of these people have collapsed and if they show any weakness now these people in front would only make use of it, causing everybody to get into big trouble.


    ¡°We only want food, hand over your food and we won¡¯t touch your women!¡± The leader of the group had the head of a cow and his right arm looked like the sickle of a praying mantis.


    ¡°I told you to scram!¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t compromise in the slightest and held the chopper tightly in his hands.


    ¡°Fuck, a cripple dare to be so arrogant!¡± The leader didn¡¯t expect Bai Yi¡¯s attitude to be so tough, he was just a guy with his left arm in a sling.


    ¡°Kill them all, steal their food and women! AOOO!¡± The group in front instantly let out mad cries. Looking at the fresh blood on their weapons, you could tell that they have already killed people. In addition to becoming monsters, the fear in their hearts overcame their rationality and they showed signs of madness.


    ¡°Charge!¡± The leader waved his machete and the group of them instantly rushed over.


    ¡°Kill them!¡± Bai Yi¡¯s voice became incomparably cold, this was not the time to be kind. If they still had those thoughts in their heads then it will definitely bring about their deaths.


    Before the others could get a hold of what was going on, Bai Yi and Yu Han already met with the first two people from the other group.


    Just kill them!


    Yu Han remembered Bai Yi¡¯s words and his heart became ruthless. Seemingly, he was very suited to these chaotic times. Dodging the baseball bat from his opponent, he spun around and with a whirl from the katana it cut into his opponent¡¯s waist. With a violent jerk, fresh blood and intestines instantly spewed out from his abdomen. The guy didn¡¯t think that Yu Han would be so ruthless, even more ruthless than him!


    On Bai Yi¡¯s side it was even more decisive, with a tilt of his body he dodged the attack and the chopper sliced across the opponent¡¯s neck. Crossing each other, the opponent could see incomparable coldness and decisiveness from Bai Yi¡¯s eyes. This isn¡¯t the eyes that a normal human should have, somebody from peaceful times can¡¯t possibly have this kind of murderous eyes!


    You guys are even less than food ingredients!


    ¡®Kacha!¡¯ A big head flew off and fresh blood sprayed all over Bai Yi.

 Chapter 20

    Fuck!


    The people opposite couldn¡¯t help but curse, it¡¯s true that they killed people but that only happened when they fought for food. At most they used their machete to hack on the body or arms, or smash heads with their baseball bats. What the heck is this, going for the kill and chopping off the head right from the start!


    Though they looked vicious, they were still normal people just a few days ago. When they saw the scene of the head flying, it was really too shocking for them and the rest of the group immediately stopped their charge.


    ¡°KILL!¡±


    Bai Yi suddenly roared fiercely at the group opposite with fresh blood dripping from his face, looking like the Devil.


    The other group was already frightened by Bai Yi¡¯s beheading, combined with his roar some of the them instantly turned around and ran away. When there¡¯s a first then there will be a second, the people remaining almost peed themselves from fear and within 10 seconds not a single trace of them could be seen. At this time, the rest of Bai Yi¡¯s group were still stunned from what just happened.


    ¡°Bai Yi, you killed somebody!¡± Qin Kai Rui suddenly said in fear, his body trembling.


    Bai Yi turned around and looked over, the blood that splashed onto him made him look incomparably vicious and malevolent. Qin Kai Rui, Dai Yu Yao, Khina and Ning Xue¡­the few of them instantly took a step backwards, seemingly frightened by Bai Yi¡¯s appearance. Only Hong Qi Hua, Woolf, Martin were still calm and their face unchanging. Probably only the few of them here could understand the reason why Bai Yi was being so ruthless.


    ¡°Woolf, catch!¡± Bai Yi threw the machete that he got from the person he killed to Woolf.


    ¡°All of you grab hold of a weapon, then bring the food along to the southern edge of the city.¡± Bai Yi instructed.


    After hearing Bai Yi¡¯s words, Hong Qi Hua and the other calm ones started moving, Woolf gave the machete in his hand a few practice swings and grinned a big grin with his dog mouth. Yu Han also cleaned the blood off his katana on the corpse on the floor and kept it in its sheath. As for the others, they were still in a daze. They couldn¡¯t adapt to Bai Yi¡¯s sudden ruthlessness and change.


    ¡°You guys killed people! People you know!!¡± Dai Yu Yao almost went crazy and shouted.


    Bai Yi looked at them after hearing her words and the few of them started trembling, seemingly afraid of him. Momo was being protected by Hong Qi Hua behind her and she covered Momo¡¯s eyes. Sharpei continued to follow dumbly beside Momo and when he saw Bai Yi looking over it immediately started to shake its tail.


    ¡°No need to block, let Momo see.¡± Bai Yi told Hong Qi Hua.


    Hong Qi Hua looked at Bai Yi shocked; Qin Kai Rui and a few others were even more stupefied. They couldn¡¯t believe their ears, what is he thinking of doing? Momo is just 4 years old, no normal parent would let a girl this young come in contact with such a bloody scene! However, Hong Qi Hua only paused for a moment and then released her hand. In the end, Momo is still Bai Yi¡¯s daughter.


    Momo immediately saw the two corpses on the floor after Hong Qi Hua released her hands. One of them had his tummy cut open with his intestines and blood poured out all over the floor. The other corpse was even worse, his head was chopped off by Bai Yi and a headless corpse laid on the floor.


    Seeing this scene, Momo started to tremble slightly and then she looked at Bai Yi.


    ¡°Did you see it?¡±


    ¡°I saw it!¡± Momo¡¯s eyes were filled with innocence and puzzlement.


    ¡°Remember in your heart, this world is already different from the one we knew. If you want to survive, then you need to become more resilient.¡± Bai Yi said seriously half kneeling in front of Momo, looking into her eyes from the same height. In reality, Momo had already encountered many such tragedies along the way, just that she never saw it in such a direct manner before.


    Honestly speaking, after encountering the Great Devil Snake, Seven-tailed Snake Vulture and such monsters, Bai Yi didn¡¯t have the confidence that he could always be by Momo¡¯s side. If, just if he accidentally died, Bai Yi hoped that Momo could be strong and continue living on without him.


    Momo looked at Bai Yi¡¯s eyes, almost seeing her reflection in it. Although she couldn¡¯t understand Bai Yi¡¯s words too well, but since her daddy said so then she must remember it well in her heart. Momo innocently and seriously nodded her head.


    Bai Yi stroked Momo¡¯s head, revealing a smile on his face.


    ¡°Quickly pack up our things, grab hold of a weapon and then head towards the south side of the city.¡± Bai Yi stood up and told the rest. Bai Yi¡¯s words just now seemed to be for Momo, but Momo was just a little girl, how could she understand so much? Most importantly, those words were meant to remind those students whose mindsets were still stuck in peaceful times.


    ¡°Preparations are done!¡± Hong Qi Hua followed.


    Hearing Hong Qi Hua, the rest of them discovered that she had packed a big piece of meat into a shirt she found from somewhere and tied in into a bundle, carrying it on her back. On her hand, was the still bloody baseball bat that the other corpse used.


    This way, carrying food was convenient and it wouldn¡¯t affect her movements or battle.


    ¡°We¡¯ll carry the food like this for now, if we find a suitable container later then we¡¯ll each carry some food.¡± Bai Yi looked at the preparations Hong Qi Hua made and nodded approvingly. Luckily in this team, not everybody was at a loss such as Yu Han, Hong Qi Hua and Martin. They were all clever people, knowing that the world has already changed from before.


    Although some of them were still in a daze, everyone eventually followed the team and gradually headed towards the south. As for the two people killed just now, nobody came to find trouble with them over it. There were no nosy passers-by and obviously no police came to arrest Bai Yi and Yu Han.


    The shops they passed by along the way were all in a mess, any edible items were already taken and any other things that could be used as weapons were also gone. However, the group of them did find a backpack shop, there were various types of backpacks inside all over the floor with footprints on them.


    ¡°Come in, all of you pick a backpack for yourself. Don¡¯t choose one that is too big or it will become a burden, all of us just have to carry a bit of food each and our movements won¡¯t be affected.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Why do we have to do that?¡± Dai Yu Yao couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    Naive like an idiot. Bai Yi sighed inside his heart.


    ¡°It¡¯s more convenient to carry food this way and it won¡¯t obstruct our movements as well. Quickly, don¡¯t waste time here.¡± Bai Yi repeated his instructions again and didn¡¯t bother about her again.


    At this time, Bai Yi and the other guys put down the meat that they were carrying and Bai Yi started handling the meat in the bag shop. Although his left arm was injured, his actions were still fast and split the meat into pieces weighing roughly 1 pound each. Hong Qi Hua noticing what Bai Yi was doing hurriedly came over to help.


    Now, other than the dim-witted Dai Yu Yao the rest of them started moving.


    Very quickly, all of them choose a bag each. Woolf and Martin understood well that the bags they choose should be simple, sturdy and shouldn¡¯t obstruct their movements. However, the bags Dai Yu Yao and Ning Xue chose were two nicer looking ones and as for Tang Ping, he chose a big hiking backpack.


    ¡°Pack the meat into your bags.¡± Bai Yi said.


    Due to Tang Ping choosing such a big bag, the amount of meat that he packed was the most. Seemingly after knowing what they would face in the future, Tang Ping had a few more considerations in his heart. No matter what, having food in your own hands is still the safest.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t say anything seeing Tang Ping like this but just picked a bag for Momo and put in 2 pieces of meat. As for Bai Yi himself, he picked a flat bag that just exactly covered his back. After filling it with meat, Bai Yi pulled the straps on the bag, securing it to his body.


    After everybody came out, Yu Han was already sitting inside a car.


    ¡°Not bad.¡± Bai Yi praised.


    Yu Han smiled but didn¡¯t give him a reply. Although he was praising him, but in Yu Han¡¯s ears he didn¡¯t feel too comfortable with it. To be exact, he disliked Bai Yi speaking to him like he was his superior. Not everybody would willingly accept being just a member, and unfortunately Yu Han was very interested in position of leader. However, Yu Han¡¯s status before was too normal and he wasn¡¯t outstanding in school, so nobody ever thought of letting him be the leader.


    As for Bai Yi, perhaps it is because of his age or because the others address him as Uncle Bai, so he unknowingly became the leader of this team.


    The few girls got onto the car while some of the guys carried the backpack and jogged behind the car towards the city south. Although they abandoned the car just now, that was just because of the car accidents blocking the road. Now the road was open and clear, if they could find a car now then obviously there was no need to wait until reaching the city south.


    My physical strength really increased!


    The group of them jogged along the way and thought silently in their hearts. Although Martin said that activated cells could produce special energy, nobody could feel it because they haven¡¯t reached the LV2 stage yet. Just as how normal humans knew that they had biological energy but are unable to sense it, normal humans could also use physical strength but they are unable to control parts of their strength or move it around. However, their physical strength did increase, the special energy in their bodies was apparently at work.


    The more they headed towards the south, the more chaotic the city became. People escaping, fighting for food, those who lost their minds from turning into monsters, those who had evil intentions in their hearts and committed evil, and the animals that started to prey on humans due to their extreme hunger¡­various lifeforms in the city acted in a play of Armageddon. At this time, Qin Kai Rui and Dai Yu Yao finally understood that the world had truly changed, no wonder Bai Yi and Yu Han dared to kill people.


    There were quite a lot of people in their group, more than 10 of them. Although some people had already lost their reason, none of them were blind enough to cause trouble with such a large group.

 Chapter 21

    Along the way they met a few other groups with around 3-5 people per group. It was apparent that everyone started to form teams of their own now. All the groups were cautious and wary of each other, but it was more or less peaceful heading towards the south. When the edge of the city was finally in sight, all of them felt relieved and happy. By this time, Bai Yi¡¯s group had already found 4 cars and they could head out of the city straight.


    However, just as they were about to exit the city, a road block appeared in front of them and they had no choice but to stop the car.


    Just as their cars stopped, 20 plus people rushed out from the sides, carrying various weapons in their hands. Not just cold weapons like machetes but a few of them even had handguns and shotguns. From the atmosphere that these people had and the tattoos on them, there was a high chance that these 20-odd people were from the underground gang in the area.


    ¡°Get down from the car, all of you get down!¡± The leader of the group, a man holding a shotgun shouted at them. The rest of them started to smash the car windows with their baseball bats, intimidating and pressuring Bai Yi¡¯s group.


    This is bad!


    Bai Yi looked at the group rushing over and the bloodstains on the floor, he could basically guess what these people were doing. They were blocking the exit to the city and then robbing everybody who passed by this place. If it weren¡¯t a specially organised group, facing 20 odd armed gangsters could only result in one thing¡­giving in. However, just giving in won¡¯t be enough, they probably planned to not just rob them.


    Bai Yi looked at Hong Qi Hua and she nodded back at him.


    Apparently, Hong Qi Hua thought the same way as Bai Yi. If it were just their supplies, then for the sake of safety they didn¡¯t mind giving it to them. However, the crucial thing is that there were girls in the team, beautiful girls. Hong Qi Hua, Dai Yu Yao, Jiang Lin Lin were all considered beautiful. In this chaotic time, being beautiful was not a good thing. If they didn¡¯t have the power to protect themselves then they would probably have a very tragic fate.


    ¡°Get down from the car!¡± The baseball bats outside continuously smashed onto the car with loud bangs. Other than Bai Yi and a few others who could remain composed, the others such as Dai Yu Yao and Jiang Lin Lin were already trembling all over.


    ¡°What should we do?¡± Hong Qi Hua asked.


    Inside the car were Bai Yi, Woolf, Hong Qi Hua and Momo. They could be considered the most composed group of people among the team. Bai Yi looked outside and knew that the best way to get out of this scenario was to reverse the car and barge their way through. Then they just had to avoid this group of people and find another road out of the city. However, at this time the terrified Qin Kai Rui, Dai Yu Yao and a few others already got off the car.


    Bai Yi could only sigh helplessly in his heart, there really was no chemistry in this team and the few of them were just too timid.


    ¡°We¡¯ll all get off except Woolf, you stay in here and get ready to ram into them with the car.¡± Bai Yi looked at the others getting off, he had to quickly make a decision. Luckily the car windows were closed, as long as they didn¡¯t speak too loudly the people outside wouldn¡¯t be able to hear what Bai Yi was saying.


    Bai Yi opened the door and get off with Hong Qi Hua. He intentionally blocked Woolf from their view in case they noticed what Woolf was doing. Actually, it was impossible for the gangsters to not notice but Bai Yi just hoped that these people took them lightly enough. But first they needed¡­


    ¡°What do you guys want?¡± Bai Yi asked, drawing the man¡¯s attention to himself. The words he wanted to say to get Woolf off the car were forgotten.


    ¡°Ha, what do we want? Quickly hand over all your food!¡± The leader pointed his shotgun at Bai Yi.


    ¡°You will let us go if we give you our food?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°En, of course! Hand over your food and we will let you go.¡± The leader agreed but his eyes were scanning over the bodies of the girls present. Their lust was obvious from the way they were looking at them and other than Hong Qi Hua who was relatively calm, Dai Yu Yao, Ning Xue and the other girls already felt very uneasy.


    ¡°Ok then, we¡¯ll hand over our food, but you must keep your word.¡± Bai Yi said and stretched inside the car, looking as if he was taking food for them. While he was moving, he looked at Yu Han. In this team, Bai Yi could only put his hopes on Yu Han to understand his intentions. As for the others, there was no need to expect too much.


    At this moment Yu Han just happened to look at Bai Yi too, though it was unclear if Yu Han understood Bai Yi just from that eye contact.


    Bai Yi entered the car and glanced at Woolf.


    ¡°Prepare to ram them.¡± Bai Yi said very softly but Woolf should have heard him. Woolf now had dog ears so his hearing is a lot more sensitive now. While he took the food, Bai Yi stroked Momo¡¯s head and nodded his head slightly and then looked at Sharpei.


    Bai Yi was the de facto leader of the team, since he already did so then the rest of them also thought that it would a good outcome if they could avoid conflict just by handing over their food. Qin Kai Rui and the others also turned to their cars and moved the food they collected out.


    However, Qin Kai Rui and the others did not understand Bai Yi¡¯s intentions at all. It could only be said that they had completely no chemistry, even till now they did not understand that the world had changed. The weak will not be able to survive in this world.


    Hmph, grab their food first and then make the few pretty girls stay behind. If this group cooperates then it¡¯s fine letting them leave, but if they don¡¯t then we¡¯ll just send them to hell like the group before them.


    The leader revealed a mocking smile on his face and secretly gave a signal. When his underlings saw the signal they instantly understood his intentions. It wasn¡¯t the first time that they blocked the road and robbed people, they were already familiarised with their ¡®profession¡¯. They had already stolen various supplies and beautiful women that they never could have gotten otherwise.


    When the world is in chaos and order broken, evil people were always better off than good people!


    Bai Yi carried a backpack out and glanced at what Yu Han was doing, hoping that he could coordinate with him. Yu Han on the other side was also observing Bai Yi, guessing his plans¡­it should be to fight back. Judging from Bai Yi¡¯s personality, he shouldn¡¯t be the kind of person to simply compromise. In that case, he is obviously trying to coordinate our actions and at the same timing¡­!


    The same time!


    Yu Han felt like he guessed Bai Yi¡¯s plans, as expected Bai Yi grabbed the bag and headed towards the leader with the shotgun.


    ¡°The food that we collected is packed inside these bags, it¡¯s mainly some dried meat that are more filling.¡± Bai Yi said and slowly walked towards the man with the shotgun. When the man was about to become wary Bai Yi suddenly threw the bag in his hand towards the man.


    Subconsciously, the man caught the bag with his hand; this is a natural human reflex.


    However, Bai Yi took advantage of that instant and drew the chopper from his back, viciously swinging towards the man. At the same time, Hong Qi Hua also targeted one of the man with a gun and with the bag as an obstacle swiftly attacked like a bolt of lightning.


    ¡®Kacha!¡¯ Before the gangsters could react two people were already on the floor. Bai Yi¡¯s chopper split the leader¡¯s head almost into half and he couldn¡¯t be more dead. Hong Qi Hua with a twist of her body cut open the carotid artery on the man¡¯s neck with her willow leaf knife.


    ¡°Bai Yi what are you doing! Are you trying to kill everybody!¡± Yu Han shouted as if he was shocked.


    Actually, Yu Han only lagged behind Bai Yi and Hong Qi Hua by half a beat. However, from his shout it seemed like Yu Han had no choice but to fight after seeing Bai Yi and Hong Qi Hua¡¯s actions. Yu Han by doing so very easily pushed the responsibility of this incident to Bai Yi, regardless of the outcome.


    ¡°Be careful!¡± Yu Han shouted again.


    ¡®BANG!¡¯ the deafening sound of gunfire rang but Yu Han swatted the barrel of the shotgun away in time and was uninjured. However, Jiang Lin Lin who stood in that direction cried out painfully and fell onto the floor. Yu han swung his katana horizontally and cut across his opponent¡¯s stomach.


    The sudden change shocked not only the opposing group but even Bai Yi¡¯s group was stunned. At this moment, Woolf hurriedly stepped on the accelerator and the car abruptly flew in front, charging towards the bunch of gangsters. This was a truly intentional hit and run, with a few ¡®bang!¡¯s he knocked some unlucky souls to the floor and rolled over them with the car. In an instant, loud painful cries filled the air incessantly.


    By this time, Bai Yi, Yu Han and Hong Qi Hua had already rushed towards the few other gun-wielding gangsters.


    ¡®BANG BANG BANG!¡¯ sounds of gunfire rang out, apparently the group of gangsters finally reacted and started shooting at Bai Yi¡¯s group. Those holding cold weapons also charged towards them fiercely, hacking indiscriminately towards Qin Kai Rui¡¯s group.


    A complete mess with no sense of organisation, it was just a chaotic street fight. However, compared to Bai Yi¡¯s group the gangsters were apparently more familiar with things like this. Qin Kai Rui and the other students were still pampered kids just a few days ago so they were at a complete lost suddenly facing a situation like this. However, when the machete hacked into their bodies the severe pain would force them to wake up no matter how lost they were.


    Tang Ping understood quite quickly so he immediately retaliated when the gangsters came charging. However, the giant hiking backpack that he picked earlier greatly slowed his speed and he couldn¡¯t dodge in time. The machete hacked into him and he fell onto the floor.


    Tang Ping got hacked in the head right in front of Dai Yu Yao and fresh blood sprayed everywhere.


    ¡°AHHHHH!¡± Dai Yu Yao screamed an ear-piercing scream. The gangster probably saw that she was a beautiful girl and seemed to be frightened to death, so he did not attack her. His goal was just to kill all the males and as for the beautiful girls he was of course going to keep them alive.

 Chapter 22

    From the start, Bai Yi knew that there would definitely be casualties on the team. However, he never had any hesitation or regret, as he knew that if they gave in, then the outcome would¡¯ve been even worse than this.


    This was the cruel world that they were faced with now!


    Those people who naively expected a perfect outcome without having to give anything up were the ones who would lose everything in the end!


    ¡­¡­


    Even though he already had the resolution, Bai Yi still hoped that more people would survive and live on.


    Out of the 6 gangsters that were holding guns, 3 of them were killed by Bai Yi, Yu Han and Hong Qi Hua at the start. However, there were still 3 left, and without any hesitation Bai Yi and Hong Qi Hua dashed towards their next opponents.


    Yu Han¡¯s actions were even faster than that of the two others. Since the responsibility of this incident had already been pushed to Bai Yi, what was left now was to demonstrate his strength and establish the image of him ¡®saving people¡¯. After that, he could slowly expand his influence within the group, eventually overtaking Bai Yi to become the leader.


    Yu Han swung his sword again, slashing apart the opponent¡¯s stomach. He then tilted his body down slightly and shot out like a bullet. Apparently, the genes he¡¯d fused with were not just from a snake and an ant.


    At this moment Qin Kai Rui saw his life flash past as a machete closed on him, but in the nick of time Yu Han appeared from the side and swung his katana horizontally.


    Of the two swords, one of them cut down vertically from the sky, and Qin Kai Rui¡¯s face froze in fear as he watched it drop. At this moment, Yu Han¡¯s cold and determined face appeared in his line of sight. His katana tilted at an angle, almost brushing past Qin Kai Rui¡¯s face and clashed with the machete, stopping it in its tracks.


    ¡®Clang!¡¯ the sound of impact rang violently!


    Qin Kai Rui seemed to be woken from his despair by the sound of the impact. He saw Yu Han twist his body and exert even more strength. With a ¡®kacha¡¯, the katana sliced through the machete and continued on with its momentum, slicing the gangster¡¯s head off as well.


    Yu Han¡¯s cold and resolute expression etched itself into Qin Kai Rui¡¯s mind.


    Hmph, Qin Kai Rui¡¯s girlfriend Jiang Lin Lin had already fallen due to the gunshot, what expression would he have later when he looked at Bai Yi, the culprit behind everything?


    After finishing off this opponent, Yu Han once again rushed towards another area where Ning Xue was in danger. Actually the gangsters did not really attack the beautiful girls on the team, but Yu Han knew that being a knight in shining armour is one of the best ways to capture a girl¡¯s heart.


    ¡­¡­


    Bai Yi and Hong Qi Hua took advantage of the confusion and pounced towards their second gun-wielding opponent, but there was still one remaining. This remaining guy should¡¯ve been Yu Han¡¯s opponent but now he was free to wreak havoc.


    Woolf saw this and was extremely anxious. He wanted to ram the car into that last gun-wielding gangster, but a car couldn¡¯t possibly be as nimble as a human. Woolf tried his best to change the direction of the car but he still couldn¡¯t make it in time. The gangster pointed his gun at Bai Yi.


    ¡°Sharpei!¡±


    Momo saw the remaining gangster point his gun at her daddy and immediately pointed and shouted anxiously.


    Sharpei barked twice and then jumped out of the rapidly moving car. It rolled a few rounds on the floor and then sprinted towards the guy pointing the gun at Bai Yi. Bai Yi was running around quickly from the start and the gangster had not fired yet as he was afraid of hitting his own people. Sharpei at this moment pounced onto him from the side and bit down on his neck. The gangster instantly howled in pain as fresh blood spewed out from the wound.


    He panicked and flailed around for a while before recalling that he was holding a gun. Without caring where he was aiming at, he pointed at Sharpei and fired.


    After a loud ¡®bang!¡¯, Sharpei¡¯s body stiffened but then its eyes revealed an even more vicious and brutal light. It mercilessly increased the force it was using and with strong jaw strength Sharpei closed its teeth and bit through the guy¡¯s neck. Sharpei landed on the floor and appeared to be exceedingly brutal. However, all of a sudden its body swayed and started to fall.


    ¡°Sharpei!¡± Momo saw Sharpei getting attacked and immediately shouted worriedly.


    By now, the situation was a complete mess, and when Woolf realised there were no individual gangsters that he could ram anymore, he immediately stopped and jumped out of the car with his machete. At the same moment, Momo also jumped out of the car and ran towards Sharpei.


    The gangsters who were already consumed by the fighting didn¡¯t care that Momo was just a 4 year old girl, and immediately one of them raised his machete.


    Bai Yi had been taking notice of Momo all along, as nobody was more important than her in Bai Yi¡¯s heart. The instant he saw that Momo was in danger, ruthlessness rose in his heart and he threw the chopper with all his strength.


    ¡®Kacha!¡± The chopper embedded itself into the skull of Momo¡¯s attacker, and he fell onto the floor. However, without his chopper to protect him another gangster came and brought his machete down onto Bai Yi. He tilted his head at the last moment as the machete brushed past his face and landed heavily into his shoulder.


    Bai Yi¡¯s opened his mouth and barely held his scream in. Luckily the machete had missed his head, or else he would¡¯ve been dead by now. Raising his right foot, Bai Yi viciously kicked the gangster in his groin and instantly the man bent down holding his lower part. At this time Bai Yi ignored the machete in his shoulder and rushed forward, putting all his force behind his knee and mercilessly smashed it into the gangster¡¯s face.


    With a dull thud, even Bai Yi felt that his knee was in pain. The guy that got hit was definitely not any better off, and he was knocked out cold onto the floor.


    Bai Yi felt his body stagger, but he immediately stilled himself, grabbed ahold of the machete stuck in his shoulder, and pulled. With a jerk, the machete was pulled out by Bai Yi, and it instantly made him grit his teeth in pain. However, he had no time to care about his injury and immediately swung the machete he just took out to block an incoming attack.


    ¡®Clang!¡¯ A machete from another gangster was blocked right in front of him.


    Cruel, decisive and ruthless!


    When the uncultured hooligan and Bai Yi stared at each other, words suddenly appeared in the hooligan¡¯s mind. He probably didn¡¯t know why would he think of these things, but he could clearly see them from Bai Yi¡¯s eyes. In Bai Yi¡¯s eyes now arose something that could never be seen in peaceful times. He was just like a vicious wild beast!


    Bai Yi now looked like a fiend, in his eyes these people were just ingredients for him to practice his culinary skills on.


    Using his strength, Bai Yi¡¯s right arm tensed, his veins could be seen on it and the blood on his shoulder flowed down non-stop. Bai Yi viciously pushed away the other machete and then swung his right hand.


    A few lines of light flashed and the hooligan opposite could only feel pain coming from multiple parts of his body as the life faded away from his body. At that moment, Bai Yi slowly kept his machete. This guy, what did he just do? The hooligan thought the last question in his head, and fell onto the floor, blood steadily pooling around his body.


    For a chef¡­the most important thing they needed to have was knife skills!


    When a chef treated his opponent like an ingredient to be handled, only then could the opponent experience the exquisite knife skills that he possessed. However, this wasn¡¯t anything that his opponent should¡¯ve been looking forward to.


    ¡°Woolf, help me take care of Momo.¡± Bai Yi suddenly said loudly.


    Woolf wanted to say something, but he watched as Bai Yi held his machete and headed towards the battlefield on the other side. Woolf didn¡¯t know why, but he was unable to reject him. The aura coming from Bai Yi was just something that wasn¡¯t there in normal times. This presence caused him to subconsciously follow Bai Yi¡¯s instructions.


    On Yu Han¡¯s side, he couldn¡¯t help but to observe Bai Yi as well. In Yu Han¡¯s heart, Bai Yi was the only one out of everybody here that could threaten him. It wasn¡¯t a threat of survival but the threat of leadership. When Bai Yi was facing danger, he could think about things calmly and rationally. This coupled with his strong individual strength made everyone have immense confidence in him.


    Those people holding guns were all dead, and those remaining were all those who were holding weapons like machetes or baseball bats.


    Bai Yi took a deep breath, accelerated, and dashed into the battlefield.


    These hooligan scum apparently thought that Bai Yi was the leader of this group. After seeing Bai Yi run over, Two guys immediately abandoned Martin and the girls, and ran towards Bai Yi as well. Although Bai Yi faced 2 opponents, he did not avoid them but faced them directly, lifting up the machete in his right hand.


    ¡°Uncle Bai!¡± Hong Qi Hua saw Bai Yi¡¯s actions and wanted to warn him to be careful, but in the end she only saw Bai Yi twist his body and the machete in his hand left a few afterimages in the air. The two gangsters that rushed towards Bai Yi couldn¡¯t even see what he did and instantly fell onto the floor.


    ¡°Fuck, so chefs are this awesome!¡± Woolf said dumbly. Of course, chefs weren¡¯t that strong, it was just that the area that Bai Yi was most skilled in was his knife skills.


    On the other side, Yu Han, with his great strength, was also like a tiger charging into a herd of sheep, wrecking havoc among the group as he wished. Any gangster that came into contact with Yu Han felt like they received a heavy impact and were forcefully thrown out with force. Anybody that got cut by Yu Han¡¯s sword was instantly split into half. At this moment, Yu Han started to understand just how strong he was.


    One had an exquisite knife skill and the other had brute strength!


    Not long after, even these bloodthirsty hooligans from underground gangs started to become terrified. This group of people was so brutal! The guy with the broken arm and the guy holding the katana were especially inhuman. Even in the battles between gangs, there weren¡¯t people as vicious as them.


    Initially it was just one, then two, then with somebody leading the remaining few gangsters, all of them followed and ran away as well. In a short while, other than the 10 odd corpses left on the road, the battle came to an end.

 Chapter 23

    ¡°Tend to your wounds, tidy up our supplies, and then we will¡­¡± Bai Yi started saying.


    ¡°Fuck your tend to wounds! Jiang Lin Lin is dead, my girlfriend is dead! Do you know that!¡± Qin Kai Rui interrupted Bai Yi and started shouting crazily. Qin Kai Rui was now in an extremely miserable state, he looked incomparably pitiful as blood flowed profusely from his wounds.


    Other than the girls, nobody got off uninjured in the battle just now. Even Yu Han suffered some small injuries. After all, he only got stronger physically and wasn¡¯t some martial arts expert.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just give them the food? You lunatic, people died because you wanted to resist! People died, do you understand? Ever since you entered the city you have been acting abnormally! Are you actually some cold-blooded psychopath?¡± Qin Kai Rui lashed out severely.


    Just as Yu Han expected, Qin Kai Rui blamed Bai Yi entirely for the death of his girlfriend. Although Yu Han made his move too, but with his shout he made it seem like he had no choice but to retaliate after seeing Bai Yi¡¯s actions. Moreover, Yu Han even saved Qin Kai Rui¡¯s life just now so he wouldn¡¯t think of blaming his life-saver.


    ¡°Tang Ping and Randt also died!¡± Dai Yu Yao said as if her soul has left her, face full of sorrow.


    There weren¡¯t many guys in the team from the start, there were only Bai Yi, Yu Han, Woolf, Martin, Tang Ping and Randt. The gangsters just now wanted to keep the girls so they avoided them, Bai Yi and Yu Han were too vicious, and Woolf wasn¡¯t an easy target either. Hence, the gangsters targeted Tang Ping and Randt, surrounding and killing them. As for Martin, he was definitely a quick-witted guy, seeing how he¡¯d managed to escape from the research facility alone.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s my fault!¡± Bai Yi apologised seriously.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry? Hahahahaha, you caused the death of so many people. What¡¯s the use of saying sorry!¡± Qin Kai Rui shouted with a hint of madness on his face.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care how much you guys hate me right now, but the most important thing for us to do now is to tend to our wounds, tidy up our supplies and leave this city.¡± Bai Yi looked at Qin Kai Rui and said calmly.


    ¡°BAI YI!!!¡± Qin Kai Rui gritted his teeth malevolently.


    ¡°Do you really think that we would have gotten away safely if we gave in?¡± Hong Qi Hua suddenly said in a composed tone. Initially the rest of them didn¡¯t hear it clearly and so Hong Qi Hua repeated her words again. The group who was looking at Bai Yi furiously then turned to look at Hong Qi Hua with hostility.


    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± Qin Kai Rui asked as if he were trying to pick a fight.


    ¡°Exactly what my words meant. If we gave in and handed our food over, would we really be able to get off so simply? Aren¡¯t you too na?ve? Or should I say that even up till now you are still stuck in the mindset that you had in peaceful times?¡± Hong Qi Hua¡¯s eyes were calm but within that calmness contempt and disdain could be seen.


    ¡°You¡­!¡± Qin Kai Rui had wanted to retort, but at this moment, two heavy trucks dashed out from the corner of the street and headed outside the city. They immediately saw that the people driving the heavy trucks were the bunch of scum from the underground gangs, and inside the truck were a few naked struggling women.


    ¡°Hmph, let¡¯s go take a look. Those scum were robbing supplies at the exit, so their gathering point should be close by.¡± Hong Qi Hua said.


    Hong Qi Hua did not care about the others after speaking, but just directly headed into the street that the heavy trucks came out from. The rest of them didn¡¯t hesitate for long, and also followed behind her. Before long, they came to a simple warehouse where there was a heavy truck remaining there.


    Hong Qi Hua slowly opened the door to the warehouse and cautiously walked in. After seeing what was inside the warehouse, she was shocked for a moment and then turned her head away. However, after a moment she turned her head back again and looked inside without any avoidance.


    ¡°See for yourself.¡± Hong Qi Hua said with a mocking tone of in her voice.


    By this time, the rest of them reached the warehouse as well, and found 4 beautiful women tied up inside. However, the beautiful women were completely naked with numerous marks of rape on their bodies and the stench of semen pervaded the entire warehouse.


    Seeing somebody walk in, this bunch of women didn¡¯t react as they were already numb as to what was happening to them. However, upon seeing that they weren¡¯t the bunch of gangsters their faces instantly lit up, but then a wave of dejectedness and despair swept over them right after. There were finally people here to save them, but why couldn¡¯t they have been just a bit faster? If they were just a little faster, then they would not have had to go through such abuse and humiliation.


    ¡°Do you think that they would let us off if we just simply gave in and handed over our food? Weren¡¯t you always proud of being pretty? Did you think they wouldn¡¯t have wanted you as well?¡± Hong Qi Hua said to Dai Yu Yao. At this time, Dai Yu Yao was in a complete daze.


    ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for Uncle Bai¡¯s timely actions, I¡¯m afraid that the few of us would become the same as them, just a bunch of playthings. As for Uncle Bai and the rest, to put it bluntly, they would¡¯ve probably been killed as well. Of course, if it came down to that we could always resist, but do you think the number of people dead would be less than now?¡± Hong Qi Hua laid out the truth.


    Bai Yi saw Dai Yu Yao becoming more and more ashamed as Hong Qi Hua spoke and patted Hong Qi Hua¡¯s shoulder to stop her from saying any more. Things that didn¡¯t happen couldn¡¯t be used as justification. No matter what, Jiang Lin Lin and the few others had died due to his decision. Although it was clear that Bai Yi¡¯s decision was the right one, it wasn¡¯t something that everyone could accept.


    ¡°Where are your clothes? Put them on first. Martin and Woolf, drive the car over, and the rest of you tend to your wounds.¡± Bai Yi said. Only now did Dai Yu Yao realise that Bai Yi had a giant wound on his shoulder, and his left arm hung limply from his shoulder.


    Woolf and Martin drove the car to the warehouse while Hong Qi Hua helped Bai Yi to bandage his wounds.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Uncle Bai, I only know some simple first aid.¡± Hong Qi Hua said helplessly after helping him bandage his shoulder wound. Even for Hong Qi Hua, who wasn¡¯t familiar with treating wounds, she could see that his left arm was almost hacked off. His bones and nerves were definitely damaged, and if this wasn¡¯t handled well his arm might be crippled forever.


    ¡°I am a doctor, although still an intern.¡± At this time one of the women who were captured finished wearing her clothes. The women saw Hong Qi Hua bandaging Bai Yi¡¯s wounds, and couldn¡¯t help but speak. Modern society wasn¡¯t like ancient times when chastity was extremely important. Although they were quite affected emotionally, they were still considered stable.


    ¡°Your name is?¡±


    ¡°My name is Bella.¡±


    ¡°Then Bella, sorry for troubling you.¡± Hong Qi Hua wanted to let Bella help Bai Yi treat his wound.


    At this time however, Bai Yi suddenly said, ¡°Bella, do you know surgery? Surgery to extract bullets?¡±


    ¡°I have learned surgery before, but I have never actually operated on anybody.¡± Bella said nervously.


    ¡°We don¡¯t really have a choice now. Even if you have no actual experience, it¡¯s still better than people like us who know nothing. Please.¡± Bai Yi said looking at Sharpei curled up on the floor. Blood was flowing out continuously from Sharpei¡¯s chest, and Momo cried sadly squatting beside Sharpei. To Momo, Sharpei wasn¡¯t just a pet.


    ¡°I can do it, but I don¡¯t have a scalpel right now.¡± Bella said at a loss.


    ¡°Will this do?¡± Hong Qi Hua took out her willow leaf knife. The willow leaf-shaped knife was meant for disassembling meat in the first place, and with its sharp blade, it was in no way worse than a scalpel.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± Bella nodded.


    ¡°Who is the casualty?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Sharpei.¡± Bai Yi said, bringing Bella to Sharpei. Bella finally understood that the casualty was this fat shar-pei dog. When she saw that it wasn¡¯t a human that she had to operate on, unknowingly the nervousness in her heart was released. Even if the surgery failed, she wouldn¡¯t be blamed much right?


    ¡°I need disinfectant. If there isn¡¯t any here, then we can use high alcohol content spirits. We also need some IV drips to replenish its energy¡­¡± Bella told Bai Yi.


    ¡°There should be such items collected by them in the heavy truck.¡± Bella saw Bai Yi and Hong Qi Hua¡¯s blank looks and explained to them.


    Bai Yi immediately ran towards the heavy truck after hearing what she said, and both Martin and Woolf came to help as well. With the situation as dangerous as it was now, having a doctor on their team would undoubtedly increase their chances of survival.


    The conditions inside the big warehouse they were in were exceedingly simple, so after a few simple preparations, Bella began her operation on Sharpei.


    ¡°There¡¯s no anaesthesia, will the dog struggle?¡± Bella asked before starting.


    ¡°Sharpei, don¡¯t move. This Miss Bella is here to help you.¡± Bai Yi said. After hearing what Bai Yi said, Momo also went up to Sharpei¡¯s ear and whispered a few things.


    Bai Yi looked at Woolf and said, ¡°Woolf, help to hold down Sharpei later and don¡¯t let it move around.¡±


    ¡°En, I understand.¡± Woolf immediately used his hands to lightly press on Sharpei¡¯s belly. Once it struggled, he would hold Sharpei down.


    After seeing that everybody had finished making their preparations, Bella took a deep breath and lifted up the willow leaf knife that she¡¯d disinfected beforehand. This was her first time performing an operation. Although the patient was a dog, there was still some nervousness inside. The rest of the team couldn¡¯t help but pay attention to the operation as well, curious to find out if the skills of this doctor were any good.

 Chapter 24

    Bullet extraction wasn¡¯t some major surgery, so after a few minutes the bullet was removed by Bella using a tweezer. Throughout the procedure, Momo was gently stroking Sharpei¡¯s head and amazingly it did not struggle at all, though Bella could feel Sharpei¡¯s muscles tensing up from the pain.


    After the bullet was extracted, Bella immediately helped Sharpei to bandage its wound. The place was too ill-equipped and many tools were unavailable, so all she could do was to do a simple bandaging. Before the surgery, Bella already told Bai Yi that this was very dangerous as Sharpei could die from blood loss or infection to the wound. However, Bai Yi still agreed in the end, as he had no other choice. What could he do if he disagreed? It was already the best option.


    After bandaging the wound Bella was already soaked in sweat. She then finally looked at Bai Yi, and nodded.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much, let me take a look at your shoulder too.¡± Bella said.


    Bai Yi nodded and let Bella examine the wound on his shoulder. After the examination Bella told Bai Yi some good news. Though the wound was severe, the main nerves were still intact. As long as he took care of it well, recovery shouldn¡¯t be a problem. After learning this, Bai Yi also let out a breath of relief. It would¡¯ve been really difficult for him to survive in this dangerous world with a crippled arm.


    ¡­¡­


    After everyone had finished bandaging their wounds, the mood of Dai Yu Yao and the others became much calmer and they suggested to collect the corpses of their dead teammates.


    This was a simple matter, so Bai Yi didn¡¯t go along with them. Very quickly, they came back but Dai Yu Yao and Qin Kai Rui¡¯s faces were full of fear.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Monsters appeared, not monsters like those in Hamilton but monsters evolved from animals! Those two things should¡¯ve been dogs but they are now more than 1 meter tall and feeding on the corpses. Their general appearance is hard to describe, but they are already very different from normal dog. We didn¡¯t alert them.¡± Yu Han said.


    ¡°Then what about Tang Ping¡¯s body?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    Dai Yu Yao heard Bai Yi¡¯s words and her face instantly lost colour. Bai Yi saw her expression and knew that the answer wouldn¡¯t be good. He didn¡¯t ask further, and seeing that everybody was already gathered here, he let out a breath of air.


    ¡°Now then, let¡¯s move out to Otorohanga!¡± Bai Yi said.


    Apparently, everyone agreed with him, especially Qin Kai Rui and Dai Yu Yao who¡¯d just seen the dog-like monsters. As for the 4 beautiful girls that they saved, they were willing to follow their team as well. Now that the world had changed, everybody knew that staying in the city by yourself was pretty much equivalent to waiting for your death, or maybe even a fate worse than death.


    Other than the 4 cars that the team had initially, they now had a heavy truck that was filled with supplies that the gangsters had robbed. Everybody got on the vehicles and left Te Awamutu.


    While passing by the road where they had their battle, the rest of them also saw the ¡®dog-like monsters¡¯ that Yu Han described. They really were monsters. It could be seen that the original bodies should¡¯ve been that of dogs, just that they were now over 1 meter tall and 2 meters long. Their sharp teeth were exposed to the outside, and there were some characteristics of other animals on their bodies, just like a big random stew of animal parts. One of the dogs even had a second head growing from its shoulder.


    The two dogs dragged all the corpses onto the pavement, and started feasting. Blood flowed unceasingly from the corpses, painting the ground red. Although the two sinister-looking dogs couldn¡¯t be compared to the monsters that¡¯d escaped from Northern Hamilton Research Facility, they were already scary enough.


    Cars drove past on the road, but nobody dared to stop those two dogs. On the contrary, the two dogs would look over and bare their sharp teeth at the cars passing by.


    ¡­¡­


    LV1-1: Binging Phase, Gene Fusion


    A few phrases flashed across the minds of those present as the cars drove past them and left those two sinister dogs behind.


    ______________________________________________________________


    There were two roads that they could take to Otorohanga. One of them was Otorohanga Road, which was the main road on the east side, and the other was Pokuru Road, which was more inland. Comparatively, Pokuru Road was simpler and not too many people were using it.


    Both roads had their risks and everybody argued for a while, eventually deciding on the more remote Pokuru Road.


    Just as everyone expected, there weren¡¯t many people using Pokuru Road, so it was quiet and peaceful on the road. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that everybody had injuries, they would¡¯ve still thought that they were living in the world from before, and that nothing had changed.


    Bai Yi was sitting silently in his seat, Sharpei was lying on the backseat unmoving, and Momo was hugging Bai Yi sadly. Although Bella had helped Sharpei remove the bullet, the operation was too basic and they weren¡¯t even able to stitch the wound up. Nobody could be certain if Sharpei would survive.


    While the car was driving, everybody was very quiet and there wasn¡¯t any chatter. After the incident, Qin Kai Rui and the rest didn¡¯t continue lashing out at Bai Yi but there was already a huge chasm in the team. A few of them still saw Bai Yi as the leader, but as for the others Yu Han succeeded in his goal of gaining influence in the team.


    Bai Yi closed his eyes and replayed the scenes of the battle. In the end he soundlessly sighed, and his mouth curled into a mocking smile.


    So it was like this!


    The convoy journeyed on steadily until they reached a gas station by the road.


    When Woolf saw the gas station, he drove the car in, and the other cars following behind stopped as well. The gas station was in a mess and apparently a lot of people had already come to this place. One of the gasoline pipes was damaged, and gasoline continuously flowed out onto the floor, filling the air with the thick smell of gasoline.


    Bai Yi got out of the car, and he knew with a look what the people that had come before did. They didn¡¯t simply come to pump gas for their car, but also damaged the gasoline pipe and then filled some jerrycans with gasoline from there. With the situation now, it was true that there was no harm in being prepared as nobody knew when fuel would run out. However, this way of doing things was benefiting yourself at the expense of others. It brought great inconvenience to the people after them and also wasted a lot of fuel.


    ¡°Pump some gas. I¡¯ll look to see if there¡¯s any suitable containers that we can use to fill with gas.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°En.¡± Woolf nodded. By now the rest of them had gotten out of their cars, and upon seeing Woolf¡¯s actions started moving as well. The few women who¡¯d just joined the team wanted to show their usefulness and tried to help, but for things as messy as this it would be good if they didn¡¯t create more trouble.


    The gas station wasn¡¯t too big, and any containers were long taken by other people, so Bai Yi didn¡¯t manage to find any. However, more importantly there was no need for containers anymore.


    ¡°Bai Yi there isn¡¯t much gas left. We can¡¯t even fill a car. Those bastards, almost all the gasoline has leaked from the pipe.¡± Woolf said when Bai Yi came back. The expressions on the others¡¯ faces weren¡¯t good either, the cars were randomly picked from the city and there wasn¡¯t much gas in them in the first place. Probably very soon their cars would all run out of gas.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok, this kind of situation would appear sooner or later. It¡¯s all good as long as the gas can last us till Otorohanga.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°But Otorohanga should be pretty chaotic too right?¡± Woolf questioned.


    ¡°Of course, the entire New Zealand is in chaos.¡± Bai Yi looked at Woolf and smiled. Woolf looked at Bai Yi¡¯s smile in confusion, how can he smile when all of New Zealand was in chaos? Shaking his head, Woolf couldn¡¯t be bothered to ask as he wasn¡¯t good at using his brain.


    ¡­¡­


    The group stopped when they reached Mt. Cook because¡­ they were hungry.


    New Zealand was a place with a large landmass but a low population. On the sides of the roads were wide-open plains that were also natural pastures. Mt. Cook was only 400+ metres tall, and wasn¡¯t considered big as well. At an intersection at the foot of the mountain were two classic-looking bungalows. The group drove the car into the courtyard and checked around. After a quick check, they discovered that there was nobody left in the bungalows and that everybody had already fled.


    ¡°We will borrow the kitchen here and prepare some food. Those with nothing to do can rest. Those who know how to cook, raise your hand.¡± Bai Yi said to everybody. However, the group that was following Yu Han now ignored Bai Yi and headed towards the other bungalow. Apparently, among the team Bai Yi was no longer trusted.


    Ha¡­ Bai Yi mocked himself in his heart.


    ¡°Entering somebody¡¯s else home like this, is there really no problem?¡± There was actually one among the four women they¡¯d rescued that stayed with Bai Yi.


    ¡°We¡¯re just borrowing the kitchen and now isn¡¯t the time to care about such things so much.¡± Bai Yi looked at the woman who¡¯d just spoken.


    ¡°Qi Hua, can you cook? I¡¯ll teach you from the side. It¡¯ll be fine as long as the basic seasonings are added properly.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°En, ok!¡± Hong Qi Hua nodded.


    ¡°I cook frequently at home too, do you need help?¡± The woman that didn¡¯t leave spoke. 4 women had joined their team, and Bai Yi haven¡¯t even asked them for their names yet. However, now the 3 other women had followed Yu Han to the other bungalow, and only she remained behind.


    ¡°Sure, but what is your name?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°Heloise!¡±


    The 4 women were all very beautiful. If they weren¡¯t beautiful then those gangsters wouldn¡¯t have captured them in the first place. The names of the 4 women were: 1. Bella (Intern Doctor), 2. Heloise (Newly-wed), 3. Agatha (University Student), 4. Meilin (Freelancer).


    Actually they weren¡¯t the only ones who¡¯d got captured. When the remaining gangsters escaped, they brought a few women with them too. In this age, it was really a tragic fate for young and beautiful women who were unable to protect themselves.


    The job of cooking was handed to Hong Qi Hua and Heloise, while Yu Han and his group went to the other bungalow. Seemingly while they were on different cars, the new people all heard about how cold-blooded Bai Yi and Hong Qi Hua were. Other than Heloise, the rest of them were unwilling to stay with Bai Yi.


    However, Bai Yi and Hong Qi Hua didn¡¯t pay much attention to this. Both of them were rather solitary people, and would never bother trying to please others.


    Bai Yi returned to the car and found Sharpei lying in the back seat, blood slowly seeping out from the bandaged wound and staining the seat red. Seeing Bai Yi come over, Sharpei whined weakly. Bai Yi stroked Sharpei¡¯s head and then gently hugged Momo in silence.


    ¡°Daddy, Sharpei will be ok right?¡±


    ¡°En, it will be fine.¡±


    Although Bai Yi wasn¡¯t a doctor, he knew that under normal conditions Sharpei would¡¯ve never survived with wounds like that. Strangely, Sharpei¡¯s condition now was actually quite stable and was even showing signs of recovery. The only explanation for this were the extra things in Sharpei¡¯s body now ¨C activated cells!

 Chapter 25

    Heloise and Hong Qi Hua prepared food while the others tended to their own things. The place that their bungalow was at was surrounded by vast open plains illuminated brightly by the sun. Everybody started to relax in a place like this, and felt like all their troubles were things that had happened a long time ago. Bai Yi carried Momo and stood beside the car, enjoying this moment of warmth and serenity.


    ¡°AH!¡± All of a sudden, a fleeting scream came from Yu Han¡¯s side and very quickly became a wail of death.


    ¡°Sit in the car and don¡¯t move.¡± Bai Yi told Momo and made sure the car doors and windows were completely shut before running over.


    There were already a lot of people gathered when Bai Yi arrived.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Bai Yi asked, but nobody answered him. Bai Yi smiled mockingly at himself and then turned around and walked out with Hong Qi Hua. Apparently, Yu Han¡¯s group did not like having him around. It was only because they had the same goal that they were moving together for now.


    ¡°Something unknown appeared from the toilet bowl. I could only see that it was black, long, and around as thick as my arm. It suddenly appeared from below and bit through Agatha¡¯s stomach.¡± Yu Han felt that at this time he should appear more magnanimous.


    Ning Xue also nodded her head in fear at the side. Apparently the sudden appearance of the monster shocked her badly. Initially it was her who was preparing for a bath, but then Agatha said that she had a stomach ache, so she let her relieve herself first. She never dreamed that something like this would happen. Seeing a gaping hole in the lower part of Agatha¡¯s body and the blood gushing out from it, Ning Xue was shivering uncontrollably.


    Yu Han gently used his left hand to hug Ning Xue, letting her body slowly calm down.


    Bai Yi looked at Agatha¡¯s corpse. Her original delicate face was now warped in fear, from the looks of it she never expected that she would meet her end this way in this place. Bai Yi nodded his head to acknowledge Yu Han¡¯s words and then left with Hong Qi Hua.


    ¡°We are going to change our location; this place isn¡¯t safe anymore. It would be best if we could move to an open space. If there are any evolved lifeforms, we can discover them earlier as well.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Just what were those things? What do you guys know?¡± Heloise asked.


    ¡°I intended to tell you everything over lunch. Since we¡¯re not that tight on time anyway, let¡¯s make something to eat first.¡± Bai Yi told Heloise.


    ¡°Woolf, see if you¡¯re able to move the gas canister outside, and then make a simple stove on an empty patch of land. The taps in the kitchen are also connected to the sewers, so it¡¯s best if we seal off all of them.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°We¡¯re not leaving this place?¡± Woolf asked in confusion. Since there was something so dangerous here, shouldn¡¯t we be leaving this place?


    ¡°To where? We still have to cook and eat. Unless you want to go to the forest and chop down trees for firewood? Do you think it will be any less dangerous there?¡± Bai Yi questioned back.


    Woolf thought for a while and then finally understood. The black shadow that Yu Han and Ning Xue saw was obviously an evolved lifeform that got infected by activated cells. Since such a monster appeared in the sewers, then there were probably numerous other monsters in the forest as well. Going to the forest now to cut down trees for firewood¡­ God knew what they would encounter.


    ¡­¡­


    At this time, Yu Han and Qin Kai Rui brought Agatha¡¯s corpse out, dug a hole, and gave her a simple burial. Behind the two of them, the girls were all delicately hiding and avoiding the corpse, afraid to go close to it.


    ¡°If it were me, I would intentionally let the girls be the ones to handle the corpse.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°This is why you are so unpopular.¡± Hong Qi Hua said. Bai Yi and Hong Qi Hua then turned to look at each other and laughed.


    What Bai Yi meant by intentionally letting the girls handle the corpse was not to be mean and bully them but to train them. In the present New Zealand, the girls couldn¡¯t carry on being the delicate flowers that they were, or else the next ones to die might just be them.


    However, just like Hong Qi Hua said, people like Bai Yi would sometimes draw the loathing of people, just like in the battle that had broken out at the edge of the city.


    ¡­¡­


    Although somebody died just now, nobody lost their appetites and were all wolfing down their food frantically. The unimaginable hunger and appetite during the binging phase kept gnawing away at their minds. Not to mention people dying, if it were any later, eating people wasn¡¯t impossible as well.


    ¡°Can I ask why you chose my side?¡± Bai Yi asked Heloise while eating.


    Although it wasn¡¯t explicit, it could be seen that the team has split into 2 parts. On Bai Yi¡¯s side were 1. Bai Yi 2. Momo (Pet: Sharpei) 3. Hong Qi Hua 4. Woolf 5. Heloise. Yu Han had more people on his side 1. Yu Han 2. Qin Kai Rui 3. Dai Yu Yao 4. Ning Xue 5. Khina 6. Bella 7. Meilin. As for the last person Martin, he did not explicitly join any team but floated around both groups.


    ¡°Your side?¡±


    ¡°You know about the battle at the city edge right, because of my decision 3 people in the team died.¡± Bai Yi asked curiously.


    ¡°You made the right choice!¡± Heloise¡¯s eyes lit up for a moment.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I also encountered those scum with my husband, guess what happened in the end?¡±


    ¡°Your husband handed over your food and other resources to those people, but they weren¡¯t satisfied with that and seeing your beauty they wanted to have you as well. Your husband for the sake of his own safety didn¡¯t dare to resist. He probably was unwilling but after getting beaten up he chose his life over yours.¡± Bai Yi said calmly yet with cruel bluntness.


    ¡°Hahaha, you really are special.¡± Heloise laughed. She definitely suffered greatly after being captured by those people, but Heloise now did not feel inferior or ashamed. Talking about her own matters she appeared extremely calm and undisturbed.


    ¡°Actually, I hoped that he¡¯d resist even if it meant dying together there.¡± Heloise said in a low tone. Her voice was calm but contained a deep sorrow. Apparently, the calmness was just on the surface, and inside she was still in pain and suffering over it.


    ¡°Let me tell you about the reason why New Zealand turned into this state then.¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t try to console her. Heloise still seemed extremely rational. Since she could still show such calmness then she did not need his consolement. Moreover, they were just strangers, so he did not think that his consolement would be of much use.


    ¡°En, ok, I¡¯m really curious as to what happened in this country.¡± Heloise went along with Bai Yi¡¯s change in topic.


    Bai Yi explained everything to Heloise, and on the other side Yu Han also gave his explanation to Bella and Meilin. When Heloise heard about everything she was just as shocked as Bai Yi and the rest were when they¡¯d heard the information. The 2 women on the other side weren¡¯t much different, but with Martin stepping in to explain and everybody¡¯s transformations as evidence, there wasn¡¯t much of a reason to doubt them.


    Activated cells ¨C the cause of everything!


    ¡°Truly a bunch of lunatics.¡± Heloise said clenching her teeth after understanding everything.


    ¡°There is no meaning in talking about this now. We found out from Martin that there¡¯s a research facility in Tongariro National Park that may have a drug that can let us retain human forms, so we¡¯re headed there now. The situation just now was quite dangerous, so we just brought you along with us, but now I need to ask ¨C what plans do you have?¡± Bai Yi asked Heloise.


    ¡°None at all. I¡¯ll follow you guys.¡± Heloise shook her head.


    ¡°Then welcome to the team.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, I hope that I don¡¯t create trouble for you guys.¡± Heloise nodded her head.


    Woolf and Hong Qi Hua did not have any objections as well. Somebody cool-headed like Heloise should be well-suited to acting in a team. Moreover, with the way that Woolf was looking at Heloise¡­ he¡¯d probably already fallen in love with this beautiful lady. Sadly, with Woolf looking like a dog now, it was unlikely that there would be any results.


    On the other side, Bella and Meilin also chose to stay with the team. Other than following the team, Bella and Meilin didn¡¯t know how they would survive in such a world alone too. The thing that a team could give was not only a sense of security.


    ¡­¡­


    After eating, everyone set off again with heavy hearts. When the sky turned dark they finally saw Otorohanga in the distance, and Bai Yi held the phone in his hand, worrying in his heart. Not long ago he was on the phone with Sara, but now the signal was lost so he didn¡¯t know about her situation either.


    ¡°Bai Yi, they stopped!¡± Woolf said.


    Bai Yi looked over and saw that the cars from Yu Han¡¯s group stopped by the roadside, and they slowly got out of the car. Woolf also stopped and stretched his head out of the car.


    ¡°Hey! what are you guys doing?¡± Woolf asked.


    ¡°We are not planning to enter the city. Now that the sky is dark, Yu Han says that rather than entering the chaotic city it would be safer to find a place to stay in the outskirts.¡± Khina explained, seeming apologetic and down. Her place in the team now was rather awkward, she was originally Yu Han¡¯s girlfriend, but now Yu Han and Ning Xue were behaving intimately with each other. She felt that the atmosphere in the team now wasn¡¯t right but she didn¡¯t want to make Yu Han angry either.


    ¡°Bai Yi, what do we do?¡± Woolf asked.


    Hong Qi Hua and Woolf both knew that Bai Yi had a friend waiting for him in Otorohanga. At this time, Yu Han also came over and told Bai Yi his decision personally and waited for his reply. If Bai Yi chose to enter the city then undoubtedly the team would truly split apart.

 Chapter 26

    ¡°Bai Yi, you should understand what the situation is like in the city now since we were in Te Awamutu. It is not a wise choice to enter the chaotic city now that the sky has turned dark. I know that you have a friend in Otorohanga, but you have to think about the others. You can¡¯t expect to place everybody else in danger just for that one friend of yours.¡±


    Bai Yi looked at Yu Han with his multi-coloured irises. This guy!


    ¡°I know, I won¡¯t force you guys to go in.¡± Bai Yi said after a moment of silence. Objectively, Bai Yi knew that Yu Han was right and that he shouldn¡¯t place others in danger just because of a friend of his. However, Bai Yi was also not a greenhorn in society so he could guess what Yu Han¡¯s intentions were¡­he wanted to force him to leave, and he could even take the moral high ground by justifying that it was for the sake of the team.


    After speaking, Yu Han looked at Hong Qi Hua with desire in his eyes.


    Heloise who just joined the team hesitated slightly upon hearing Yu Han, while Hong Qi Hua stood still and looked at Bai Yi silently. Bai Yi laughed unreservedly and then went back into the car. Suddenly, Woolf also opened the car door and sat on the driver¡¯s seat.


    ¡°You¡¯re not staying? Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°Ha, are you joking? If I stay you can¡¯t even drive the car away.¡± Woolf laughed loudly and said. Bai Yi¡¯s left arm was still in a sling across his chest and completely immobile. At this moment, Hong Qi Hua also entered the other car and sat on the driver¡¯s seat.


    ¡°Hong Qi Hua what are you doing?¡± Yu Han asked but he had already guessed the answer in his heart.


    ¡°I¡¯m going with Uncle Bai, I don¡¯t think you have any issues with us taking the food in these two cars?¡± Hong Qi Hua said, her bright eyes staring at Yu Han.


    ¡°You will be in danger if you do this.¡± Yu Han didn¡¯t want to give Hong Qi Hua up. Not only because Hong Qi Hua became very beautiful now but also because she was very capable compared to the rest of the team. Yu Han actually looked down on people like Qin Kai Rui and Dai Yu Yao. They just couldn¡¯t adapt to this changed world.


    ¡°I know that to put your other friends in danger for the sake of one friend is something very stupid, but¡­ if it were you who was in danger, what would you be hoping for?¡± Hong Qi Hua smiled plainly.


    After hearing Hong Qi Hua¡¯s words, Heloise also bit her teeth and sat in the back.


    Hahahaha!


    Bai Yi wanted to laugh out loud. That¡¯s right, in this world many things were ¡®irrational¡¯ but at the same time many people would still do them, and why was that the case? Bai Yi knew that Yu Han¡¯s words made a lot of sense, but apparently there were quite a few people who were willing to be stupid with him.


    The two cars drove out, leaving Yu Han and the rest by the road side. Actually, Martin wanted to join them as well, but he¡¯d hesitated for a moment and completely lost the chance to go with them.


    ¡°Look for a residence nearby. We will rest for a night there and then continue heading for our destination tomorrow.¡± Yu Han calmed down quickly and said to the rest. As for himself, he looked at the direction where Bai Yi and his group set off to, feeling unresigned in his heart.


    ¡­¡­


    Bai Yi sat on the seat gently hugging Momo, not saying a single word. Some things didn¡¯t need to be said so clearly. Since Woolf, Hong Qi Hua and Heloise were willing to follow him, it meant that they trusted him. Bai Yi then had the obligation to repay their trust and bring them to a safe place.


    However, life just seemed to enjoy playing pranks on people. Just as Bai Yi had these thoughts, a few cars came speeding towards them from in front and almost collided with their car. Even though they managed to avoid them, the two cars still violently scraped against each other, almost resulting in an accident. Woolf stopped the car and wanted to swear at them, but the other car did not even bother to stop and was long gone.


    ¡°Fuckers. What are they in a rush for? Don¡¯t ever let me catch you!¡± Woolf cursed and complained.


    At this moment, another few cars sped towards them as well, rushing past them by the road. Bai Yi squinted his eyes and looked towards Otorohanga.


    ¡°Uncle Bai!¡± Hong Qi Hua looked at Bai Yi.


    ¡°There¡¯s trouble!¡± Bai Yi said gravely.


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t there trouble long ago? Everybody knows that the city is in chaos.¡± Woolf said casually.


    ¡°We¡¯re not talking about the city being chaotic but some other trouble has appeared. Do you remember that ever since Te Awamutu we didn¡¯t encounter any cars driving towards the north but they were all driving to the south? Why is that? It¡¯s because everyone got to know about monsters appearing in Hamilton from the internet, so they were all escaping from that direction. However, the few cars just now were driving towards the north in such a hurry. It can only mean that there was some reason that made them disregard the monsters in Hamilton¡­and the only possible reason for that is that monsters appeared in Otorohanga as well. These monsters must be close by, and for the sake of escaping, they couldn¡¯t care about the other monsters from Hamilton.¡± Bai Yi analysed quickly and rationally.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be, really?¡± Woolf said, stupefied.


    Even though they managed to escape from the monsters twice and even managed to kill a Seven-tailed Snake Vulture, Woolf was still deeply afraid of them.


    ¡°Remember what Martin said? There¡¯s a total of 121 research facilities in New Zealand. Since the experiments in Northern Hamilton can escape, then it is only a matter of time before the experiments from the other research facilities do so as well. I only hope that the number of experiments in the other research facilities aren¡¯t too many.¡± Bai Yi said seriously.


    ¡°Then what do we do? Are we still going inside?¡±


    ¡°Go back and inform Yu Han¡¯s group.¡±


    ¡°Huh, inform them?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, inform them. Let¡¯s head back first and I¡¯ll explain in a while.¡± Bai Yi said. Woolf didn¡¯t understand much but now Bai Yi was the leader of the team. Since he already said so then the two cars immediately turned around and drove back.


    When they came back, Yu Han¡¯s group apparently also found that something was wrong and was still looking around in that direction. Seeing Bai Yi¡¯s group drive back, the group was quite flabbergasted.


    ¡°You saw the cars driving past, right?¡± Bai Yi said immediately after getting out of the car.


    ¡°En.¡±


    ¡°Can you guess the reason why?¡±


    ¡°Monsters.¡± Yu Han said coldly. When the rest of them heard him they were instantly terrified and started to panic.


    ¡°Cross the city together?¡± Bai Yi said, giving an invitation that wasn¡¯t really considered an invitation.


    ¡°Are you joking! You know that there are monsters there and you still want to head towards the city? If you want to die, don¡¯t come back and drag us along!¡± Qin Kai Rui instantly started shouting furiously. However, both Yu Han and Bai Yi chose to ignore Qin Kai Rui. This Executive Secretary of the student union and admired child of fortune was falling more and more behind in this changed world. He was just like a flower protected in a greenhouse that would quickly wilt without it.


    ¡°Reason!¡±


    Haha. Bai Yi mocked slightly in his heart.


    ¡°We are different from other people. Their goal is just to escape from the monsters, while our goal is the research facility in Tongariro National Park. To go to that place, we have no choice but to pass by Otorohanga. Of course, it¡¯s possible to take a detour, but we would need to take a huge detour as there aren¡¯t any roads that can bring us around the city without entering the city itself. We don¡¯t have time to waste. The more time we spend here, the more dangerous New Zealand is going to get.¡±


    ¡°Martin said that there¡¯s 121 research facilities in New Zealand. Since monsters already appeared here, nobody knows when the monsters from other research facilities will appear as well. There is no benefit in taking a long detour.¡± Hong Qi Hua also added on calmly.


    Yu Han heard and looked at Hong Qi Hua.


    Yu Han wasn¡¯t trying to brag but he felt that he was very amazing, just that in this world where people liked to keep the status quo, he just didn¡¯t have a chance a show how remarkable he was. However, it was different now. With the collapse of order in New Zealand, the power of individual ability was now magnified to the utmost. Those people who were admired were now just crude and unassuming, while those who were initially unremarkable were now releasing their brilliance.


    In the team, Yu Han thought there were 3 remarkable people¡­Yu Han himself was one, Bai Yi was another, and Hong Qi Hua was the last one. As for the others, it wasn¡¯t that Yu Han looked down on them, but it was just that the difference was really too big. It wasn¡¯t about ability, but attitude.


    It was true that Yu Han wanted to become the leader of the team, but even more than that he wanted Hong Qi Hua to be part of his team. Sadly, however, Hong Qi Hua just didn¡¯t seem to be interested.


    ¡°Ok, we will cross Otorohanga together and then head to Tongariro National Park Research Facility.¡± Yu Han agreed.


    ¡°Yu Han, did you go crazy too? Those are monsters, monsters!¡± Qin Kai Rui said deranged, just like a real madman he was increasingly losing his composure. However, it seemed like he wasn¡¯t the only one that thought this way. Dai Yu Yao, Bella and the other girls also had looks of unease. It was just that they didn¡¯t express it so explicitly.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Yu Han looked at Qin Kai Rui whining non-stop and being a nuisance. He suddenly felt that rather than leading a bunch of idiots it was better to find a few reliable teammates.


    ¡°Bai Yi and Hong Qi Hua already explained it very clearly, clear your head up and think about things properly! Look at yourself now¡­pig head. New Zealand has already changed. Stop being stuck in the previous world!¡± Yu Han said fiercely, grabbing hold of Qin Kai Rui¡¯s collar and lifting him up close.


    Qin Kai Rui was stunned from the scolding, and then he looked extremely down.


    Was it like this? Was he still stuck in the world before? Just a few days ago, he was the Executive Secretary of the student union. He was the only male in the 3 generations of the Qin family, and he was destined to inherit his family¡¯s business empire. He never lacked money or beautiful girls, but in just a few short days everything changed. He not only lost everything but even fused with the genes of a pig and turned into a pig head. Even his body was also starting to swell and become fat.


    Fuck!


    Qin Kai Rui gripped his fists tightly with his eyes blood-shot.

 Chapter 27

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand, why did we come back?¡± Woolf asked.


    ¡°Woolf, you can be confident, but not arrogant. Do you have the confidence to face a monster with just the few of us?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°¡­I don¡¯t!¡± Woolf thought about it and shook his head.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I don¡¯t have the confidence either, and there may not only be one monster in the research facility. Although I really dislike Yu Han, sometimes we can¡¯t act purely based on our likes and dislikes.¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°Hahaha, just like they said, I¡¯m really a musclehead.¡±


    Although they decided to cross Otorohanga together, they did not move immediately. At this time, even Bai Yi had to admit that entering the monster-infested city at night was really too dangerous. He couldn¡¯t put the people who trusted him into danger, so all of them decided to stay for the night and move out tomorrow morning.


    ¡­¡­


    There were quite a few residences scattered around, so the group very quickly found two empty houses to stay in. Not everyone had left the neighbourhood, and when the other residents saw the group of them trespass into other people¡¯s homes, they didn¡¯t try to be nosy either. Everyone understood what the situation was like in New Zealand now so there was no point in calling the police. As long as Bai Yi¡¯s group did not target them for any violent crimes, they would already thank their lucky stars.


    After meticulously checking every corner and sealing all the small cracks or holes in the house, everybody prepared to go to sleep.


    Momo was tired long ago, so when Bai Yi carried her to bed she very quickly fell asleep. Bai Yi gently kissed Momo on her forehead and smiled warmly.


    Activated cells, gene fusion¡­ This would be terrible news to anybody but to Momo it may be an opportunity. Momo¡¯s congenital disease caused her vision to worsen and now she was almost blind. However, Momo told Bai Yi yesterday that her vision was actually getting better!


    This was a rare piece of good news!


    ¡°Uncle Bai, are you in?¡± Hong Qi Hua¡¯s voice came from outside the room.


    ¡°I¡¯m here, what are you doing here so late at night instead of resting?¡± Bai Yi opened the door and let her in.


    ¡°I have an idea to discuss with Uncle Bai.¡± Hong Qi Hua said without beating around the bush and entered Bai Yi¡¯s room.


    ¡°What idea?¡±


    ¡°Taking the initiative to fuse with genes from other lifeforms!¡± Hong Qi Hua said softly.


    Bai Yi was surprised for a moment, and then looked at her and laughed. What a crazy idea, the people in his team were really a bunch of lunatics. However, since Bai Yi could laugh, it meant that he also had this idea in his head, just that it was still an incomplete and immature idea.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go call Woolf and Heloise, I know what you mean. I¡¯ve been thinking about this too.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°En!¡± Hong Qi Hua nodded.


    Very quickly Woolf and Heloise was called by Bai Yi into the room. The two of them were apparently quite surprised, what did Bai Yi want from them at this hour? When Woolf saw Hong Qi Hua, he had a ¡®just as I expected¡¯ look on his face, and laughed at Bai Yi teasingly.


    ¡°What are you laughing about?¡±


    ¡°Bai Yi, I think this isn¡¯t too appropriate? Why did you ask us to come to be lightbulbs when you were staying together with Hong Qi Hua?¡±


    ¡°Tch your head is always full of nonsense, I wanted to discuss something serious with you guys.¡± Bai Yi immediately understood what Woolf meant. Apparently, he thought that there was something going on between him and Hong Qi Hua. To be honest, Hong Qi Hua was really outstanding. If it was possible, Bai Yi was willing to woo her as well. However, after adopting Momo, Bai Yi gave up on the thought of finding a wife. Very few women would be willing to accept having an unknown girl becoming their daughter.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Woolf did not continue teasing.


    ¡°Should we take the initiative to fuse with genes from other lifeforms?¡±


    ¡°Did you go mad!¡± Woolf instantly became shocked after hearing Bai Yi.


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t go mad. I¡¯m serious about this.¡± Bai Yi shook his head.


    ¡°Martin already said that according to the level of the activated cells ranging from LV1 ¨C LV9, the number of times a person could undergo gene fusion was also correspondingly 1 ¨C 9 times. We now already have a preliminary idea of how powerful activated cells are, and not fusing with genes from any lifeform is basically impossible. So I think, rather than unintentionally fusing with some random useless genes, why don¡¯t we take the initiative to fuse with the genes of more useful lifeforms?¡± Bai Yi said while Hong Qi Hua opened her laptop and took notes.


    ¡°Why are we taking the initiative to fuse genes? I still don¡¯t understand.¡± Heloise questioned.


    ¡°Because of abilities and power! You should¡¯ve already seen Yu Han¡¯s strength; an initial estimate would be that he can lift an object of 2 tons. Although Woolf is also very strong, he is apparently weaker than Yu Han. The only difference between them is that they fused with different genes.¡± Hong Qi Hua raised her head and explained to Heloise.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about the experiments that escaped from the research facilities. Just the shadow that we encountered this afternoon from the sewers is already very dangerous to normal humans. If we want to survive in this world that is becoming more and more dangerous, we need greater strength. So now¡­the way I thought of to increase our strength is to pick genes from useful lifeforms to fuse with, such as ants!¡± Hong Qi Hua said very seriously.


    Woolf and Heloise were completely stunned. This idea, this crazy idea!


    ¡°Did the two of you think of this together, or does it belong to somebody?¡± Woolf asked.


    ¡°Both of us probably had the same idea. When Hong Qi Hua came to discuss things with me I was quite surprised as well.¡± Bai Yi said after he and Hong Qi Hua looked at each other.


    ¡°Hmm what chemistry you guys have!¡± Woolf didn¡¯t forget to tease them.


    ¡°I understand now. What you mean is rather than fusing some useless genes in a situation not under our control, we should proactively fuse with some strong genes, raising our chances of survival in this world.¡± Heloise was also very clever. Although she¡¯d just found out about this issue, she understood very quickly.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Powerful strength, greater speed, precise vision, strong regenerative capabilities, flight, strong immunity¡­all these can increase our chances of survival!¡± Hong Qi Hua said while recording their discussion.


    ¡°But we will turn into monsters!¡± Heloise said hesitantly.


    ¡°If we become monsters then we can search for the drug to regain human form, but if we lose our lives, then there¡¯s nothing left. From the experiments that escaped from the research facilities, I¡¯m afraid that all of New Zealand is going to become a giant testing ground. Probably not long after¡­ monsters will be running amok all around.¡± Bai Yi said calmly.


    Everybody was silent for a while; Bai Yi was definitely not the kind to be a doomsayer. Everybody in New Zealand felt the extreme hunger, meaning that everyone had already been infected with activated cells. The first phase of being infected was binge eating, and then gene fusion, turning into all sorts of monstrous forms.


    ¡°How are we going to do this?¡±


    ¡°There are a total of about 2.5 million species of organisms. Animals make up about 2 million, plants, 340 thousand, and microorganisms, about 37 thousand. The first to be eliminated would be microorganisms, since they have always existed in every corner of the world. If it were possible to fuse with their genes, then we would¡¯ve fused with them long ago.¡± Hong Qi Hua said.


    ¡°Secondly, although there are millions of species out there, we should eliminate those that aren¡¯t commonly seen since we won¡¯t be able to come into contact with them in our current situation. We should pick some animals or insects that have special abilities from the remaining species, such as ants!¡± Hong Qi Hua plugged in her data dongle and searched the net.


    ¡°Although ants are small, depending on the differences between various species of ants, they are able to lift between 20 ¨C 150 times of their weight. With just this, there is nothing that can compete with ants in the natural world.¡±


    ¡°Martin said that activated cells can produce special energy, but we are unable to feel it explicitly. So our focus now should be dealing with the dangers around us. Powerful strength, fast speed, precise vision, strong regenerative capabilities, flight, poison immunity, water adaptation, special abilities¡­, is there anything else you guys want to add on?¡± Hong Qi Hua said, discovering that Woolf and Heloise were staring at her blankly.


    ¡°Was Hong Qi Hua always so impressive?¡± Woolf ¡®secretly¡¯ asked Bai Yi.


    ¡°You should ask Qi Hua yourself.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°If the impressive you are talking about is how I am now, then no, I¡¯m not impressive at all. Just a few days ago I was just an unassuming girl in the university.¡± Hong Qi Hua shook her head.


    ¡°How can that be? No matter how I look at it, you should be some influential figure in the school! Those kinds of¡­those kinds of¡­!¡± Woolf didn¡¯t manage to say what kinds of those things in the end, as he had a dumbly limited vocabulary. However, Hong Qi Hua¡¯s performance during this period really made it hard to believe that she¡¯d been unassuming just a few days ago.


    ¡°I¡¯m telling the truth.¡±


    ¡°Some people will only show their brilliance under special circumstances and times. In ordinary times previously, the talent of many people would remain buried just like diamonds stuck underground for the rest of time. Miss Hong Qi Hua, I think you are that kind of person.¡± Heloise looked at Hong Qi Hua and gave her comments.


    ¡°Thank you!¡± Hong Qi Hua was neither too humble nor too proud, neither too servile nor too overbearing.


    ¡°Ok then, let¡¯s continue the discussion about the active fusion of genes.¡± Bai Yi saw that Woolf had signs of continuing to go off-topic, and immediately stopped it.


    ¡°Before we discuss the active fusion of genes, we must make certain of one matter.¡± Bai Yi saw the rest of them focusing and started to speak.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Will we lose our minds after turning into monsters?¡± Bai Yi said solemnly.


    ____________________________________________________________________


    At this time, not only Bai Yi¡¯s group, but Yu Han¡¯s group also didn¡¯t rest immediately and were discussing the current situation. Qin Kai Rui wasn¡¯t willing to face the monsters directly and felt that crossing the city was too dangerous. Yu Han couldn¡¯t be bothered to explain anymore since Bai Yi and Hong Qi Hua had already explained it very clearly. It was just that this idiot couldn¡¯t get it inside his head.


    ¡°We will cross Otorohanga tomorrow!¡± Yu Han made the decision coldly then put his arm around Ning Xue and went back to their room together. In a few short days Ning Xue¡¯s heart had already fallen for Yu Han. In dangerous times like this a weak girl did not have much resistance to a man that she could depend on.


    Qin Kai Rui sat there, gritting his teeth.


    Khina looked at the view of Yu Han¡¯s back and sorrow flashed across her eyes. It had only been a few days, was it just because she wasn¡¯t as pretty as Ning Xue?

 Chapter 28

    ¡°After gene fusion and turning into monsters, would we lose our minds?¡± Bai Yi said gravely.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Woolf didn¡¯t understand while Hong Qi Hua and Heloise were deep in thought. Both of them were very smart and could guess what Bai Yi had meant from just a sentence. However, Bai Yi still needed to explain things to Woolf.


    ¡°This is very important! Martin said that after being infected with activated cells, evolved lifeforms and humans would fuse with genes from the other organism and experience changes in their bodies. These kinds of changes have already been proven, so there is no need to doubt them. Then the question is, do the changes only affect our physical bodies or our memories and rationality too? If we will lose our minds and turn into monsters completely, then we need to make many more preparations.¡±


    ¡°It¡­shouldn¡¯t be? I¡¯m still very normal right?¡± Woolf said hesitantly. His appearance changed the most among them. If it was in the world before, then he was 100% a monster. However, apparently his rationality hadn¡¯t been affected.


    ¡°We can¡¯t be sure of that.¡± Bai Yi shook his head.


    LV0: Nascent Stage


    ¡ô Awakening


    LV1-1: Binging Stage


    LV1-2: Brutal Stage


    LV1-3: Hypersomnia Stage


    ¡ô[Metamorphosis]


    LV2 ¨C Metamorphose Stage


    ¡°Remember what Martin said? The names weren¡¯t randomly chosen but based on the changes of the experimental body. In other words, the names are representative of the changes happening to the evolved lifeform. Apparently, we are currently at the LV1-1 Binging Stage. For the LV1-2 Brutal Stage¡­ I suspect that we may lose control.¡± Bai Yi said heavily.


    ¡°Then what do we do? Are we not fusing genes anymore?¡±


    ¡°No, gene fusion must go on.¡± Bai Yi shook his head. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if we try to actively fuse genes or not. Based on the strong power of the activated cells, gene fusion is an unavoidable thing. Hence, it is better to do this under our control. I only raised this issue so that you guys will be mentally prepared for it. In any case, even if we do not lose our reason, we will also have another problem.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡±


    ¡°As you know, the experiments that Martin talked about are split into a few categories as well. 1. Animals fusing genes from other organisms and turning into monsters. 2. Humans fusing genes from other organisms and turning into monsters. For the latter, if gene fusion does not cause us to lose our reason then what we will face are¡­ evolved humans that have human memories, but the bodies of monsters.¡± Bai Yi lifted up 2 fingers and explained one by one.


    ¡°How is that possible!¡± Woolf said in shock.


    ¡°How is that impossible? Aren¡¯t you one right now?¡± Bai Yi made fun of him.


    ¡°These kinds of monsters had experiments done on them by other humans but still retain their human memories¡­ we cannot treat them like monsters since they are our¡­ predecessors¡­ I guess. At the same time, we must be wary of them since nobody knows if they will be friendly or hostile.¡± Bai Yi said solemnly.


    ¡­¡­


    After that, the few of them discussed at length about what genes they should choose to fuse with until suddenly, the fluorescent lights in the room went out. Hong Qi Hua¡¯s laptop was still on, but it has switched to using its internal battery.


    ¡°The electricity has been cut off, but I guess it¡¯s about time this happened.¡± The few of them were surprised for a moment, then Bai Yi spoke.


    ¡°My laptop can still be used for a period of time since I have a solar powered charger, but without the internet there isn¡¯t much use for it anyway.¡± Hong Qi Hua said.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter too much. There won¡¯t be too many things that we need to use a laptop to record.¡±


    ¡°Since the electricity has stopped and it¡¯s getting late, let¡¯s just retire for the night and then head for Otorohanga with Yu Han¡¯s group. From the looks of it, this area hasn¡¯t been affected yet so there shouldn¡¯t be too many monsters.¡± Bai Yi looked outside at the city. He could vaguely see some fires in the distance, but there weren¡¯t any monsters coming here.


    ¡°Oh right, do you think we should tell Yu Han about our plan for the active fusion of genes?¡± Bai Yi suddenly asked just when the few of them were about to exit the room. Woolf and Heloise who were already at the door instantly looked at Bai Yi in surprise. Did they hear wrongly?


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Woolf asked in shock.


    ¡°I said, should we tell Yu Han about our plan to actively fuse genes?¡± Bai Yi repeated again. Faint moonlight shined on Bai Yi¡¯s face and they could see that he wasn¡¯t joking.


    ¡°Bai Yi, are you stupid? Can¡¯t you tell from how Yu Han does things?¡± Woolf asked, not understanding.


    ¡°I know, of course I know.¡± Bai Yi lightly nodded his head and continued.


    ¡°Yu Han can be considered to be somebody who¡¯s very ambitious and desires to be the leader of the team. However, aren¡¯t people like that even during normal times? Once people have a chance, they would try their best to climb upwards. He¡¯s not actually doing something wrong. If we don¡¯t like it, then we can just keep our distance in the future. The reason I¡¯m saying this is not because of him but for the others. In the end, a lot of them are still our friends, letting them know this information gives them another piece of power to protect themselves. As for whether they listen or not, that isn¡¯t something we can control.¡± Bai Yi explained.


    Woolf and Heloise became mute for long a while, and then Woolf finally opened his mouth.


    ¡°Bai Yi, you really are a good person!¡± Woolf said with a weird grin on his face.


    ¡°Scram!¡± Bai Yi wanted to kick Woolf but moved his left arm in the process, causing him a burst of pain.


    At this moment, Woolf had already run out in a hurry. Heloise felt nervous at the start but she couldn¡¯t help but to laugh seeing Woolf fooling around. In the beginning when she saw Woolf¡¯s dog head, cow horns and stout body she was quite afraid. However as they interacted, she realised that Bai Yi, Hong Qi Hua and Woolf were all good people.


    As for Bai Yi¡¯s words, they did not answer him immediately, but slowly thought about what he said. On the surface, Bai Yi¡¯s suggestion seemed foolish, but this was also representative of Bai Yi¡¯s personality. Bai Yi was right. After all, a lot of them were still their friends, such as Khina and Dai Yu Yao. Friendship wasn¡¯t something to be abandoned so easily.


    Moreover, honestly speaking, if Bai Yi was really such a selfish person, then they wouldn¡¯t stay on his side so willingly either.


    Such as¡­Yu Han!


    In modern society with so much freedom, nobody would just bow down and follow another person so easily. If that somebody didn¡¯t have any attractive characteristics, then the individual wouldn¡¯t be able to obtain other people¡¯s support.


    _________________________________________________________


    As night arrived, nobody could sleep well as they were all too hungry. They¡¯d eaten a lot just before sleeping but very quickly their stomachs became empty again. Of course, another reason would be the city right at their doorstep. Everyone was worried that a monster from there would attack them anytime. Luckily, it seemed that the number of monsters appearing this time wasn¡¯t too high. After a night of being on edge, morning finally arrived.


    Waking up in the morning, Bai Yi found that he had changed even more. Momo had also grown soft fur on her face like the kind that grew on butterflies.


    ¡°Daddy, I became furry.¡± Momo said to Bai Yi.


    ¡°En En, it¡¯s ok. You look cuter like this.¡± Bai Yi said smiling.


    ¡°Is it?¡± Momo touched her cheeks and leaned towards the mirror to observe herself. In Momo¡¯s innocent heart, she didn¡¯t quite understand what a monster meant yet. At this moment, Sharpei who¡¯d also rested for the night stood up and barked towards Bai Yi and Momo. Momo immediately snapped back to reality upon hearing Sharpei¡¯s bark, appearing very overjoyed.


    ¡°Sharpei did you recover??¡± Momo ran over happily.


    Bai Yi saw that Sharpei¡¯s wounds had already started closing up, and that there was no more danger to his life¡­ Activated cells were really powerful!


    Bai Yi brought Momo out and found that Khina was trying to cover and hide herself. Bai Yi looked briefly and found that Khina had also changed. Two short feelers appeared on her forehead and her face turned into an earthly-yellow colour. Bai Yi wasn¡¯t too sure what genes Khina fused with, but combined with her fat body, she became even less pretty¡­ or to be blunt, ugly.


    ¡°Mole cricket and locust, the insects that bit Khina on the road.¡± Hong Qi Hua said softly when she walked past Bai Yi.


    Apparently, Khina¡¯s change vindicated Bai Yi and Hong Qi Hua¡¯s worries last night. The activated capabilities of activated cells were too powerful, just a brief contact would allow them to fuse with genes from other lifeforms. Most of these genes, other than transforming people into monsters, didn¡¯t bring about any powerful or useful abilities.


    Although Woolf, Hong Qi Hua and Heloise did not object to Bai Yi¡¯s plans to tell Yu Han about the active fusion of genes, Bai Yi could tell that from Woolf¡¯s mischief that they just didn¡¯t want to say it explicitly. Bai Yi thought about it for a while after that, and felt that it was better to temporarily hide this information.


    ¡°Did you prepare something to eat?¡± Yu Han asked, though he didn¡¯t really mean it as a question.


    ¡°Of course!¡± Bai Yi nodded. After an entire night they were all unbearably hungry. The hunger in the binging phase wasn¡¯t something that could be described with words.


    After hearing the word ¡®eat¡¯, everybody started to get busy bringing the food over from the car. After an hour of cooking and moving things the group was finally about 80% full. With this meal, their food stock that seemed abundant at first was cut down by half. They probably wouldn¡¯t have enough by their next meal.


    Looking at their current situation, although they knew about the reason behind it, they were still shocked at their appetites during the binging phase.


    ¡°Let¡¯s set out then!¡± Bai Yi said.


    In the car, Bai Yi found that Woolf was walking over with two steel bars in his hand. The steel bars were as thick as forearms with spiral patterns on them, it were those steel bars that were used as piles in construction work.


    ¡°You found those?¡±


    ¡°En, I just found them. Not sure what we would encounter in the city, so these will make do as weapons.¡± Woolf said, starting the car after throwing the steel bar on top of it.


    Bai Yi nodded and checked his handgun. This handgun was taken from the bunch of scum in Te Awamutu, and there weren¡¯t a lot of bullets left but it could still be used a few times. However, Bai Yi didn¡¯t think that this handgun would cause much damage to those giant monsters unless he hit their vital points.


    ¡°This thing probably won¡¯t even break the skin of a great devil snake.¡± Woolf said, apparently thinking the same thing as Bai Yi.


    ¡°En, but it¡¯s better than nothing.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡­¡­


    Woolf started the car and drove out while the others followed behind. The group headed towards the city of Otorohanga.

 Chapter 29

    Everyone set out for Otorohanga with heavy hearts, especially Bai Yi. It was Bai Yi who¡¯d told Sara to wait for him at Otorohanga. Who knew that monsters would appear there now? If something happened to Sara, then Bai Yi would never be able to forgive himself.


    ¡°Our number one goal is to cross the city. We must avoid contact with any monsters, and if possible not get into any battles. Do not clash head on if there are too many monsters, we still have the choice to come back and make the long detour.¡± Bai Yi said through the communicator.


    This was something Yu Han¡¯s group found from the house yesterday. It was slightly better than walkie talkies, but still wasn¡¯t considered to be too high-tech. It didn¡¯t rely on satellite signals for communications, and within a short range it was much more convenient than a phone. In the future when satellite signals stopped working, the value of the communicator will be amplified many times.


    ¡°Got it.¡± Yu Han said tonelessly.


    ¡­¡­


    Bai Yi and Woolf¡¯s cars positioned themselves at the front of the convoy, since the others weren¡¯t willing to take the risk.


    Along the way, there was an uncountable number of car accidents on the road. Woolf drove the car carefully, avoiding the collided cars. The morning mist felt cool while the sky wasn¡¯t completely bright yet, making the entire city appear incomparably quiet and dark. The fires from the chaos last night had already went out, and the ruined city seemed like a giant beast in hibernation, giving off a dangerous atmosphere.


    Although they didn¡¯t encounter any monsters, everyone was extremely tense. The various weak and loud screams that they heard occasionally made their hearts almost pop out of their chests.


    ¡°Bai Yi, where do we go?¡± Woolf asked.


    ¡°Turn left at the next junction, then go straight until you reach Wyeth Supermarket. The last time I was on the phone with Sara, she said she was staying at a friend¡¯s house nearby.¡± At this time, Bai Yi took out his phone, and on it was the electronic map of New Zealand that Bai Yi had downloaded. By now the phones had already become unable to make calls, but the various functions of the phone were still usable. However, it probably wouldn¡¯t be able to last long either, since the battery was almost drained.


    The people following saw Bai Yi¡¯s car change direction and Yu Han creased his eyebrows.


    Bai Yi this fellow must be intending to find Sara. Although Yu Han wasn¡¯t happy with it in his heart, he didn¡¯t raise any objections at this point as it was fine as long as they could cross Otorohanga. Yu Han looked outside cautiously, holding the katana in his hand. The car door on Yu Han¡¯s side was always open. He was afraid that he wouldn¡¯t even have the chance to run away if they really met some monster.


    ¡°Wyeth Supermarket is right in front of us.¡± Woolf said.


    ¡°En.¡± Bai Yi nodded, anticipating and hoping to find Sara.


    When Bai Yi¡¯s car just drove past a small cross junction, he and Woolf instantly turned their heads and looked to the right, their hearts going all the way to their throats. In the alleyway on the right side of the road was an alligator-like monster lying on the floor. It was chewing on half a human corpse in its jaws. Seeing the car drive past, its head immediately turned to follow the car.


    Run!


    Almost immediately, Woolf turned the steering wheel and floored the accelerator. Sure enough, in the next moment the monster had fiercely pounced over and snapped its jaws. The sound of its giant teeth closing was like metal crashing together. Without waiting for Bai Yi and Woolf to feel happy about escaping that crisis, and before the car could stabilise from the sharp turn, a 2 meter plus giant pincer appeared suddenly and grabbed onto the center of the car.


    With a ¡®kuang!¡¯, the car shook and was lifted up by the giant pincer. The ends of the car could be seen folding in towards the center.


    The people in the cars following behind, shocked by the sudden change, immediately braked and skidded to a stop. It was so quiet just a few moments ago, who the hell knew that a monster would suddenly pop up?! In a flash, Bai Yi¡¯s car was stuck in the giant pincer¡¯s grip.


    ¡°Jump out of the car!¡± Bai Yi shouted and immediately grabbed Momo and jumped off. Woolf¡¯s movements weren¡¯t slow either, kicking the car door open and rolling out. Just as the three of them got out, the giant pincer clamped down, breaking the car into two halves with a ¡®kacha!¡¯.


    ¡°Sharpei!¡± Bai Yi shouted in fear and worry.


    Sharpei¡¯s injuries weren¡¯t fully healed yet and it¡¯d been laying on the back seat all along. At that moment Bai Yi grabbed Momo and jumped down, but Sharpei was slower by a step. With a ¡®kacha!¡¯ the giant crab-like pincers violently crushed the car, breaking it into halves.


    Bai Yi and Momo were instantly stunned for a moment, but Bai Yi¡¯s reacted very quickly. He immediately grabbed Momo, and ran towards the house at the side. With their strength now, facing this kind of monster directly was just asking for death.


    At this moment, with a sway of its body, the monster broke through the wall and rushed out from the alleyway, revealing its appearance to the people present.


    Its body was like that of an alligator, reaching a length of 7-8 meters, but its whole body was covered with layers of a hard bone-like outer shell. Numerous black sharp bone spikes extended out at the edges of the shell. On the sides of its body were two giant pincers, and on its back grew shiny-black, bone-armoured wings like a beetle¡¯s.


    Giant Crab Alligator! (TN: well¡­the author used ¾Þзöù which really just literally means ¡®huge¡¯ ¡®crab¡¯ ¡®alligator/crocodile¡¯ so¡­)


    This guy¡­ Although they knew these monsters were made from fusing genes of various lifeforms, they were still in shock when they saw the monster.


    Hong Qi Hua immediately jumped out of the car and fired the shotgun in her hands towards the monster.


    The shotgun fired with a loud ¡®bang!¡¯, but this weapon that was lethal to humans proved completely ineffective against the monster. It wasn¡¯t damaged in the slightest. However, Hong Qi Hua¡¯s actions weren¡¯t completely useless and it at least drew the attention of the giant crab alligator over. At this time, Heloise who was also sitting in the car also jumped out and hurriedly ran for a place to hide.


    Although it had a huge body, its speed was frightening. Hong Qi Hua could only see the body of the monster tense up before it suddenly burst forward like a bullet.


    Hong Qi Hua immediately jumped to the side, and with a ¡®kacha!¡¯, the giant mouth closed down on the car. With sounds of metal being crushed, more than half the head of the car was bitten off, but all of a sudden, the monster let out a miserable shriek.


    What happened?


    Hong Qi Hua very quickly stood up again and found that some unknown part of the car was stabbed into the mouth of the monster, releasing bright red blood from the wound continuously. So it was like this! Although this guy was strong, apparently it wasn¡¯t at the level of the Great Devil Snake. It could bite off a car, but it wasn¡¯t without harm to itself.


    Hong Qi Hua and Yu Han already stopped the car, but Qin Kai Rui was frightened out of his wits. He completely ignored Yu Han¡¯s shouts, and drove the car off in the other direction.


    ¡°What a joke! Lunatics, a bunch of lunatics! I told them to take the detour, but nobody wanted to listen and they still came up with so many reasons!¡± Qin Kai Rui breathed heavily and his irises expanded. Apparently, he was very anxious. Meilin, who was also sitting inside the car, held her chest with a terrified expression on her face. Although they didn¡¯t go up against the monster directly, they had even greater pressure on their hearts than Bai Yi.


    ¡­¡­


    Seemingly thinking that the car had harmed it, the giant crab alligator became furious, and both its pincers clamped down and tore the car apart continuously. Within 10 seconds, the car turned into a pile of scrap metal.


    ¡°Daddy, Sharpei!¡± Momo¡¯s voice trembled.


    Bai Yi saw that the attention of the monster was on the car, and wanted to grab Momo and run immediately. However, Momo grabbed on tightly to Bai Yi¡¯s right hand and wanted to go to their car. Sharpei really was more than a pet to Momo. Bai Yi wanted to tell Momo that Sharpei was done for, but he suddenly heard a barking sound.


    Bai Yi looked over in the direction of the sound, and saw Sharpei¡¯s paw stretching out from a hole in the car. Sharpei was seemingly trying to get out, but trapped by the crushed metal.


    Sharpei is okay!


    Bai Yi¡¯s face instantly lit up delight from delight. Sharpei had been laying in the back seat, and when the giant crab alligator crushed the car into two halves, it just happened to miss Sharpei.


    Though he wanted to run away initially, Sharpei¡¯s survival meant that other plans had to be made. Bai Yi immediately used the handgun that he¡¯d stolen from the scum in Te Awamutu and fired off two shots. The bullets from the gun struck the hard carapace of the monster, not even leaving a mark on the shell. However, these two shots got the attention of the giant crab alligator. It turned around and prepared to pounce at Bai Yi.


    Bai Yi abruptly pushed Momo and she instantly fell and rolled towards the wall by the side. At this moment Bai Yi didn¡¯t have the luxury of caring if Momo got hurt, she would only slow down his movements if he brought her along with him. If it came down to that, both of them won¡¯t be able to escape and would become food for this giant crab alligator.


    After he pushed away Momo, Bai Yi grabbed the gun tightly, becoming incredibly composed in his heart.


    ¡®Bang bang bang bang!¡¯


    Four gun shots happened at almost the same time, Bai Yi lifted his arm slightly then immediately jumped to the side. The giant crab alligator crouched as it landed and then released an ear-piercing cry. Bai Yi¡¯s four shots were aimed at the eyes of this creature. The two eyes that were as big as basketballs instantly burst in splatters of blood.


    Bai Yi jumped and rolled on the floor, throwing away the gun that did not have any bullets left. Along the way he grabbed Momo and ran towards the side.


    With a loud crash, the tail of the giant crab alligator swept over just as Bai Yi ran out. The tail hit the wall, and with a ¡®boom!¡¯ a giant hole appeared in the wall, rubble flying all around. Bai Yi hugged Momo tightly, and a piece of rubble struck him in his back. He only felt a sudden impact and pain on his body before he flew out and rolled on the floor.


    ¡°Bai Yi!¡± Woolf shouted, immediately wanting to run over to stop the Giant Crab Alligator.


    ¡°Don¡¯t come over!¡± Bai Yi grabbed Momo and climbed up, a trail of blood leaking from his mouth.


    ¡°AOOO!! AOOO!!¡± The Giant Crab Alligator that had both eyes blinded howled crazily, turning around on the spot, its tail and pincers continuously wrecking havoc on the surroundings. Giant holes appeared very quickly on the walls around it.


    Looking at how the Giant Crab Alligator was, the rest of them could already guess what had happened. The shots that Bai Yi fired just now had actually blinded the monster!

 Chapter 30

    The Giant Crab Alligator became even more vicious after losing its sight. Its giant body spun around and struggled continuously, pincers tearing things apart and destroying everything in the monster¡¯s vicinity. Suddenly, the Giant Crab Alligator¡¯s powerful tail brutally swept towards the car that Bai Yi was sitting in before, instantly sending the car flying. Sharpei who was inside immediately gave a few alarmed barks as the car flew.


    The Giant Crab Alligator who was blindly spinning suddenly stopped and its head gradually turned towards the direction of the car.


    ¡°Sharpei, no barking!¡± Bai Yi immediately commanded nervously. Sharpei was more intelligent and it could understand some of the simpler commands. Once Bai Yi commanded it, Sharpei really immediately stopped barking. However, Bai Yi¡¯s voice apparently also attracted the Giant Crab Alligator¡¯s attention, and it instantly turned its head over.


    Woolf, seeing how the monster behaved immediately understood as well. He immediately lifted up a piece of rubble and smashed it against a window beside him.


    With a ¡®clang!¡¯ the glass window shattered and fell onto the floor.


    Saliva with a repulsive stench drooled out from the giant crab alligator¡¯s mouth as it suddenly stopped and then pounced fiercely towards the sound. This time, the carapace wings on its back opened slightly and its body actually glided in the air for a short while, increasing its speed to shocking levels. Woolf had no time to react at all and was pounced upon in an instant, crashing into the wall and then through it, falling inside the building.


    ¡°Woolf!¡± Bai Yi shouted in shock and worry.


    ¡°Get out of the way!¡± At this moment Yu Han¡¯s loud voice rang and from behind the whistle of a truck could be heard. Bai Yi turned his head and found that Yu Han was in the truck and accelerating it over towards them.


    ¡°NO!!!¡± Bai Yi shouted loudly but Yu Han ignored him and increased the speed even more. On the surface, Yu Han appeared to be resolute in ramming the giant crab alligator to death but Bai Yi suddenly felt that Yu Han had an ulterior motive¡­to kill Woolf!


    When the truck was about to smash into the monster, Yu Han¡¯s eyes squinted and jumped off from the driver¡¯s seat. The heavy truck then brutally rammed onto the tail of the giant crab alligator and then smashed into the wall. Like a mini earthquake, the heavy truck pushed the monster through the entire building and out through the back and only stopped when it got stuck on something, the wheels of the truck still spinning furiously.


    Bai Yi gritted his teeth and looked at Yu Han viciously.


    Bai Yi knew what Yu Han was trying to do recently and initially he thought that Yu Han was just being ambitious. People in peaceful times were like that too. Once they had an opportunity, they would make full use of it to climb up. It couldn¡¯t be considered as doing something wrong, and if he disliked it then he could always choose not to interact with him in the future. Overall, Bai Yi did not treat Yu Han like an enemy but he never expected that he would actually try to kill Woolf!


    Ever since the change, Woolf could be considered the right-hand man of Bai Yi.


    ¡°Woolf already got pounced onto by the monster, do you think he will still be alive? Only by ramming into the monster like this can we cause the greatest damage to it.¡± Yu Han saw Bai Yi¡¯s eyes and explain unhurriedly.


    ¡°Ah, you are right!¡± Bai Yi said icily.


    The others could also tell that the atmosphere was wrong between Bai Yi and Yu Han. To think of it, they were still good friends just a few days ago. Even though they had split into two teams now, it didn¡¯t mean that they became strangers. Seeing the two of them like this, Ning Xue, Dai Yu Yao, Khina and the rest didn¡¯t know what to say.


    However, without waiting for them to speak creaking sounds suddenly came from the truck and then with a ¡®bang!¡¯ it fell onto the floor. What came after that was a long earth-shattering roar filled with pain, fury and madness.


    Everybody stared wide-eyed at the giant crab alligator flipping the truck over and slowly getting up, swaying about. The monster wanted to crawl but then its tail seemed to be stuck in the axle of the truck, unable to move a single step no matter how hard it tried.


    ¡°AOOOOO¡­!¡±


    The Giant Crab Alligator raised its head and slammed its upper body heavily onto the floor, with a loud ¡®boom!¡¯ a mini earthquake seemed to occur in its surrounding. The creature roared crazily and the intense sound waves crashed into everyone¡¯s ears. Continuously receiving damage, getting blinded and then bound to a spot, it was overflowing with fury.


    At this moment, Bai Yi and the rest were even more shocked. This guy was still alive!


    Everybody understood now that apparently, this Giant Crab Alligator was of a different type than the Seven-tailed Snake Vulture. The inky black body armour had greater defence than they had imagined. Unless they managed to hit its vitals, killing this creature from other areas would be extremely difficult.


    However, it wasn¡¯t that there was no effect. Now the Giant Crab Alligator had lost its threat. As long as they didn¡¯t approach it, they wouldn¡¯t be in any danger.


    Everyone¡¯s eyes were on the head of the giant crab alligator. Woolf¡¯s body was impaled by a spike on the head of the monster, swinging about when the monster moved its head and twitching from time to time. The giant crab alligator tried to swing its head and grab at Woolf with its pincers a few times but both its mouth and the pincers were unable to reach Woolf due to the angle.


    ¡°What do we do now? Escape while this guy is still unable to move?¡± Martin asked.


    ¡°KILL IT!¡± Bai Yi wiped away the blood by the side of his mouth and said exceptionally viciously.


    Martin instantly jumped in fright, ever since meeting Bai Yi he knew Bai Yi to be very mild, his tone was never too heavy or light, even when he was criticised and blamed by the rest at Te Awamutu he didn¡¯t use a heavy tone with them. This kind of vicious and decisive tone was the first that Martin had heard from Bai Yi.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have enough cars so we can¡¯t leave for now anyway. Kill this guy first and then think of a way.¡± Yu Han stepped out to ease the atmosphere.


    Dai Yu Yao and a few others who got frightened by Bai Yi¡¯s tone immediately scolded him inside and at the same time their trust in Yu Han increased even more. Although it was the same decision, the tones they used were different and the atmosphere they created were different as well. However, Bai Yi just looked at the rest of them with great indifference, not caring about them in the slightest.


    The Giant Crab Alligator¡¯s movements became incomparably frenzied after getting its tail stuck in the truck and being blinded. It was struggling and flailing about inside the collapsed building, the giant pincers acted like a mixer crushing and destroying everything around it while it let out painful cries from time to time. However, there was nobody who would take pity on this guy.


    ¡°Woof Woof!¡± All of a sudden, a dog¡¯s barking could be heard.


    Bai Yi turned his head and saw Sharpei running over, Hong Qi Hua and Heloise were following closely behind. It seemed like in the period of time just now, the two of them went to rescue Sharpei from the broken car.


    ¡°Sharpei!¡± Momo immediately shouted happily, running towards Sharpei and hugging it.


    Sharpei didn¡¯t dodge but after getting hugged by Momo, it very quickly got out of her embrace and slowly walked to Bai Yi¡¯s side. It stood on the floor with four powerful legs and revealed its sharp teeth facing the giant crab alligator, releasing a growl.


    Bai Yi was slightly surprised but understood that Sharpei wanted to protect them.


    Dogs had always been known as man¡¯s most loyal friends, and the value of a dog now was definitely not simply that of a pet but of a¡­comrade-in-arms!


    The sides of Bai Yi¡¯s mouth raised slightly and revealed a very slight smile. His heart that had turned icy from Yu Han¡¯s actions warmed slightly.


    ¡°How do we kill this guy? Even getting rammed by the heavy truck wasn¡¯t enough to kill it.¡± Martin asked.


    ¡°The eyes!¡± Hong Qi Hua walked over and said. ¡°Uncle Bai used the handgun to blind it, proving that the defences of the eyes weren¡¯t high, but the bullets were too small. To such a big monster, it wouldn¡¯t be fatal. However, if we used some other weapon, then we could directly stab it into its brain from the eyes.¡±


    Everybody immediately started looking at each other after hearing what she said, and the line of sight eventually stayed on Yu Han and Hong Qi Hua.


    Yu Han¡¯s katana was about 1.2metres. In the dimness of dawn, it released a faint, cold light. Although they didn¡¯t know where Yu Han had managed to get such a weapon, it was obviously a premium product made from modern technology. The thing on Hong Qi Hua¡¯s hand was much more inferior. It was a 1.5 meter long steel pile, those kind of steel piles that could be commonly found in construction sites used for building a base. This was something that Woolf found and kept, since it could be used as a weapon.


    Everybody turned and looked at the still flailing Giant Crab Alligator. Although it was true that once the katana pierced through its brain it would die for sure, with the guy flailing about blindly and clamping down with its pincers from time to time destroying the building around it, who would dare to approach?


    All of them were hesitant, and very few people would dare to do this kind of dangerous thing. This wasn¡¯t just any normal risk,if they got caught by the pincers, then the only outcome would be death.


    ¡°I think we should forget about it. Anyway, it¡¯s already blind so even if we don¡¯t kill it, it won¡¯t be a threat to us anymore.¡± Martin said. If it was before, then nobody would agree with Martin¡¯s words, but now everyone hesitated.


    However, at this moment Bai Yi was suddenly shocked. Woolf, who was hanging on the side of the head of the giant crab alligator, suddenly raised his head and stretched out his right hand towards Bai Yi, giving a sad smile.


    Still alive!


    Bai Yi was instantly surprised and glad, but it immediately became a struggle. With how Woolf was like now, even if he was still alive it wasn¡¯t much different from being dead. No, this isn¡¯t right, I can¡¯t give up like this. Bai Yi closed his eyes and then suddenly opened them again, his multi-coloured irises contained a hard to describe splendour.


    ¡°Woolf, listen well. The place you are at right now just happens to be a dead angle to the Giant Crab Alligator. In a while I will throw a weapon to you. After you catch it, use it to stab into the monster¡¯s eye. This is the only way we can save you!¡± Bai Yi shouted loudly.


    When the giant crab alligator heard Bai Yi¡¯s voice, it suddenly paused and then slowly turned his head. At this moment, Bai Yi had already grabbed the steel bar in Hong Qi Hua¡¯s hand.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it Uncle Bai, your left arm is injured.¡± Hong Qi Hua said.


    ¡°Ok!¡± Bai Yi nodded. His left arm was slung over his chest all along and the intense battle just now had caused his wound to tear again. At this rate, he had no idea when the wound would recover.

 Chapter 31

    On the other side, a mouthful of blood flowed down from Woolf¡¯s lips as he showed a deathly pale smile. Hahahaha, this is really Bai Yi¡¯s style, making me work even at a time like this. He would have given up hope on living long ago if he were just by himself. Woolf knew very well that his injuries weren¡¯t limited to just getting pierced by the bone spike.


    ¡°Did you hear me? Woolf!¡± Bai Yi shouted loudly.


    The Giant Crab Alligator turned its head around and the rest of the group instantly distanced themselves as far as possible from Bai Yi. None of them wished to experience being pounced onto by the monster because of making some noise. None of them wished to take the risk even though the Giant Crab Alligator was obviously stuck.


    ¡°What a demanding person¡­I¡¯ll try.¡± Woolf said with barely any breath left in him.


    Bai Yi nodded to Hong Qi Hua. She weighed the steel bar in her hands and then carefully circled around the monster, looking for a suitable angle. The rest of them carefully held their breaths, fearing that they would distract her.


    Yu Han couldn¡¯t help but feel jealous at this scene. Why won¡¯t Hong Qi Hua follow me? Damn it!


    Now!


    Hong Qi Hua abruptly threw the steel bar out with force. It was as thick as a forearm and 1.5 meters long. If it was in the past, she would¡¯ve found it hard to lift even with both hands, but now she could do it with just one. Apparently, the special energy that Martin was talking about wasn¡¯t a joke. Although they were unable to feel or control the energy, it had already started aiding their bodies in the most fundamental way.


    Everyone stared with their eyes wide open, and Woolf also held his breath.


    The steel bar flew straight, and Woolf immediately grabbed it with his hand. Bai Yi¡¯s right fist tightened slightly. He caught it! Things should be fine with the dead angle that Woolf is at! Of course, after a moment¡¯s pause, Woolf took a deep breath.


    ¡°AHHHHHH!¡± Woolf¡¯s expression became vicious and he plunged the steel bar into the Giant Crab Alligator¡¯s eyes with all his strength.


    ¡°AUUUUUUUUUUUUU¡­!¡±


    A painful wail sounded and the monster flailed about in a frenzy. A pincer immediately came grabbing, but it did not manage to grab onto Woolf. It instead got ahold of the half-revealed steel bar instead.


    With Woolf¡¯s strength now, he was completely outmatched by the monster, and the steel bar that was plunged halfway in slowly got pulled out.


    ¡°FUCK JUST DIE AHHHHHHHHHHHH!¡± Woolf suddenly screamed crazily, his eyes opened to their widest, all the muscles on his body bulged and fresh blood spurted out continuously from his many wounds. However, even though Woolf was pushing himself to this extent but there was just an absolute difference in strength, this gap couldn¡¯t be filled by just spirit and willpower.


    Suddenly Hong Qi Hua burst forward but Bai Yi grabbed onto her shoulder. Hong Qi Hua was extremely decisive. It was too dangerous just now with the two pincers waving about, but now one of the pincers was grabbing onto the steel bar. A gap had appeared for her to run in, and obviously Woolf would not be able to kill the giant crab alligator at this rate.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Bai Yi spoke in an authoritative tone that didn¡¯t allow for protest.


    Hong Qi Hua looked at Bai Yi, surprised. He took the other steel bar from her hands and sprinted towards the giant crab alligator. Bai Yi¡¯s speed was really fast, in just a short moment he was already in front of it and aimed the steel bar at the blinded eye. Carrying the powerful momentum from his high speed, he mercilessly plunged the steel bar in.


    Die!


    With a ¡®puchi!¡¯, more than half of the long steel bar sank into its eye and the monster instantly stiffened. The other pincer immediately came grabbing but Bai Yi did not turn around and dodge. Instead, he followed the momentum of his run and dived forward, grabbing onto one of the bone spikes on the Giant Crab Alligator.


    A dead angle!


    Bai Yi knew that it was impossible to escape after attacking. His mobility now was too inferior compared to these monsters. The only way to survive was to find a dead angle like the one that Woolf was in.


    Bai Yi and Woolf were both hanging at a dead angle, swinging about as the giant crab alligator flopped around. A few times the giant pincers almost grabbed onto the two of them, but every time it moved past them with just a few centimeters to spare. Bai Yi knew that he was safe in the dead angle, but from the eyes of other people, their hearts were already at their throats looking at the situation.


    ¡°AUUUU¡­AUUUU¡­!!¡± The frantic wails gradually became pitiful cries on the verge of death, eventually to the point where they couldn¡¯t be heard anymore. In about 10 seconds, the giant crab alligator that got damaged in its vitals stopped moving and completely died.


    Hong Qi Hua, Momo and Sharpei immediately rushed over. Momo was still young, so she only knew how to cry, but Hong Qi Hua immediately helped Bai Yi down. As for Woolf, she didn¡¯t dare to move him.


    As Bai Yi stood on the ground, only now did Hong Qi Hua notice the numerous deep puncture wounds on his torso. Bright red muscles twisted about, and blood flowed out from them continuously. Looking at the few centimeter long bone spikes coated in blood which were sparsely dispersed on the head of the monster, Hong Qi Hua could guess what had happened.


    At this moment, the rest of them jogged over as well and observed the giant crab alligator up close. Being in such close proximity, the black metallic outer shell, sinister bone spikes and scary giant pincers were even more terrifying.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to save him, there¡¯s two big holes in his body along with so many other injuries¡­¡± Bella also ran over, her petite hands busy pressing down onto the wounds on Woolf¡¯s body. However, blood still flowed incessantly from various wounds on his body. It couldn¡¯t be stopped.


    ¡°Sorry, Bai Yi!¡± Woolf smiled miserably, blood still flowing out from his mouth.


    ¡°Bastard!¡± Bai Yi turned his head away in frustration, the kind of struggle and madness seen on his face made everyone avoid eye contact with him. Am I really going to lose him like this, am I really going to give up now?! Suddenly, Bai Yi saw Sharpei standing by the side. In less than a day, Sharpei¡¯s wounds were already healed, although it was not yet a complete recovery but it wasn¡¯t far off.


    ¡°Woolf, are you hungry!¡± Bai Yi asked suddenly.


    ¡°What?¡± Woolf apparently did not know what Bai Yi meant.


    ¡°Hong Qi Hua, go take our food, the meat of the Seven-tailed Snake Vulture and a knife.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Bai Yi, what are you thinking of doing?¡± Yu Han and a few others asked loudly.


    ¡°I¡¯ll carry you down now. Your only job is to eat both the Seven-tailed Snake Vulture meat and the meat of this Giant Crab Alligator, regardless of whether it¡¯s cooked or not.¡± Bai Yi ignored the rest of them and said to Woolf.


    ¡°Bai Yi, you really are a¡­ lunatic!¡± Woolf was speechless for a moment and then finally said.


    ¡°Just listen to me!¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t retort or explain.


    At this moment, Hong Qi Hua had already brought a bag of seven-tailed snake vulture meat over. Bai Yi immediately used the knife to cut the meat into fist-sized pieces and stuffed a piece into Woolf¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°Eat it!¡±


    Some of them wanted to say something, but looking at Bai Yi¡¯s bloodshot eyes their words got stuck in their throats. As for Woolf, he didn¡¯t question too much as he had an extraordinary amount of trust in Bai Yi. Although the meat in his mouth was raw, he still chewed on it vigorously and swallowed.


    ¡°Hong Qi Hua, help me to pull Woolf down.¡± Bai Yi said to Hong Qi Hua.


    ¡°Ok!¡± Hong Qi Hua looked at Bai Yi and nodded.


    ¡°He got pierced by the bone spike, he will lose a lot of blood and die once you pull him out!¡± Bella immediately tried to stop them. However, Bai Yi and Hong Qi Hua ignored her completely. In reality, how could Bai Yi and Hong Qi Hua not know about this? However, the thoughts of the two of them were completely differently than that of Bella¡¯s.


    Woolf already bit down on his teeth tightly when the two of them grabbed hold of him, however when he was pulled down his entire body stilled tensed violently. His eyes opened wide and the irises rapidly shrunk, the meat and blood in his mouth also spurted out from his mouth. However, the two of them were not affected by Woolf¡¯s actions and immediately lifted him up and removed him from the bone spike.


    The two of them put Woolf on the ground and Bai Yi looked at him. Although he was barely breathing now, at least he still had a breath left in him.


    ¡°Bella, help Woolf to bandage his wound. Use anything that can be used to block the wound. Woolf, all you have to do is eat everything that I give you.¡± Bai Yi said while stuffing another piece of meat into Woolf¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it Uncle Bai. You have to bandage your wounds too.¡± Hong Qi Hua said.


    ¡°Ok.¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t reject her.


    The wounds on Bai Yi¡¯s body weren¡¯t as bad as Woolf¡¯s, but while struggling, the small bone spikes still left numerous wounds on his body. Bai Yi tore apart his ragged shirt and then tied it around his body, all the while looking at Woolf worriedly. This guy¡­you better survive.


    Activated cells!


    Bai Yi betted Woolf¡¯s life on the activated cells, if the cells were really that powerful.


    ¡°Bai Yi, he will undergo gene fusion this way.¡± Martin reminded.


    Bai Yi raised his head and looked at everyone coldly without speaking. Martin felt uncomfortable under Bai Yi¡¯s gaze as if feeling guilty in his heart, and retreated backwards. As for Yu Han, he didn¡¯t give an inch and stared directly back at Bai Yi, his eyes looking extremely calm along with an ineffable trace of light in it.


    ¡°Bai Yi, we must leave this place right now. The noise from the battle just now wasn¡¯t small, and the smell of blood will also attract other monsters over.¡± Yu Han stared at Bai Yi for a while and then said. It was obvious that Yu Han wasn¡¯t really seeking Bai Yi¡¯s opinion but just stating a fact. After speaking, Yu Han did not care about Bai Yi but started ordering the others to pack everything up into the remaining two cars, making their preparations to leave.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Qin Kai Rui?¡± At this time, Dai Yu Yao who had been hiding at the side all along asked. From the 11 people they had leaving the school, there were only 6 of them left.


    ¡°Qin Kai Rui ran away!¡± Khina said in a bad mood.


    ¡°How can he do that!¡± Dai Yu Yao did not see the scene of him running away, so she was very angry at his abandonment.


    ¡°That¡¯s just him seeking death. Ever since New Zealand changed, he¡¯s been stupid like a pig. I really wonder if the pig genes influenced him.¡± Yu Han said mockingly. In the ordinary times before, Yu Han had suffered much ridicule from Qin Kai Rui. In those times, what was important wasn¡¯t your capability but your family and background. Yu Han had no chance of winning against Qin Kai Rui.


    Dai Yu Yao wanted to say something, but found that she was unable to find the words to speak.


    Anybody with some brains could tell how poorly Qin Kai Rui performed during this period. It couldn¡¯t be matched to his status previously. In truth, other than Yu Han, Bai Yi, and Hong Qi Hua, the rest of them were more or less still in a daze. It was exactly what Yu Han described as ¡®being like a pig¡¯, and Dai Yu Yao was also one of them.

 Chapter 32

    After the experiences over the past few days, everybody¡¯s mindsets finally started to change. Under Yu Han¡¯s instructions, the remaining people started getting busy, moving all usable resources from the heavy truck and broken cars to the two untouched cars.


    Khina looked at Yu Han walking over to Ning Xue and gently hugging her in his arms, feeling really upset.


    At this moment, they suddenly heard a car driving towards them. Everyone immediately turned around, looked, and got surprised. That car¡­isn¡¯t that the car that Qin Kai Rui and Meilin drove away in?


    With a screech, the car braked hard and stopped on the spot. Qin Kai Rui and Meilin rushed out of the car with their faces full of fear. Qin Kai Rui¡¯s face was stained with blood, and a patch of skin was even ripped off from his face that contained great joy.


    ¡°Monster, we met a monster! Monster chasing us!¡± Qin Kai Rui said incoherently.


    Everyone only noticed now that the car that they¡¯d escaped in was covered in a faint black sticky liquid, and the windows were all shattered. Qin Kai Rui¡¯s clothes were ripped to shreds, and the top layer of skin on his face and torso was also ripped off, causing his entire body to look bloody. Meilin¡¯s condition was a bit better, but her face was also covered in blood.


    ¡°Bastard! What monster did you meet!¡± Yu Han wanted to murder this guy so badly now. With everyone¡¯s condition now, all of them would get eaten if they encountered another monster.


    ¡°Octopus¡­it should be an octopus but not completely. A few tentacles attached themselves to the car and we barely escaped by desperately stepping on the accelerator.¡± The skin on Qin Kai Rui¡¯s face was torn so the flesh and blood could be seen moving underneath while he spoke, appearing extremely frightening. If they didn¡¯t know that he was Qin Kai Rui and that he was still alive, the few girls would have vomited by now.


    ¡°Octopus?¡± Somebody questioned. Octopus is a sea creature, how did it come inland? However, they immediately thought that it just looked like an octopus. It probably had the genes of an octopus, but wasn¡¯t one completely. It was an evolved lifeform, being able to come onto land wasn¡¯t too hard to believe.


    ¡°You are a fucking pig!¡± Yu Han scolded ferociously.


    ¡°Ignore the stuff. Get in the car and leave immediately!¡± Yu Han knew that in reality it hadn¡¯t been too long since the battle started, the monster that Qin Kai Rui met was definitely not far away.


    Everyone started getting busy. With the car that Qin Kai Rui drove back, they now had three cars. However, even with these three cars they could not fit so many people, as it was already filled with supplies. They could barely squeeze two people inside a car.


    ¡°No way, I want to live, I don¡¯t want to die with you guys!¡± Meilin saw the situation and suddenly felt that returning was completely a mistake. Her expression was incomparably anxious, and her pupils kept dilating and contracting. She looked just as crazy as a mental patient.


    Yu Han initially wanted to shout at Meilin, but when he turned his head, he saw a fat dark coloured bug lying on top of her head.


    A bug?


    ¡°Meilin, what¡¯s on your head?¡± Yu Han asked.


    ¡°What, just ignore me, I want to leave!¡± Meilin said and ran towards the car. She thought that she would be safe once she came back, only to find that she was in even more danger here. However, before she could take more than a few steps, blood started flowing out from her nose and then she fell onto the floor, her whole body spasming and twitching.


    The girls initially wanted to console her, but seeing her become like this, they were immediately frightened and didn¡¯t know what to do.


    Yu Han approached carefully, using his katana to poke the bug on Meilin¡¯s head. However, the thing seemed to be stuck to her head, refusing to move. Only now did everyone see the thing lying on top of her head. it looked just like a leech about 10cm in length. After receiving the shock from the katana, the bug suddenly started to inflate like it was filled with air.


    Yu Han was startled for a moment, and the katana swiped across the body of the bug. The sharp edge of the katana split the bug into half, and from inside splashed out reddish-white¡­brain matter.


    Yu Han got a fright in his heart, and then turned his head to look at Qin Kai Rui.


    ¡°What are you looking at me for?¡± Qin Kai Rui was extremely terrified now.


    Yu Han¡¯s eyes swept across him and then stared at the back of Qin Kai Rui¡¯s head, there was also a bug lying there but it hadn¡¯t inflated yet. No, it wasn¡¯t that it didn¡¯t become bigger but that it hadn¡¯t received any shock, so it did not suddenly start to forcefully suck the blood and brain matter out of his head.


    ¡°There¡¯s one on your head too, this thing can pierce through the skull and directly suck a person¡¯s brain matter and blood.¡± Yu Han said apathetically.


    ¡°No, no don¡¯t scare me!¡± Qin Kai Rui¡¯s entire body started to tremble.


    ¡°The bug must be removed or you will die for sure.¡±


    ¡°Save me, please please save me!¡± Qin Kai Rui¡¯s tears and mucus had already started flowing out. Meilin was still lying on the floor, continuously spasming and twitching. From just a look they knew that she wouldn¡¯t live for long. Even her brain matter was sucked out, how could she still live? Qin Kai Rui did not want to become like her.


    ¡°Stay still, this thing will start sucking vigorously once it receives any shock.¡± Bai Yi suddenly reminded. Although Bai Yi did not have a good impression of Qin Kai Rui, he did not want him to throw away his life for no reason as well.


    After Qin Kai Rui heard his words, he immediately stood still on the spot but he couldn¡¯t stop the uncontrollable trembling all over his body.


    ¡°If we can¡¯t give it any shock, then how do we remove it?¡± Dai Yu Yao asked nervously. All of them saw the scene just now, the leech-like thing on Meilin¡¯s head had started sucking vigorously the moment it received a shock and inflated like a balloon in an instant. If they did not get it off, however, then Qin Kai Rui could only wait for death.


    Yu Han held the katana in his hand tightly¡­ If I¡¯m fast enough and cut close enough to the scalp, then it should be fine, I think? Just as he raised his katana, Hong Qi Hua carried a burning wooden stick over.


    ¡°Use this, this thing looks a lot like a leech so it¡¯s probably an evolved version of it. A creature like a leech cannot be pulled off with brute strength, the sucker and teeth will remain if you forcefully do it.¡± Hong Qi Hua explained and then brought the flame close to the leech-like creature on the back of Qin Kai Rui¡¯s head. As expected, as soon as the fire approached it the creature immediately started to curl up, and fell off from his head.


    Hong Qi Hua checked carefully and found another evolved leech on Qin Kai Rui¡¯s back. She repeated her actions and only after she confirmed that there were no more leeches did she nod her head.


    ¡°I¡¯m saved, thank you, thank you guys so much!¡± Qin Kai Rui¡¯s body went weak and he fell onto the floor, lacking even the strength to stand up. A pale yellow liquid flowed down his lower body, the fear of death actually made him pee himself. At this time, even Dai Yu Yao who had a good relationship with Qin Kai Rui couldn¡¯t help but cover her nose and move backwards.


    All of a sudden, rumbling sounds echoed over from the direction that Qin Kai Rui had escaped from, and then a house suddenly collapsed, raising a huge cloud of dust. After hearing the noise, everyone immediately turned around and looked. Two savage cries immediately sounded from that direction, one high and the other low-pitched.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on now?!¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re probably fighting!¡± Martin said.


    ¡°Fighting?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just two monsters fighting. Although they¡¯re both monsters, it doesn¡¯t mean that they have an amiable relationship. In the eyes of different monsters, the other side is either an enemy or prey.¡± Martin explained. That seemed to really be the case. Everyone looked at Qin Kai Rui. This guy ran around like a pig and actually didn¡¯t die.


    ¡°Let¡¯s move, we must leave this place immediately.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°But how do we leave? We only have three cars now, can we really cross Otorohanga?¡± Khina asked.


    ¡°Woolf and the girls, get in the car. The other guys can run on foot. Grab ahold of your weapons and cross the city.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°The car is filled with so many supplies, how can he lie down with such a big size??¡± Dai Yu Yao asked, dissatisfied.


    ¡°Throw them away!¡±


    ¡°Throw? What are we going to eat if we throw them away!¡± Dai Yu Yao retorted again.


    Seeing that Dai Yu Yao was still being so wilful and annoying even at such a critical moment, Bai Yi really wanted to kill somebody. He went to the nearest car and shoved everything inside onto the ground. Seeing the angry look on Dai Yu Yao¡¯s face, Bai Yi became even more furious.


    ¡°Hurry! Are you waiting for death here?¡±


    Dai Yu Yao wanted to retort, but suddenly the rumbling sounded again. The two monsters fighting at the end of the road suddenly pounced into view. Everyone looked over and finally saw clearly the two fighting monsters that Martin talked about.


    One of them looked like a giant leech, or it could be said to be a slug as well. It was 7-8 meters in length, and on the surface of its body waved around more than 10 giant tentacles. This was probably the octopus-like monster that Qin Kai Rui had described. In the end, he didn¡¯t even see the body of the monster clearly and missed the main point entirely.


    The other one was a ¡®tortoise¡¯ with giant greenish-black tortoise shell that was 4-5 meters in diameter. The lower part of its body was streamlined while its head looked just like that of a vicious shark.


    The armoured shark tortoise viciously bit the tentacle slug, its head continuously shaking and violently pulling on the surface of the tentacle slug¡¯s body. The tentacle slug shrieked sharply and arched its body, spraying out a jet of acid from its giant mouth in front. The armoured shark tortoise instantly released its jaws, its short and stout legs moved very quickly to dodge the acid. White smoke instantly rose from the corroded ground where the acid landed.


    Just as the armoured shark tortoise released its big mouth, the skin of the tentacle slug on the place it bit into instantly sprang back up. Other than a few indents, there wasn¡¯t even a wound on it. The toughness of the tentacle¡¯s slug body was just ridiculous. The armoured tortoise shark was so ferocious when biting that even Bai Yi¡¯s group was all stupefied.


    As the group looked at the two monsters in shock and fear, Bai Yi suddenly started moving and carried Woolf inside the car.


    ¡°Hurry, leave now!¡± Bai Yi said.


    At this moment the rest of them started panicking as well, immediately squeezing inside the cars. However in the panic and hurry, somebody accidentally created a loud noise, and the armoured shark tortoise instantly twisted its head around.

 Chapter 33

    Just as Martin said, there were a lot of monsters inside the research facility, but they were definitely not friendly with each other. To these monsters, they were just prey to each other. It was just that they were all locked up separately before, so there was no chance to attack each other. However, even though they were all prey, these monsters could tell which prey were easier to attack and which was more troublesome.


    The Armoured Shark Tortoise initially treated the Tentacle Slug as its prey, and its strength was also above that of the Tentacle Slug. However, the Tentacle Slug¡¯s body was too soft and slippery, even after biting for so long it still had not managed to pierce through the skin. Now that Bai Yi¡¯s side had suddenly made some noise, it instantly twisted its head over.


    The activated cells originated from the Progenitor, and she was a human being. What Martin didn¡¯t know was that other than the assimilating power and gene fusion capabilities of the activated cells, they still had another ability¡­intelligence enhancement. However, this ability wasn¡¯t too obvious, and Martin wasn¡¯t a core researcher so he did not know about this.


    With the manifestation of this ability, the intelligence of these monsters had been gradually improving, and their wisdom awakened.


    Although it wasn¡¯t obvious yet as it had only been a short time, the Armoured Shark Tortoise looked between Bai Yi¡¯s group and the Tentacle Slug, immediately making its decision.


    Those upright-walking living things were easier targets!


    Moreover, the Armoured Shark Tortoise could still remember it being imprisoned in a small and tight space, getting tortured by these two-legged animals.


    With old grudges in addition to the hunger in its stomach, the Armoured Shark Tortoise paused for a moment, suddenly putting force behind its four powerful limbs, and burst forward. It then withdrew its limbs inside the shell as it shot out, the smooth and hard shell having almost no friction with the surface. The powerful forward force let the Armoured Shark Tortoise slide over blazingly fast like an out of control sleigh.


    Fuck, it can also do that?


    Everyone swore in their hearts. They¡¯d initially thought that a tortoise could only crawl slowly and never imagined that it could move like this


    Looking at the Armoured Shark Tortoise speeding over aggressively, everyone started to disperse in a panic in fear of getting smashed by the monster. Dai Yu Yao dashed into the driver¡¯s seat and tried to start the car, but the more she panicked the messier things got, and the key fell onto the seat.


    At this moment, the Armoured Shark Tortoise was already in front of the car with unimaginable speed. Dai Yu Yao just managed to pick up the key, and her eyes froze in that moment forever.


    ¡®CRASH!¡¯


    The Armoured Shark Tortoise withdrew its head into the shell as well, smashing into the car with tremendous impact. The entire car instantly crumpled and flew away. Although the airbag was deployed by the car in that moment, nobody had much confidence in its usefulness.


    Dai Yu Yao¡­ was probably gone.


    After smashing away the car, its body spun on the spot for a while, and four strong and thick legs stretched out followed by the head. The giant tortoise gave its head a few shakes, looking perfectly fine, and then started chasing the nearest person with heavy footsteps¡­ Ning Xue! Seeing the Armoured Shark Tortoise chase Ning Xue, everyone else immediately ran in the opposite direction.


    ¡°Save me! Save me Yu Han!¡± Ning Xue shouted for her life while running with all the speed she could muster.


    Yu Han¡¯s body paused for a moment, and then he gritted his teeth¡­ Damn it! Yu Han wasn¡¯t some noble person, but he¡¯d just managed to conquer Ning Xue yesterday. If he abandoned her the very next day and left her to die, then it would undoubtedly make the others lose heart. Thinking about this, Yu Han started sprinting towards Ning Xue. While running, his right arm tensed and bulged, looking like it contained enormous power.


    At this moment, the Tentacle Slug in the distance stopped for a moment, and then wriggled its way over here as well.


    ¡°Fuck aren¡¯t you afraid of dying?! Your opponent just let you off! You should be running away instead!¡± Martin initially ran in the direction of the Tentacle Slug only to see the other monster crawling towards him. He immediately fell to the floor and skidded to a stop, then miserably climbed up again and ran in the opposite direction.


    The expressions of the others weren¡¯t too different from Martin¡¯s. Damn it! Shouldn¡¯t that Tentacle Slug be running away? Why is it coming over as well!


    Looking at this scene, some of them even felt like crying.


    ¡°Uncle Bai!¡± Hong Qi Hua looked at Bai Yi, waiting for his decision.


    ¡°Stop running! Where can you run to? Are you trying to attract even more monsters here, do you feel like you aren¡¯t dying fast enough?!¡± Bai Yi shouted loudly, but apparently there weren¡¯t many people who could remain calm in this situation. At this moment, Bai Yi held onto Momo along with Sharpei at his side. He looked at the Armoured Shark Tortoise on one side and the Tentacle Slug coming from the other.


    ¡°Qi Hua, go stop the others who are running away! Martin, you and I will stall the monster!¡± Bai Yi said.


    Hong Qi Hua nodded her head and immediately chased after those who were running away in panic. As for Martin, he could only give a miserable expression, looking like it was the end of his days. It wasn¡¯t even this scary when he was observing these monsters from the high-reinforced glass in the lab. However, Martin was considered more rational, and did not run around aimlessly. If he accidentally attracted another one or two more monsters, then that was really just tying the noose around his neck.


    The Tentacle Slug was considered a mollusc, so its speed wasn¡¯t too fast, but it wasn¡¯t too slow either, roughly the speed of a person jogging.


    Bai Yi looked at the Tentacle Slug a few hundred metres away and analysed it meticulously, hoping to find a way to kill this monster. A few cars that were smashed, scattered supplies all over the floor and a few kitchen knives¡­ No matter where he looked, he couldn¡¯t find anything that could help him fight against this monster.


    Bai Yi turned his head again. On the other side, the Armoured Shark Tortoise and Yu Han clashed together. Yu Han was moving around in a sorry state, trying to lure the giant tortoise towards the buildings. The Armoured Shark Tortoise chased after him, smashing the buildings into rubble everywhere and falling many of them. From the looks of it, Yu Han could still survive for a while. At this moment, Yu Han also hurriedly got up from the ground and looked at the situation on the other side.


    Although he disdained Yu Han¡¯s character, Bai Yi had to admit that Yu Han¡¯s mental resilience and caliber were among the top in the group.


    Although they were definitely not friends now, they both understood the intentions in each other¡¯s eyes.


    Handle the monster on their side!


    Bai Yi turned back, in that short while, the Tentacle Slug was now only a few dozen meters away. Martin was barely restraining his urge to run, continuously turning his head to look at Bai Yi, hoping that he would think of a solution.


    ¡°Lure this guy away first.¡± Bai Yi said.


    Woolf was lying down beside the Giant Crab Alligator, looking like he was bathing in a pool of blood. Bai Yi made Woolf eat as if his life depended on it, putting all his hopes on the power of the activated cells. However, honestly speaking Bai Yi had no confidence that it would actually work. He didn¡¯t even know if Woolf was just unconscious or already dead. No matter what, luring the Tentacle Slug away came first.


    Bai Yi grabbed a chopper. This was still the thing that he was most used to using.


    ¡°Momo, hide well.¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t have the extra capacity to look after Momo now.


    Luckily, although Momo was still young, she was rather intelligent. The things that she¡¯d seen during these few days had already changed her young and tender heart. After Bai Yi spoke, Momo immediately ran towards a mansion by the side and squatted carefully in a corner. She then stretched out her little head to stealthily look at Bai Yi. Sharpei immediately followed after her as well, guarding Momo by her side.


    Bai Yi smiled in his heart. Although that place wasn¡¯t completely safe, it was considered more hidden.


    Bai Yi rushed out, and although Martin¡¯s expression was incomparably bleak, he still followed after Bai Yi. The more afraid of death you were, the faster you would die. If at the start Qin Kai Rui wasn¡¯t cowardly enough to run way, then they wouldn¡¯t have been in such a crisis after killing the Giant Crab Alligator.


    While running, Bai Yi saw the shotgun laying on the floor. He immediately hung his chopper on his belt, and picked up the gun. This thing was still more useful for attracting attention.


    Bai Yi cocked the shotgun and ran to the other side of the Tentacle Slug. Seeing Bai Yi running over, the Tentacle Slug immediately shot out an octopus-like tentacle trying to grab hold of Bai Yi. The giant tentacle that was as thick as a person¡¯s waist was covered with mucus, looking incomparably disgusting and sinister.


    ¡®Bang!¡¯ The shotgun rang.


    The shotgun instantly spat out more than 10 pellets but the tentacle reaching for Bai Yi only paused for a moment, not even scratching the skin. The tentacles reached over at an even faster speed and Bai Yi immediately dived to the side, however his right arm was still caught by the tentacles. Bai Yi struggled fiercely and managed to pull his arm away from the tentacles. However, from this simple and short contact, the sleeve on Bai Yi¡¯s right arm was ripped to shreds, and the skin underneath was also scraped off, revealing the bloody flesh underneath.


    They finally understood how Qin Kai Rui and Meilin¡¯s injuries came about!


    The suckers on the tentacles were like countless mini blades. Bai Yi rolled on the floor, and without any pause or hesitation, started sprinting again. Sure enough, in the next moment the tentacle reached for Bai Yi again. Bai Yi managed to dodge it, but Meilin, who was lying on the floor with barely a breath, was caught by the tentacles.


    Seemingly due to her extreme fear of death, Meilin, who was initially on the verge of dying, suddenly started to struggle frantically.


    ¡°Wuuuu, wuuuu! No! NOOOOO¡­!¡± Tears and mucus dripped down from her face, screaming words that she herself did not understand. However, this final radiance of the setting sun (TN: chinese idiom that means a sudden period of lucidity or activity right before demise) was completely useless. The tentacle very quickly pulled Meilin towards the monster¡¯s mouth that looked like an asshole.


    From her head, she slowly slid into the hole while the rest of her body was still struggling and her legs kicking. However, very quickly her entire body completely sunk into the monster¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°That was its mouth? I thought it was the asshole!¡± Martin suddenly said.


    ¡°Pfft¡­!¡± Bai Yi heard this and uncontrollably produced a laugh for a moment. However, it was only a split second, nobody could truly laugh in a situation like this.

 Chapter 34

    After eating Meilin, the Tentacle Slug headed towards the Giant Crab Alligator. Apparently, the smell of fresh blood was more alluring to it than Bai Yi and Martin.


    Bai Yi immediately ran toward it upon seeing this scene. Woolf was just beside the Giant Crab Alligator, if he really let the Tentacle Slug approach the corpse, then Woolf would be dead for sure! While running, Bai Yi cocked the gun again, but did not carelessly fire.


    Bai Yi had seen the battle between the two monsters earlier very clearly. The Armoured Shark Tortoise was immensely strong, but it was unable to leave a wound on the Tentacle Slug even after much biting and tearing. It was easy to infer just how tough the skin of the Tentacle Slug was. The gun would definitely be useless on that monster.


    As though attracted by the smell of blood, the monster did not seem to care about Bai Yi, and allowed him to run up to behind its ass.


    Bai Yi poked the shotgun into an area with a slight indentation on the Tentacle Slug, and fired the gun vigorously. With a ¡®bang!¡¯, Bai Yi immediately threw away the gun and ran for his life. The Tentacle Slug who did not care about Bai Yi initially instantly let out a painful ear-piercing cry, and all the tentacles on its body started to wave around in a frenzy, appearing to be extremely mad. Bai Yi couldn¡¯t escape in time and one of the tentacles slapped him in the back and sent him flying.


    Rolling a few rounds on the floor, Bai Yi felt like his entire body was falling apart. At this moment, Martin ran over and gave a thumbs up to Bai Yi.


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely the asshole this time round, I guarantee it!¡± Martin exclaimed.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t even know if he should be laughing or not. This fellow, he actually had the mood to joke around at a time like this! However, Bai Yi¡¯s actions just now thoroughly enraged the Tentacle Slug, and the monster immediately abandoned the corpse of the Giant Crab Alligator at the side and started chasing after the two of them.


    Countless tentacles brandished in the air, grabbing towards Bai Yi and Martin.


    Bai Yi was in so much pain that he felt like his body was falling apart, but he knew that if he gave up now it was the same as waiting for death. Forcefully pulling himself together, Bai Yi tried to stand up again. However, the body¡¯s capacity was really not something that could be forcefully tapped into just by willing it. Bai Yi staggered for a moment, all the strength in his body seemingly leaving him, and at this moment the nearest tentacle already started to surround him.


    Suddenly, Martin pushed Bai Yi away forcefully and Bai Yi fell and rolled on the floor. However, in the process Martin got himself caught by the tentacles and the Tentacle Slug dragged him towards itself.


    Bai Yi was astonished for a moment. He never expected that Martin would sacrifice himself to save others!


    Sacrificing yourself to save others. It was easy to talk about it, but when somebody really found themselves in that situation, it was difficult to say if the person would really do such a thing. The decision made in a split-second really tested the deepest nature of a person¡¯s heart.


    ¡°Shit!¡­ Fuck, release your daddy!¡± Martin waved his hands as his body was dragged back, shouting curses and screams. Once he was dragged back, he would sink into that giant mouth that looked like an asshole.


    Bastard¡­!


    Listening to Martin scream, Bai Yi bit down on his teeth. There seemed to be an intense despair roaring silently in his heart and screaming crazily. Suddenly, the muscles on Bai Yi¡¯s body starting twitching, and the colourful patterns caused by butterfly genes on his face expanded by a third. In a short moment, all the muscles on Bai Yi¡¯s body started to heat up vigorously and a powerful urge to destroy everything howled from the depths of his heart.


    Bai Yi rolled on the floor and avoided one of the tentacles attempting to grab him. He got up rapidly and dashed towards where Martin was.


    Bai Yi¡¯s body that just gotten up was almost touching the floor as he ran. Seeing a kitchen knife on the floor, Bai Yi¡¯s left hand quickly unwrapped the cloth covering it and held onto the handle of the knife. At the same time, his right hand also held onto the other knife on his back.


    With a few up and down movements, he quickly reached Martin and ferociously raised both his arms.


    Even Martin, who was wrapped in the tentacle, could see how fierce and frightening Bai Yi¡¯s expression was like now. This wasn¡¯t an expression that anybody in peaceful times could have! Those actors in the movies were just too pathetic, this kind of life and death struggle could never be acted out by them.


    The bandage on Bai Yi¡¯s left arm tore, and the wound on his shoulder split open again, fresh blood spilling onto Martin¡¯s face.


    At this moment, the two knives descended frighteningly fast, Martin couldn¡¯t even see a complete shadow of the knives.


    ¡°BREAK FOR ME!!!¡±


    Bai Yi gritted his teeth vigorously, the two knives descended repeatedly like mincing meat and every strike would land at the same place. This kind of high-speed chopping would turn even ox skin into minced meat. Although the Tentacle Slug¡¯s skin was abnormally tough, an opening still appeared on it.


    After the opening appeared, Bai Yi¡¯s actions became even faster. The flesh under the skin was relatively softer, and Bai Yi¡¯s twin knives viciously chopped onto it. The tentacle that was as thick as a bucket finally got chopped off by Bai Yi and Martin landed on the floor, still in a state of shock.


    ¡°Run!¡± Bai Yi turned his head and roared.


    The loud shout let Martin come back to his senses and hurriedly ran after Bai Yi.


    After getting its tentacle chopped off by Bai Yi, it was certain that the Tentacle Slug would get even more furious, reaching the point where it wouldn¡¯t rest until Bai Yi was dead. The giant slug completely abandoned the Giant Crab Alligator and crazily chased after Bai Yi and Martin.


    After the explosion of power, Bai Yi felt that his body became even more fatigued. Even while running, his legs felt empty as if it they didn¡¯t belong to him. At this moment, the Tentacle Slug that had a tentacle chopped off burned with fury and the wriggling speed of its body seemed to increase multiple times.


    Even if Momo didn¡¯t understand much of what¡¯s going on, she could still tell that her daddy was in great danger.


    ¡°Sharpei, go help daddy!¡± Momo told Sharpei at her side.


    ¡°Woof woof~!¡± Sharpei barked twice, seeming to reject Momo. Bai Yi wanted him to protect Momo, this was his mission.


    ¡°Sharpei be obedient!¡± The small Momo also grew angry and said loudly, stamping her feet twice. Sharpei looked at Momo, and Momo¡¯s face was full of anger and seriousness.


    ¡°I¡¯ll hide well. Nothing will happen to me.¡±


    Sharpei looked at Momo¡¯s small body shrinking behind the corner and hesitated for a moment. It then looked at Bai Yi¡¯s situation and saw that it was really precarious. In a moment, it bared its teeth and sprinted out at a shockingly fast speed.


    Momo was the little owner and Bai Yi was the big owner. No matter what, Sharpei wanted to protect both of them. This was the simple core belief that Sharpei had as a ¡®dog¡¯. Ever since three years ago, when a young adult, a female baby and a small sharpei dog met, they were already tied to each other by an unbreakable bond of fate.


    Bai Yi who¡¯d just crazily exploded earlier on felt his legs go weak, and Martin held onto Bai Yi as they tried desperately to escape. However, the situation looked more and more bleak, and Martin despaired and gave up as he saw the giant tentacle stretch over for them.


    In the end, I¡¯m still going to die here today!


    Just as Martin gave up, a shadow dashed in front him. Sharp teeth ferociously bit down on the tentacle and knocked it to the side at the same time.


    Sharpei landed on the floor and barked viciously.


    ¡°WOOF¡­!¡±


    A trace of hope grew in Martin¡¯s heart as he saw Sharpei. Wasn¡¯t this dog the sharpei dog that Bai Yi brought around? Martin immediately got up and held onto Bai Yi as they continued to run away. As expected, Sharpei frantically tried to stop the Tentacle Slug behind them.


    Sharpei jumped and moved around continuously, dodging the tentacles, and when it had the chance it would viciously bite the tentacles too. However, the skin of the Tentacle Slug was just too tough. Coupled with the sticky and slippery mucus on the skin, even the Armoured Shark Tortoise couldn¡¯t bite through it, let alone Sharpei. Although Sharpei couldn¡¯t deal any damage to the Tentacle Slug, stalling it for a moment was still possible.


    However, at this moment, Martin was in too much of a rush and he accidentally tripped on something, falling flat onto the ground. Bai Yi, who was being held up by him, also rolled a few times on the floor before hitting a car. However, the impact from hitting the car made Bai Yi¡¯s head become slightly clearer. Bai Yi was face down on the floor when he suddenly detected a strong smell of gasoline.


    Gasoline!


    As Bai Yi looked again at the flames burning in other places, his hazy head suddenly came up with an idea.


    ¡°Martin, strip your clothes!¡± Bai Yi immediately instructed.


    ¡°What? Bai Yi, what are you thinking of doing now? Let me tell you I¡¯m not gay!¡± Although Martin was muttering some nonsense his hands weren¡¯t moving slowly at all. He knew very well that Bai Yi wouldn¡¯t ask him to do something without a reason.


    At this moment, as Sharpei rolled in the air and landed, the wound from the bullet extraction surgery split open. Sharpei suddenly staggered for a split-second, and because of this short pause, a tentacle wrapped itself around Sharpei.


    Hearing Sharpei¡¯s pitiful cry, Bai Yi turned his head and saw the scene of Sharpei getting caught by the tentacle.


    Sharpei!


    Even Momo hiding in the corner stood up. She really wanted to go out, but she still remembered that her daddy had told her to hide well.


    Bai Yi ignored the nonsense coming out of Martin¡¯s mouth and immediately snatched his clothes over, soaking it into the broken gas tank of the car. Holding the gas-soaked clothes, Bai Yi immediately ran towards the Tentacle Slug. At this moment Sharpei was already almost at the asshole-like mouth of the monster.


    Save Sharpei! I must save Sharpei!


    Bai Yi ran crazily and lightly passed the bundle of clothes over an unextinguished flame along the way. The gas-soaked clothes caught fire easily and Bai Yi looked like a flaming human right now.


    He rushed over, wrapping the flaming clothes around the tentacle that held Sharpei.


    As expected, in a split second the Tentacle Slug became agitated again and it instantly retracted its tentacle, ignoring Sharpei completely. Sharpei landed on the floor, and more than half of its body was covered in blood from the suckers on the tentacles. However, it was already much better than being eaten. At this time, Bai Yi¡¯s hair and right arm that were in contact with the gas were still burning in flames.


    Extinguish the fire!


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t want to become a barbequed human, so he looked around in a hurry and found a sand pit not far away. Without time to hesitate, he immediately ran towards the sand pit and dove into it, rolling around vigorously in the sand. After a few minutes, the fire finally went out, but his entire body became dark and swarthy, completely unlike his original appearance.


    ¡°What a pity, actually the scene of you holding the fire just now was really damn cool!¡± Martin teased as he also ran over and shook his head at Bai Yi¡¯s sooty face.

 Chapter 35

    At this time, Hong Qi Hua ran over and happened to hear Martin¡¯s words; she immediately covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing. Although she was quite far away, she could still see how dangerous the situation was just now, but this Martin still had the mood to make jokes.


    ¡°What about the others?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°I told them to not run around; they¡¯re hiding together with Momo now.¡± Hong Qi Hua said.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine as long as they don¡¯t run around.¡± Bai Yi said, taking out his phone to check something. However, his phone was really plagued with misfortune, it was already shattered into many small pieces when he took it out.


    ¡°Check where the closest gas station is from here. This slug has very tough skin and coupled with the mucus on top of it, it is very hard to kill it with normal attacking methods. However, it¡¯s afraid of fire, so we will find a gas station and roast it.¡± Bai Yi said, looking at the Tentacle Slug.


    He wasn¡¯t joking when he said that the Tentacle Slug was afraid of fire, just the gas-soaked clothes just now made that guy very anxious. More than 10 tentacles moved at the same time and frantically smacked down on the fire. It only stopped when there wasn¡¯t even smoke rising from the clothes anymore. After extinguishing the flame, the Tentacle Slug turned to face Bai Yi. After these few encounters, the monster had already developed a deep grudge against Bai Yi.


    After Hong Qi Hua heard Bai Yi¡¯s words, she immediately took out her phone. Like Bai Yi, she also downloaded the full electronic map of New Zealand on her phone. Something like this could be useful anytime.


    ¡°Very close by, 1.5km to our left!¡± Hong Qi Hua said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go over!¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid of meeting other monsters?¡± Martin said worriedly.


    ¡°It¡¯s not too possible in that direction.¡± Hong Qi Hua suddenly shook her head and explained.


    ¡°We have met three monsters here ¨C 1. Giant Crab Alligator, 2. Tentacle Slug, 3. Armoured Shark Tortoise. It¡¯s not difficult to see that they are all aquatic type monsters. You guys should know about the geographic position of Otorohanga. The city is next to a distributary of the Waipa River, so it¡¯s rich in water resources. It is very likely that the research facility here is researching gene fusion of aquatic creatures. The monsters that made it to shore are probably only these kind of amphibious monsters, so there shouldn¡¯t be many monsters in this city. The gas station is on the other side, even farther away from the distributary than here, so the chances of us encountering monsters isn¡¯t high.¡± Hong Qi Hua quickly and concisely explained.


    Martin looked at Hong Qi Hua dumbly. He didn¡¯t spend much time with Hong Qi Hua so he didn¡¯t know her well. However, he was still stunned. Hong Qi Hua was completely different from the other girls like Ning Xue or Dai Yu Yao. This composure and intelligence, it wasn¡¯t even possible to compare the other girls to her.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s leave quickly!¡± Bai Yi said while standing up.


    ¡°Sharpei, go to where Woolf is, and eat the Giant Crab Alligator meat!¡± Bai Yi instructed.


    More than half of the skin on Sharpei was ripped off, and its body was bleeding profusely, appearing extremely scary. The fact that Sharpei could still stand at his time was already unbelievable. Bai Yi wasn¡¯t sure if Sharpei understood him, but after speaking, the three of them ran towards the gas station that Hong Qi Hua was talking about.


    The Tentacle Slug chased after the three of them furiously, although the main target was still Bai Yi.


    At this time, Sharpei stood on the spot, swaying about. Slowly, Sharpei walked forward, leaving a trail of blood behind it as it walked. It slowly moved to the tentacle that Bai Yi chopped off and suddenly opened its mouth wide.


    Woof!


    Sharpei bit down hard, it tore at the meat frenziedly and swallowed. Sharpei didn¡¯t listen to Bai Yi to eat the Giant Crab Alligator¡¯s meat but went for the meat of the monster that had harmed Bai Yi and itself. In the world of animals, they were all each other¡¯s prey and predators. This kind of law was so simple and cruel.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Martin, on your body.¡± Bai Yi suddenly said while running.


    ¡°Ah, on my body, are you referring to this? This was caused by the suckers on the tentacles. A few patches of my skin even got ripped off.¡± Martin spoke while breathing hard. Normally, even a small wound would cause him to be in great pain, let alone this sorry state now while risking his life. However, due to the increased production of adrenaline from his adrenal glands, he still felt very hot-blooded right now.


    ¡°I know, I¡¯m talking about the two Brain-Sucking Leeches on your back.¡± Bai Yi said nonchalantly.


    ¡°What?! Brain-Sucking Leeches? Hurry, help me to get them off!!¡± Martin instantly became extremely terrified. Honestly speaking, Martin had come to accept that if he was killed by monsters then it was just his fate. However, if he let the Brain-Sucking Leech suck his brain matter, he wouldn¡¯t even be able to die in a short period of time. That was what was truly cruel and horrific.


    Hong Qi Hua laughed and found a flame, smoking the Brain-Sucking Leeches off.


    ¡°When did it climb onto me? Fuck¡­I completely had no feeling.¡± Martin swore.


    ¡°Probably when you got caught.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°When I got caught? Are you talking about the Tentacle Slug¡­ So it was like that! The Tentacle Slug and Brain-Sucking Leech look very similar. They were probably the same lifeform originally, or perhaps the two of them formed a symbiotic relationship.¡± Martin only lagged for a moment. In reality, he was the legitimate researcher. After Bai Yi¡¯s simple reminder, Martin immediately thought of the most probable possibility.


    The few of them had the time to chit-chat because the speed of the Tentacle Slug wasn¡¯t too fast. As long as they were sprinting, they could escape.


    Hong Qi Hua ran in front, holding the Willow Leaf Knife and being lightly cautious of the surroundings. Although she herself analysed that there shouldn¡¯t be any other monsters in the direction they were running in, that was just her deduction. Now that Martin and Bai Yi were both heavily injured, the job of being on guard obviously fell to her now.


    The distance of 1.5km wasn¡¯t too far, but Martin and Bai Yi were both injured so they were panting heavily from the run. On the other hand, Hong Qi Hua was in much better shape. The activated cells had already displayed their usefulness, and she was only breathing harder after such a long distance of sprinting.


    This gas station was pretty much the same as the other one they saw on the way here. Gasoline and diesel were spilled all over the floor from the damaged pipes, and the air carried a heavy smell of gas.


    ¡°Ignite the place like this?¡± Martin asked.


    ¡°Just the gas on the floor wouldn¡¯t be enough, that guy would definitely run away. Let¡¯s find the gasoline storage area.¡±


    A gas station is normally split into a few areas: the gasoline storage area, gasoline pipeline, and gas pumping area. Normally, the topping up of gas would of course be at the gas pumping area, and unauthorised people wouldn¡¯t be allowed to enter the gas storage area that had to be wary of smoke or fire. However, there were no such considerations now, so the few of them rushed inside and looked for the gas storage area. Behind them was the Tentacle Slug crawling over the various types of fuel on the floor.


    ¡°There¡¯re actually complete gas containers here.¡± Martin said, surprised at the few gas containers here.


    ¡°Are you dumb, of course the gas containers are untouched. Who doesn¡¯t know that these things cannot be moved carelessly? Once they come into contact with static electricity or sparks, they will immediately explode. Whose guts have hair growing on them (TN: means very brave!) would go and forcefully damage something like this?¡± Bai Yi said laughingly.


    ¡°Then what do we do?¡± Martin asked.


    ¡°Qi Hua, you have a handgun with you, right? Pass it to me.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Uncle Bai, with your condition now, it¡¯s better to leave it to me.¡± Hong Qi Hua refused. With how Bai Yi was like now, ¡®miserable¡¯ wasn¡¯t enough to describe him, it was a miracle that he was even alive. The activated cells definitely played a role in this, or else with his injuries it would be enough to cause a normal human to die a few times over.


    ¡°Let me do it. That guy¡¯s after me. If I run away, then it wouldn¡¯t be effective anymore. Hurry, listen to me.¡± Bai Yi panted lightly and said to Hong Qi Hua softly, looking like he was doting on her.


    Martin didn¡¯t say anything at this time. Although they could shoot at the gas container from a long distance, everybody knew just how dangerous this could be.


    Hong Qi Hua took a deep breath and said, ¡°Uncle Bai, you must come back alive. Momo is still waiting for you!¡±


    After speaking, Hong Qi Hua passed the gun to Bai Yi, and ran into the distance with Martin without looking back.


    At this moment, the Tentacle Slug had already followed Bai Yi¡¯s scent inside. The Tentacle Slug was afraid of fire, but there wasn¡¯t any fire in the gas station because any person would know what a gas station was most vulnerable to. Things were a mess inside the gas station. Various kinds of fuel leaked all over the place, but there was no fire. The Tentacle Slug didn¡¯t know that these things could become its grave in an instant.


    Although Bai Yi decided to stay back, he had no intention to heroically sacrifice his life. No matter what, he wanted to live on.


    I must survive!


    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes became incomparably resolute, running towards the building behind the station with his almost exhausted body. He must first find a safe place, otherwise he would completely lose his chance to live.


    At this time, the Tentacle Slug had already chased him to the gas pumping area, waving its tentacles about as it moved towards the direction that Bai Yi was at. At this moment, Bai Yi raised the gun and aimed for the opening in the gas container.


    ¡®Bang!¡¯


    Sparks were produced on the surface on the gas container, but it didn¡¯t explode. Bai Yi could only laugh bitterly now, everybody knew that sparks were extremely dangerous at a gas station, but now when he wanted to ignite the gas containers they actually didn¡¯t explode. Bai Yi checked the bullets in the handgun. There were still five bullets left. In this short time, the Tentacle Slug crawled even closer.


    Five shots!


    ¡®Bang bang bang bang bang!¡¯


    Five shots fired continuously, hitting the gas container below the Tentacle Slug. In a split second, Bai Yi saw a blue fire igniting on the surface. Without any hesitation, Bai Yi immediately turned around and rolled into the sewers behind him.


    ¡®BOOM!¡¯ a giant explosion sounded. The moment Bai Yi went in, the container exploded and intense flames covered the entire gas station. A few gas containers exploded one after another, and powerful shockwaves continuously wrecked the surrounding area. Even the Tentacle Slug could only shriek pitifully now, struggling around in the flames.


    Martin stood on a slope more than 100 meters away, looking at the chain explosions in the distance, his eyes blanking out. Bai Yi had really ignited it, this kind of violent explosion!


    Hong Qi Hua turned her head away slightly, closing both eyes.

 Chapter 36

    The impact of the explosion did not kill the Tentacle Slug, but the flames from the ignited gas surrounded it. The Tentacle Slug kept on struggling for its life, but its movements gradually slowed down. At the end, it finally curled up and died in the inferno.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Hong Qi Hua said


    ¡°Go where?¡± Martin asked.


    ¡°To find Uncle Bai of course!¡± Hong Qi Hua said, jumping down from the small slope and ran towards the gas station. At this time, the gas station was still burning, but the explosions had stopped. As long as they were careful to not run inside the flames, they would be safe.


    ¡°Bai Yi is already dead!¡± Martin was stunned for a moment and then shouted.


    ¡°He won¡¯t be!¡±


    ¡°Be a bit more rational! Nobody can survive from that kind of explosion, although Bai Yi is very composed and rational, he is still just a human!¡± Martin shouted loudly. Bai Yi¡¯s actions touched Martin very much and he always respected these characteristics of Bai Yi. However, Martin felt that they should face up to reality, it wasn¡¯t possible for Bai Yi to survive from the explosion.


    ¡°I said he won¡¯t be!¡± Hong Qi Hua turned her head creasing her eyebrows, and ran out.


    Martin looked at the back of Hong Qi Hua disappearing into the distance, not knowing why she was so certain that Bai Yi was still alive. Gritting his teeth, Martin wanted to run after her, but at this time he heard the sound of a car again. A car drove over and Martin saw a few people coming down from the car along with Momo.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Bai Yi?¡± The female doctor wearing a white overcoat said.


    ¡°Over there¡­ Are you guys Bai Yi¡¯s friends?¡± Martin replied dumbly as he watched the few of them run towards the burning flames. Only then did he react and immediately followed them.


    ¡°En, friend!¡± Mavis looked at Martin. His skin where the suckers from the Tentacle Slug had touched him were ripped.


    ¡°Sara, help him to bandage his wounds, simple war-time bandaging.¡± Mavis told the other young women.


    ¡°Ok, Doctor Mavis.¡± The young women in nurse uniform nodded her head.


    ¡°Sara¡­You are the friend that Bai Yi said was at Otorohanga.¡± Martin immediately realized.


    ¡°En, he told you guys before? The commotion you guys made was really huge.¡± Sara said with a smile on her face.


    ¡°Daddy, daddy!¡± Momo¡¯s hand was held by Mavis as she looked at the great fire and shouted non-stop. Even the young Momo could guess that something had happened to her dad. Mavis looked at the sea of fire in front of her and creased her eyebrows severely. Even the few of them did not think that Bai Yi could survive in this kind of situation.


    ¡­¡­


    At this time, fierce flames continued burning everywhere, but Hong Qi Hua¡¯s heart was as if she¡¯d fallen into an icehouse. On her neck suddenly appeared a sickle-like claw that was more than half a meter in length. A monster more than three meters tall, it¡¯s upper half of the body was that of a human and lower half was the tail of a snake. Its arms was replaced by sickles and it had half opened wings ¡­If she really had to give it a name then it was completely like a Naga from the video games.


    ¡°¡­¡­!¡± The figure suddenly said something but Hong Qi Hua couldn¡¯t hear it clearly.


    Without waiting for Hong Qi Hua to reply, the monster brandished its right sickle-claw, and cut off a giant tentacle from the Tentacle Slug. It then started to chew on it and slowly disappeared within the flames.


    Only after the figure disappeared did Hong Qi Hua feel her heart beating again. She couldn¡¯t be wrong¡­ This was what Bai Yi mentioned. Monsters that were humans as their origin but had fused with genes from other lifeforms. They did not completely lose their memories and reason, so it did not immediately kill her after seeing her but spared her life.


    ¡°Haa, haa¡­!¡± Hong Qi Hua breathed deeply and quickly, the air heated from the burning flames.


    ¡­¡­


    Momo cried loudly and wanted to run into the flames but Mavis held onto her tightly, not allowing her to go in. The cries of the little girl made everyone¡¯s heart dim and ache unimaginably. In the end¡­ In the end we can only accept this kind of ending?


    However, just as they were despairing greatly, within the flames appeared two figures.


    Hong Qi Hua supported Bai Yi, almost solely supporting both their weights with her strength and walked out of the flames. Hong Qi Hua from the start had a similar way of thinking as Bai Yi. When she knew that it was going to explode, and knew that there was going to be a great fire, where would she hide? Undoubtedly, concave areas in the floor would be protected from the shockwaves and places with water would prevent the flames from burning her. In that case, the only place would be the sewage gutter.


    They both had an acrid smell on them, the sewage gutter wasn¡¯t a clean place.


    Everyone uncontrollably revealed looks of happiness when they saw the two of them. This was unrelated to whether they knew each other, it was just joy that came from the bottom of their hearts. It was the ecstatic feeling of going through tough times and managing to come back successful in the end. Nobody minded the acrid smell and immediately surrounded the two of them. Mavis immediately helped Bai Yi put on a simple respiratory aid and put him on a stretcher.


    However, nobody realised that there wasn¡¯t much joy on Hong Qi Hua¡¯s face now.


    Silently, Hong Qi Hua turned around and looked at the direction that the Naga-like creature had left in.


    __________________________________________________________________


    Bai Yi woke up with a start from his nightmare. In an instant his eyes opened wide, and in his brain various bitter and desperate scenes remained. After a while, Bai Yi looked at his surroundings. This was a clean room with simple decorations. He turned his head and found Momo lying by the bedside, asleep.


    I was saved!


    Although he didn¡¯t know what happened, Bai Yi immediately snapped of it. He tried to stretch out his left arm to stroke Momo¡¯s little head, but he realised that his arm felt like it didn¡¯t belong to him, it was completely immobile. Recalling the scenes of his desperate struggles, Bai Yi lightly sighed in his heart. For sure, you really mustn¡¯t take your body lightly.


    ¡°Mo¡­mo!¡± Bai Yi opened his mouth, his voice sounding extremely hoarse.


    ¡°En¡­Daddy, daddy you are awake!¡± At the start Momo was still in a bit of a daze, but very quickly she woke up completely and shouted in joy and ran outside.


    ¡°Sister Mavis, Sister Sara, daddy woke up, my daddy woke up!¡± Bai Yi wondered why Momo ran out, but the hurried voice let Bai Yi understand what was going on. He was actually saved by Mavis and Sara? What is this place exactly?


    Very quickly, a group of people rushed in. Martin was the first one to squeeze into the room but a ¡®get out¡¯ from Mavis immediately made this guy shrink back and wait outside obediently. Bai Yi found this funny, Mavis really had a powerful aura of a strong woman.


    Mavis and Sara entered, nodded to Bai Yi, and gave him a detailed check-up.


    It could be seen that this place wasn¡¯t a hospital. The equipment that Mavis used to do the check-up was rather simple as well and most of the time, she was just using her intuition as a doctor to judge. Very quickly, Mavis finished the check-up and revealed a smile.


    ¡°You recovered pretty well. Although I don¡¯t know what you will become, for now there¡¯s no danger to your life.¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡±


    Suddenly, Bai Yi¡¯s stomach let out an unimaginable rumble, that was the sound of a hungry stomach. Sara covered her mouth and laughed lightly, and Bai Yi felt embarrassed. Mavis, however, didn¡¯t seem to mind at all. The hunger of the binging stage was something they were used to seeing by now.


    ¡°Food is being prepared, lucky you woke up. Normal IV drips are completely unable to keep up with the consumption of activated cells. When there are sufficient nutrients, the activated cells will only consume various types of nutrients. However, If there is insufficient food, then it will start consuming your body¡¯s muscles, fats, and proteins¡­ If you did not wake up soon, then you probably wouldn¡¯t be waking up at all.¡± Mavis said.


    ¡°So it¡¯s like that!¡± Bai Yi nodded, no wonder his body was so weak.


    ¡°Of course, we heard everything from Martin.¡± Mavis nodded as well.


    ¡°Doctor Mavis¡­that¡­what happened to my friend?¡± Bai Yi asked with unease. Bai Yi could still remember clearly that back then Woolf and Sharpei were both severely injured.


    ¡°Well for this, you will know when you see them.¡± Mavis left it as a mystery.


    Very quickly, Bai Yi could see Woolf and Sharpei, and the other people from the team were here as well. Of course, there were also a few people here that he did not know. Inside a hall, everybody was gathered together, and a lot of them had bandages on their bodies. Woolf sat on a wheelchair, but still looked at Bai Yi happily. Sharpei also suddenly stood up from the corner, giving Bai Yi a shock.


    Gene fusion¡­the changes were really too big!


    ¡°Then, our last warrior has awoken, cheers!¡± An old man was messy hair lifted up a wine cup and said to everybody.


    Hong Qi Hua passed a wine cup to Bai Yi and the rest of them also lifted up their cups.


    Bai Yi looked at everybody. Although he didn¡¯t understand what was going on, he could be sure of one thing¡­ This place was considered safe. Safety was¡­ when he didn¡¯t have to think of the big picture and take everybody into consideration like in the battle just now.


    Bai Yi put down the wine cup and slowly walked towards Yu Han who was wrapped in bandages as well. The rest of them wanted to celebrate but had to stop after seeing Bai Yi¡¯s actions.


    What is Bai Yi thinking of doing?


    With a ¡®Pa!¡¯, Bai Yi¡¯s right fist viciously smashed into Yu Han¡¯s face, an abnormal cold light flashing in his eyes. Bai Yi didn¡¯t forget how Yu Han tried to kill Woolf back then. He initially thought that Yu Han was just ambitious, but he never expected that he would do this kind of thing. It was really true that he thought of people as better than they actually were, and people always took his kindness for weakness!


    Yu Han immediately felt that something wasn¡¯t right when he saw Bai Yi walking over. However, his heavily injured body could not react in time, that Armoured Shark Tortoise was really no joke.


    With a punch, Yu Han flew out and smashed into a table, the food on the top of it all fell onto the floor. As for Bai Yi, fresh blood slowly seeped through the bandages on his body again.

 Chapter 37

    ¡°Bai Yi, what are you doing?!¡± Qin Kai Rui, Dai Yu Yao and a few others immediately questioned.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t bother to explain at all and ignored them, walking towards Yu Han again. At this moment Yu Han also climbed up, his wounds that just closed not too long split open again and blood flowed out profusely. In reality, Yu Han¡¯s injuries were actually just as serious as Bai Yi¡¯s, just that he didn¡¯t lose his consciousness.


    Quick steps¡­ Heavy punch!


    Bai Yi fiercely rushed forward, sending out another fist. However, this time Yu Han was prepared, bearing with the intense pain from his wounds, he raised his right hand to block in front of him. As their fists clashed together violently, Yu Han grew ruthless in his heart and gritted his teeth. The powerful strength from fusing ant genes immediately activated.


    With a ¡®boom!¡¯, Bai Yi could almost hear the bones in his body creaking under pressure, and his body abruptly shot away.


    However, Yu Han wasn¡¯t in a good condition either, with this exertion fresh blood soaked his bandages again and his body swayed.


    Bai Yi smashed into a metal cabinet heavily with a ¡®kuang!¡¯ and fell onto the floor, his body seemingly going limp. Slowly, he climbed back up and wiped away the blood leaking from his lips, heading towards Yu Han again. Yu Han opposite him seemed to have guessed why Bai Yi was trying to fight him now. Similarly, he wiped away the blood on his face and headed towards Bai Yi.


    As the two of them approached each other, Yu Han wanted to gain the upper hand by taking the initiative, and immediately swung his right fist towards Bai Yi.


    However, Bai Yi tilted his body slightly and parried Yu Han¡¯s fist with his left hand, sliding closer and striking out viciously with his right elbow. Sounds of bone fracturing came from his left arm, but at the same time, Bai Yi twisted his body and his right elbow mercilessly smashed into Yu Han¡¯s face.


    With a loud thud, Yu Han¡¯s body instantly spun around and shakily fell on the floor, his eyes starting to spiral.


    In terms of fighting techniques, Yu Han couldn¡¯t be compared to Bai Yi!


    Even so, the two of them had no signs of wanting to stop. Both of them stabilized their injury-ridden bodies and then ran towards each other again.


    At this time, everyone else was just stunned and stood still on the spot. Qin Kai Rui, Ning Xue, Dai Yu Yao and a few of them wanted to come out to stop them but were stopped by Woolf and Hong Qi Hua. Although Woolf wasn¡¯t even able to stand properly now, Qin Kai Rui had no intentions of fighting with him. Ning Xue and Dai Yu Yao also looked at Hong Qi Hua dumbly, not knowing why she stopped them.


    ¡°This is their battle, just continue to watch!¡± Hong Qi Hua said solemnly.


    The battle between the two of them!


    At this moment, Bai Yi and Yu Han had already started to messily brawl with each other. Although the genes that Yu Han fused with were vastly superior to Bai Yi¡¯s, Bai Yi held the advantage in fighting techniques. Moreover, both of them were heavily injured in the first place. What they were competing in is definitely not strength or technique but¡­ Perseverance and how ruthless you could be to yourself!


    Every strike was made with their life on the line. Blood continuously splattered out and the sound of bone breaking caused everyone nearby to turn their eyes away. Especially those people who were originally staying in the base, they were completely stupefied. They couldn¡¯t even begin to imagine such cruel and brutal brawling. In a short period, all the old wounds on their bodies reopened and they were almost completely dyed red in blood.


    ¡°Ahhh¡­!¡± Yu Han suddenly started sprinting and then jumped, sending a flying kick towards Bai Yi. Bai Yi¡¯s body was swaying about uncontrollably and couldn¡¯t dodge in time, taking Yu Han¡¯s kick fully in the stomach and flying into the wall behind him.


    Woolf and Hong Qi Hua both immediately tightened their fists, almost rushing out.


    With a ¡®boom!¡¯, Bai Yi heavily smashed into the wall and everyone felt like a mini-earthquake just happened. Yu Han¡¯s strength from the ant genes was really too monstrous.


    Bai Yi¡­lost?


    However at this instant, Bai Yi suddenly opened his eyes wide and roared savagely ¡°AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!¡±


    Powerful sound waves shook everybody¡¯s eardrums, and Bai Yi¡¯s expression became extremely malevolent. Bai Yi screamed crazily in his heart, all the muscles in his body heating up and becoming burning hot, as if all the blood in his body started boiling. He suddenly reached out with his right hand and grabbed onto Yu Han¡¯s neck, savagely pushing him down onto the floor.


    ¡®Boom!¡¯ Bai Yi using his entire body weight smashed Yu Han onto the floor. Various food items and shattered wine glasses below them splattered outwards. Actually, this wasn¡¯t too heavy an attack, however both Bai Yi and Yu Han were heavily injured now. The impact ran through Yu Han¡¯s body and he felt his vision blacking out again. At this moment, Bai Yi¡¯s right hand had pierced through the bandage and a layer of muscle, clamping onto Yu Han¡¯s neck directly.


    Yu Han¡¯s eyes popped out, trying to struggle for his life but Bai Yi mercilessly refused to release his grip. The two of them were deadlocked for a while, blood continuously dripped from Bai Yi¡¯s shoulder and chest onto Yu Han. The blood that dripped out immediately evaporated into a faint red mist, it was easy to imagine just how hot Bai Yi¡¯s blood was right now.


    Yu Han¡¯s body vigorously tensed and struggled continuously, but the more he struggled the tighter Bai Yi¡¯s grip became.


    Bai Yi¡¯s completely locked all movement from Yu Han using his body, not giving him a chance to resist. Yu Han could feel that Bai Yi¡¯s finger bones were already broken, but he still kept his neck in a death grip. Suddenly, as if he was resigned to his fate, Yu Han¡¯s body went limp on the floor.


    Bai Yi¡¯s right hand loosened slightly and Yu Han immediately started to pant heavily, staring at Bai Yi.


    ¡°Do you know why even though we had already split into two groups, even though I clearly knew that you had ill intentions, why I still came back to group up with you guys?!!¡± Bai Yi slowly used his hoarse and barely discernible voice to speak. He was similarly panting heavily, locking stares with Yu Han.


    ¡°Because, I AM NOT AS COLD-HEARTED AS YOU!!!¡± Bai Yi suddenly roared. His expression was malevolent to point of being terrifying, blood and saliva almost spraying onto Yu Han¡¯s face.


    ¡°All of us were friends from Waikato University, I¡¯m not able to just abandon them! I clearly knew that staying with you, staying with a bunch of idiots would just put me in more danger, but honestly speaking¡­ I just wanted more people to survive! Khina, Ning Xue¡­all of them are friends, even if it was Qin Kai Rui, I never thought of sending them to their deaths!¡±


    ¡°You caused the deaths of three of them and you still have the cheek to talk about it?¡±


    ¡°At Te Awamutu, you did it on purpose right? You intentionally fell behind by half a beat so as to push all responsibility onto me! Although even if you did not do so, the three of them may not have survived, but! Most of the responsibility definitely falls on you! Of course, things that didn¡¯t happen cannot be used as justification, so I never talked about it.¡±


    ¡°However¡­YOU BASTARD DON¡¯T TAKE MY KINDNESS FOR WEAKNESS!!¡± Bai Yi shouted in fury.


    ¡°At that time, you definitely wanted to kill Woolf off!¡± Bai Yi expression instantly filled with rage again, his eyes becoming incomparably cruel and his right hand started to tighten.


    ¡°Un¡­rea¡­son¡­a¡­ble!¡± Yu Han¡¯s face turned red, only able to utter out one syllable at a time. Yu Han at this time would never admit to it. Once he admitted to it, then he was finished. Only with this kind of resolute attitude would the others think that Bai Yi was falsely accusing him.


    ¡°Uncle Bai, don¡¯t! Don¡¯t kill Yu Han!¡± At this moment, Khina suddenly shouted loudly. Although Yu Han already fell in love with Ning Xue, Khina seemed to still love him. The thing we call love wasn¡¯t something that could be explained by reason in the first place.


    Kill this bastard!


    KILL HIM!


    ¡®Kacha!¡¯, it seemed to be a sound of bone breaking, Yu Han¡¯s heart instantly dipped. His collarbone fractured and started to pierce into his throat. At this moment, Khina dashed over frenziedly and grabbed onto Bai Yi¡¯s right hand.


    ¡°Uncle Bai!¡± Khina cried out pitifully.


    Khina hugged onto Bai Yi¡¯s right arm tightly, refusing to let go. After a long while, Bai Yi took a deep breath and sighed, loosening his grip. He slowly removed his right hand from Yu Han¡¯s neck. Everybody could see that Bai Yi¡¯s right hand was stained with blood, just that they didn¡¯t know whose blood it was. Moreover, Bai Yi¡¯s index and middle finger were twisted unnaturally, they were both apparently fractured. It was easy to tell just how brutal Bai Yi was just now and just how much he wanted to end Yu Han¡¯s life.


    In this instant, Yu Han even had the idea of retaliating in this window of opportunity and killing Bai Yi. However, at the end, he didn¡¯t do anything and just laid on the floor. He could see from Bai Yi¡¯s eyes, those freezing murderous eyes that if he really were to try anything, he was sure that Bai Yi wouldn¡¯t listen to anybody and immediately kill him.


    ¡°This time is my loss! However, our battle is far from over, Bai Yi!¡±


    ¡°Hmph, you should thank Khina first!¡± Bai Yi sneered coldly. Since he already made the decision, Bai Yi wasn¡¯t the kind to worry about his personal losses and gains.


    Bai Yi loosened his hands and slowly stood up, walking shakily towards the side.


    Everyone else at this moment could finally let out a breath of relief and immediately ran towards the two of them. Although the battle was extremely brutal, at least no lives were lost. However, this time the two of them were in really miserable states. If it wasn¡¯t for the activated cells greatly enhancing everyone¡¯s vitality, then these kind of injuries were enough to kill a normal person multiple times over.


    Khina immediately tried to help Yu Han stop his bleeding, but she knew nothing about treating wounds. Only after Bella came over to help that Yu Han¡¯s condition stabilized.


    At this time, Bai Yi was also receiving emergency treatment from Mavis.


    ¡°Idiot, didn¡¯t I just tell you your body has been thoroughly spent? Your activated cells have already started consuming your body and you still dare to do something like this, do you still want to live?!¡± Mavis scolded Bai Yi while doing her emergency treatment and then asked Sara to help bring some food over.


    For people who had assimilated with activated cells, any miracle medicine couldn¡¯t be compared to food. As long as enough nutrition was provided, activated cells would become active and preserve the person¡¯s life. Otherwise, Woolf, Sharpei and Dai Yu Yao couldn¡¯t have possibly survived.

 Chapter 38

    Facing Mavis¡¯ lecture, Bai Yi did not say anything and behaved like a child who had done something wrong. Momo beside him tried to act cutely to Mavis and guaranteed for her daddy that it wouldn¡¯t happen again, making Mavis smile and feel tenderness for her.


    ¡°Where is this place?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°This is an underground base.¡± Sara said while helping Bai Yi rebandage his wounds.


    ¡°Underground base?¡± Bai Yi couldn¡¯t help but to be shocked. Before he lost consciousness, he was still at Otorohanga. How did he suddenly come to an underground base? After Sara¡¯s detailed explanation, Bai Yi finally figured out what was going on.


    Old Harvey ¨C the old man in the hall just now was a fanatical apocalyptic believer. Of course, Old Harvey¡¯s daily life was still very normal and he had no radical behaviour. The only thing that people would ridicule was how he used more than half of his wealth to prepare some ¡®apocalypse equipment¡¯. Among those expenditures, the most was used for this underground base. Unexpectedly, the apocalypse really happened and it made Old Harvey extremely excited.


    ¡°So it¡¯s like this.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    There was always a bunch of weird people in the world, with weird interests and weird beliefs that didn¡¯t fit in with the rest of society. However, Bai Yi never looked down on these groups of people. No matter how weird and twisted their interests were, he felt that as long as their actions did not harm others, then it was their personal business. Other people had neither any reason nor right to interfere in it. Apparently, Old Harvey belonged to this group of weird people.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°But I really didn¡¯t expect you to be so furious!¡± Mavis said while helping Bai Yi to bandage his wounds.


    ¡°You guys knew?¡±


    ¡°Of course, we asked everybody about what happened throughout your entire journey, but there were different versions of the story. On Yu Han¡¯s side, they said that you were cold and heartless, and that you were the murderer that caused the death of several teammates due to your wrong decisions. As for Hong Qi Hua, she said that if not for your decision even more people would have died.¡± Sara said.


    ¡°Then what do you guys think?¡±


    ¡°Is there a need to ask? I already saw through you clearly years ago, if you were the kind of cold and heartless person I would have never allowed you to adopt Momo.¡± Sara said as if she shouldn¡¯t have to bother explaining.


    ¡°Thank you!¡±


    ¡°No need for thanks, you still haven¡¯t told us why were you that furious?¡± Sara patted Bai Yi on the shoulder and Bai Yi¡¯s entire body suddenly jerked, sucking in a mouthful of cold air. Looking at Sara¡¯s snigger, Bai Yi knew that Sara did it on purpose. Ever since the first time they¡¯d met in the hospital, Sara and Bai Yi had become ¡®enemies¡¯.


    Bai Yi glared at Sara angrily, but she already hid herself behind Mavis and his angry glare just happened to meet Mavis¡¯ eyes.


    ¡°What?¡± Mavis questioned.


    ¡°No, nothing!¡± Bai Yi saw Sara making a funny face behind Mavis and didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. Afterwards, he told the two of them everything that happened in detail.


    ¡°Now you know what I am furious about!¡±


    He continued. ¡°What I am furious about is not Yu Han¡¯s ambition, since it is very normal, and it happens often in the real world. What I am furious about is how he intentionally put people who were supposed to be his friends in danger because of it! I won¡¯t deny that Jiang Lin Lin, Tang Ping and Randt¡¯s deaths are connected to my decision, but, if Yu Han wasn¡¯t so selfish then they might not have died! Only because these are things that didn¡¯t happen and can¡¯t be used as evidence did I not say much.¡± Bai Yi slowly explained.


    ¡°So it was actually like this? Hong Qi Hua didn¡¯t talk about this!¡± Sara said angrily as well.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you tell? Hong Qi Hua isn¡¯t a person of many words, just like Bai Yi said things that didn¡¯t happen couldn¡¯t be used as evidence, so she didn¡¯t bother to talk about it either.¡± Mavis said. Apparently, Mavis, who was already middle-aged, was a better judge of people and understood Hong Qi Hua¡¯s personality.


    Suddenly, knocking sounds could be heard from the door.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Come in!¡± Sara came to open the door and found Hong Qi Hua.


    Opening the door, Hong Qi Hua walked in, and there was a faint smile on her face along with some heaviness in her eyes. Bai Yi could tell that she was definitely not here just to check on him but had some things to discuss with him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go take a look at Yu Han.¡± Mavis said. Everyone looked at Mavis in surprise, from her attitude just now she should¡¯ve been very clear on what kind of person Yu Han was.


    ¡°I¡¯m a doctor!¡± Mavis left with those words.


    Bai Yi was surprised, and smiled cheerfully. This was the Doctor Mavis that he knew, she wouldn¡¯t let her personal emotions affect her judgement. She was first and foremost a doctor, even if Yu Han and Bai Yi were enemies, the first thing she would think about was how to save her patients. Sara wanted to say something, but was dragged along by Mavis towards Yu Han¡¯s room. Bella was just a medical intern, so she would definitely not be able to handle Yu Han¡¯s injuries well.


    ¡°Uncle Bai, congratulations for awakening and you seem to be in great spirits!¡± Hong Qi Hua said after seeing the two of them disappear outside the door. Her entire sentence was just a joke, Bai Yi now was more weak and lethargic rather than in great spirits. If not for Mavis¡¯ emergency treatment, it was likely that he would have died.


    ¡°How is this a congratulation? Anyway, you didn¡¯t come just to check on me right?¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°En. Uncle Bai, you were unconscious for three days. This is the name list as well as the inventory list for this underground base.¡± Hong Qi Hua said and passed over the lists. Only after hearing from Hong Qi Hua did Bai Yi realise that he was out for three days. No wonder he was so hungry, and the changes to Woolf and the others were so huge as well.


    Bai Yi took the lists and looked at it carefully.


    Firstly, were the personnel, their original team had:


    Meilin was eaten by the Tentacle Slug, so she was definitely dead. What made Bai Yi more surprised was that Dai Yu Yao was actually still alive. Honestly speaking, when the Armoured Shark Tortoise flung the car that Dai Yu Yao was in into the distance, everyone thought that Dai Yu Yao died for sure. In the end, it seemed that activated cells were really too powerful. As long as it wasn¡¯t an instant death, there was a very large chance to survive given sufficient nutrients.


    There were eight new people that they met in the base:


    Bai Yi rapidly scanned through the list. In actuality, this base wasn¡¯t too big. After all, it was something created by just one person. Moreover, the person who made it was a fanatic who wasn¡¯t really in his right mind. However, the resources in this base were still considered sufficient. By Hong Qi Hua¡¯s estimation, even if they freely allowed everybody to eat their fill, the food was enough to last them several months.


    There were also weapons and processing facilities here. Of course, with Old Harvey¡¯s ability, it wasn¡¯t possible for him to get any heavy weapons, but through some connections he was able to get some metal processing equipment and make some cold weapons for himself. For example, there were the more common weapons, such as heavy machetes and katanas. Other than that, there were bigger things like a flamethrower, a railgun, a few handguns, two submachine guns and two rifles, but Old Harvey didn¡¯t seem to attach much importance to the hot weapons.


    ¡°What is the kind of apocalypse did Old Harvey envision?¡±


    ¡°Probably a zombie outbreak. That was the most wide-spread type of apocalypse on the Internet. Although the mutated monsters in a zombie apocalypse are different from these gene-fused monsters, the level of danger is quite similar.¡± Hong Qi Hua laughed lightly. People would probably think that Old Harvey was crazy if they saw him in normal times, but now everyone really had to thank him, otherwise they would not have been able to find a safe place now.


    ¡°However, this safety is completely temporary. Honestly speaking, I do not have much confidence in this base. I initially wanted to leave immediately after you awoke, but from the looks of it I¡¯ll have to wait for a while more.¡± Hong Qi Hua said. With Bai Yi¡¯s injuries now, it was not possible to get out of bed even if he had the help of the activated cells.


    As for why she said the base wasn¡¯t safe, only those who¡¯d actually encountered those monsters would know just how powerful they were. For example, the Great Devil Snake that they met before, Hong Qi Hua felt that it could easily burrow giant holes into this place. Moreover, they had an even more important goal: to acquire the drug to regain human form.


    ¡°Sorry I was impulsive, but I really couldn¡¯t tolerate it anymore.¡±


    ¡°I could tell. Uncle Bai, you were just controlling yourself. You did not find trouble with Yu Han only because we were still in a dangerous situation then.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Bai Yi went silent and did not deny it.


    ¡°But things are good this way too. At least we allowed the rest see Yu Han¡¯s true colours. To be honest, i felt really moved just now Uncle Bai!¡± Hong Qi Hua said seriously.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t feel anything¡­ Just anger!¡± Bai Yi shook his head.

 Chapter 39

    ¡°Anger¡­is it?¡± Hong Qi Hua faintly muttered under her breath.


    ¡°I just woke up, so I¡¯m not familiar with the things inside the base. Why don¡¯t you update me on the general situation here?¡± Bai Yi did not hear Hong Qi Hua¡¯s muttering.


    ¡°En.¡± Hong Qi Hua nodded.


    ¡°There¡¯s roughly three groups in the base: 1. Our group 2. Yu Han¡¯s group 3. The people who were originally here. Yu Han¡¯s relationship with others in the base was not bad before, but there probably aren¡¯t many who would trust him now.¡± Hong Qi Hua slowly said as she held the name list.


    ¡°Over these days, I more or less understood how the majority of the people here think. Although everybody knows about the activated cells, not many are willing to take the risks. After all, just on our journey here quite a few of us died. In the eyes of these people, this base is considered an extremely safe place. ¡°


    ¡°People like Qin Kai Rui and Dai Yu Yao already have intentions of staying here. If in the past they were still willing to follow Yu Han, now unless they are really dumb, they would definitely not go with him. Also, because of the conflicts they had with us in the past, they probably wouldn¡¯t follow us as well. Hence, staying in the base is their inevitable choice.¡±


    ¡°As for Yu Han¡­¡±


    ¡°Make him leave!¡± Bai Yi said coldly.


    ¡°We will also leave this base very soon, but before we leave we must make Yu Han leave as well. Otherwise, I¡¯m afraid the bunch of them would be tricked by him. They wouldn¡¯t even know how they became cannon fodder for him.¡± Bai Yi slowly explained under Hong Qi Hua¡¯s shocked gaze. In truth, Hong Qi Hua didn¡¯t think that Bai Yi¡¯s attitude would be this firm. Sure enough, Bai Yi¡¯s mentality seemed to be starting to change after what had happened before.


    ¡°If your attitude is too tough, people will probably say that you are cold-blooded and emotionless again.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s ok. Anyway, we are going to split up soon. Just consider it like I¡¯m helping them one last time.¡± Bai Yi waved his hand.


    ¡°Understood.¡± Hong Qi Hua nodded. Although they were all schoolmates and friends from Waikato University, they couldn¡¯t endlessly accommodate them. Even before, they¡¯d almost lost their lives for their sake. Helping them this last time, if they could understand, then that was good. If they couldn¡¯t, then forget about it. Doing things to this extent for them, they¡¯d already done enough on account of their past friendship.


    ¡°I¡¯ll handle this. With Yu Han¡¯s intelligence, he will probably leave by himself after I talk to him¡­¡± Hong Qi Hua said.


    ¡°Sorry to trouble you!¡±


    ¡°Nope, it¡¯s nothing! Actually, Uncle Bai, there¡¯s something else I want to discuss with you.¡± Hong Qi Hua said as she took out another name list.


    Bai Yi received the name list and scanned it over, his gaze becoming slightly more serious. This was also a name list, but the species of genes fused were added beside the names. To talk about it, activated cells was the serious matter that affected the entire country. Scuffles within the team weren¡¯t even worth mentioning in front of it. After all, if they couldn¡¯t handle this properly, then everyone was finished.


    There were only five people who hadn¡¯t fused with any genes


    After Bai Yi saw this information, he let out a deep breath. Apparently, after the dangerous battles over the past few days, Hong Qi Hua minded this matter even more ¨C active fusion of certain genes. It was obvious from the document that many people came into contact with some animal genes going about their daily lives and fused with them.


    ¡°There¡¯s 15 people who fused with genes, if you count Sharpei and Pupu then that¡¯s 17. From this information, gene fusion is very easy but also has its limitations. For example, the genes that evolved lifeforms fused with cannot be fused again to other lifeforms.¡±


    ¡°Remember how Woolf was pierced through by the Giant Crab Alligator? However, he only fused with the genes of the alligator and not the crab or beetle. That means that the genes fused with the evolved lifeforms apparently cannot be fused again with other lifeforms. If I were to guess, then it¡¯s probably that after the first fusion, although there¡¯s features of the organism appearing on the evolved lifeform, they aren¡¯t complete.¡±


    Bai Yi nodded his head.


    ¡°If this is so, then gene fusion is extremely easy. We can see that most of us fused with genes from animals we come into contact with in our daily lives. Honestly speaking, animals like rabbits, cows and pet pigs¡­¡± Hong Qi Hua slowly said.


    Of course, Bai Yi understood that from their discussion before, these animals weren¡¯t good choices to fuse with. It was a complete waste of a gene fusion slot.


    ¡°Other than that, there¡¯s one more thing!¡± Hong Qi Hua suddenly said while Bai Yi was deep in thought.


    ¡°En?¡± Bai Yi looked at Hong Qi Hua.


    ¡°After Uncle Bai ignited the gas container, I encountered a monster while I was looking for you.¡± Hong Qi Hua paused for a moment. Bai Yi¡¯s expression immediately turned serious, as nobody else had said that they¡¯d encountered a fourth monster.


    ¡°It was more than three meters tall, the top half was human with a sickle for its right arm and snake-like tail for its bottom half. It also had a pair of wings that weren¡¯t too big, if I had to use a word to describe it then it would be the Naga we see in video games. I didn¡¯t even know how it appeared behind me, but it didn¡¯t kill me. It seemed to say something, but I didn¡¯t manage to hear it clearly.¡± Hong Qi Hua added on.


    ¡°It had the base body of a human and retained its intelligence and memories¡­¡± Of course, it wasn¡¯t possible for the Naga inside the games to appear in the real world. If so, there was only one possibility left.


    ¡°It should be!¡± Hong Qi Hua nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s no big deal, didn¡¯t we guess this long ago? Actually, this is something good, if we will lose our minds and memories after gene fusion, then no amount of preparation would be enough, there¡¯s too many unpredictable variables in that scenario. Now that we saw a precedent, we can be a lot more at ease.¡±


    ¡°Compared to this, I¡¯m actually more concerned about something else.¡± Bai Yi observed himself and then said.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s easy to see from Woolf and Yu Han that the genes they fused with are the genes they came into contact to. However, why is it that for me and Momo only butterfly genes can be seen on us?¡± Bai Yi said, puzzled.


    ¡°I asked Martin this question too, I¡¯m afraid the answer isn¡¯t too good.¡± Hong Qi Hua hesitated and then said.


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°Uncle Bai, you came into contact with a lot of butterflies that day, right?¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­so it¡¯s like that? The gene fusion slots for me and Momo were all filled by butterfly genes, so even when we came into contact with genes from other lifeforms we were unable to fuse with them anymore?¡± Bai Yi¡¯s mind was very agile, very quickly he thought of the meaning behind Hong Qi Hua¡¯s words.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s like that!¡± Hong Qi Hua nodded, her tone slightly heavy.


    Based on their discussion on active fusion of genes a few days ago, butterflies really aren¡¯t too good of a choice. However, Bai Yi and Momo just happened that all their gene fusion slots were filled with butterfly genes. That is why many different colourful patterns of butterflies appeared on Bai Yi¡¯s body. However, in this way Bai Yi would have no fate with other abilities like powerful physical strength, precise senses, or echolation.


    ¡°However, I asked Martin about various things relating to gene fusion for the past two days.¡±


    She continued. ¡°Martin said that gene fusion wasn¡¯t something so simple. Our conjectures before were at the right place but not completely right. Fusing with the genes we previously thought of could give us a certain amount of strength, but they definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to give us the most strength. Among the gene-fused monsters, the most powerful are still those mutated monsters. Hence, based on the experiments inside the research facility, he suggested for us to choose just two to three genes to fuse with. After that, leaving what genes we fuse with up to fate¡­may just be more suitable for this world.¡± Hong Qi Hua said again.


    ¡°Leaving things up to fate¡­huh.¡± Bai Yi smiled faintly.


    121 research facilities that created so many gene-fused monsters, they were definitely looking for the rules behind gene fusion. However, there shouldn¡¯t be any rules in gene fusion, and even if there were some, Martin definitely did not know of any. After braving those dangers with Martin a few days ago, Bai Yi was confident that Martin wouldn¡¯t try to hide this information.


    ¡°There doesn¡¯t seem to be human genes on this list!¡± Bai Yi suddenly realised something.


    ¡°I asked Martin about this too. Activated cells originated from the Progenitor, and the progenitor is a human. So actually, all evolved lifeforms have already fused with human genes. However, it seems like there isn¡¯t any manifestation of the Progenitor¡¯s genes. As for genes from other humans, there isn¡¯t any human genes that can surpass the Progenitor¡¯s activated cells so there¡¯s no need to worry about that.¡±


    ¡°So if it¡¯s like this, then I have one last question!¡±


    ¡°This information, I only intend to disclose to those among our group! Is there any single person you want to tell?¡± Bai Yi raised his head and looked at Hong Qi Hua seriously.


    ¡°Khina Bailey¡­me and her are real friends!¡± Hong Qi Hua did not feel surprised at Bai Yi¡¯s decision. After so much, if he still tried to be that kind of a good guy, then people would only think that he was an idiot. However, for those true and real friends, Hong Qi Hua still wanted to give them a hand.


    ¡°Ok, then that¡¯s settled!¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°Thank you, Uncle Bai!¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about, these were things you thought of! How you handle it is your freedom.¡± Bai Yi smiled while shaking his head.

 Chapter 40

    In this base that wasn¡¯t too big, the atmosphere became abnormally weird after the battle between Bai Yi and Yu Han. On that day Yu Han did not directly admit anything but just said that he lost to Bai Yi. However, anybody whose brain wasn¡¯t too slow would know what Yu Han had meant what he said he lost. Those initially on Yu Han¡¯s side didn¡¯t know how to describe how they felt inside.


    Was it anger? Of course, they were angry, but even more of it was sorrow, feelings of sorrow towards themselves!


    Qin Kai Rui went to look for Yu Han once, but that bit of courage that he had completely disappeared under Yu Han¡¯s icy snake slit-eyes. It should be known that Yu Han at that time was severely injured, so he was basically immobile. At that moment, Hong Qi Hua also happened to appear and Qin Kai Rui took the chance to escape with his tail in between his legs, not daring to do anything in the end.


    Yu Han looked at Hong Qi Hua and she stood there silently, giving off upright and charming disposition. Compared to Ning Xue or Dai Yu Yao, Hong Qi Hua was like a proud and aloof cedar tree, causing others to can¡¯t help but become enchanted. The aura that belonged to Hong Qi Hua was staunch, independent and unaccommodating.


    It was too bad that a girl like this¡­ did not belong to him!


    ¡°Leave the base!¡± Hong Qi Hua only said three words.


    Yu Han looked at Hong Qi Hua and nodded his head in the end. Just as Hong Qi Hua had said, Yu Han was very ¡®smart¡¯, so he knew what should be done at certain times. Now that he had undoubtedly lost, continuing to stay here was just humiliating himself. However, he still had a chance, that was to reach the Tongariro National Park Research Facility before Bai Yi¡¯s group.


    Bai Yi was injured now. Although the severities of their injuries were about the same, his recovery speed was much faster than Bai Yi¡¯s. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t have been just Bai Yi who fell unconscious previously. Bai Yi¡¯s group would definitely wait for Bai Yi to recover to a certain degree before leaving, and this period of time was his chance.


    Yu Han believed that Bai Yi would definitely think of this. The reason he would let him leave first in spite of that would be for those few people.


    They wouldn¡¯t appreciate what you did! Or should I say they wouldn¡¯t even think of this!


    ¡°We are just doing the things we think we should be doing!¡± Hong Qi Hua seemed to have guessed what Yu Han was thinking and left him with those words. The meaning of the words was obvious, Bai Yi and Hong Qi Hua didn¡¯t care whether Qin Kai Rui and the others were grateful to them.


    ¡­¡­


    When Hong Qi Hua found Khina, she was chatting with Little Warner. She performed some actions exaggeratedly, causing Little Warner to burst out laughing. On the side, Little Warner¡¯s pet pig Pupu laid on the floor oinking.


    To think of it, although Khina was a bit plump initially, she was still quite cute. Her personality was also very bubbly, and so she had a lot of friends.


    ¡°You guys seem happy! What are you chatting about?¡± Hong Qi Hua asked.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Qi Hua!¡± Khina was surprised to see Hong Qi Hua walking over and her smile slowly faded away. Honestly speaking, Khina did not know how to react, she always felt really awkward in front of Bai Yi and Hong Qi Hua¡¯s group. Hong Qi Hua and she were very good friends, however in just a few days they¡¯d become like this.


    Hong Qi Hua nodded and wanted to stroke Little Warner¡¯s head, but the meaty boy who fused with genes from his pet pig immediately avoided her.


    ¡°No, no don¡¯t touch me, I don¡¯t want to pass Pupu¡¯s genes to you.¡± Little Warner said shyly.


    ¡°All of the others don¡¯t want to touch Little Warner. They are afraid that they would fuse with his pig genes.¡± Khina explained. It actually didn¡¯t stop at not wanting to come into contact with Little Warner. In truth everyone avoided him like the plague, deeply afraid of fusing his genes.


    ¡°It¡¯s like that?¡±


    ¡°I have something to talk to you about. Come with me.¡± Hong Qi Hua said to Khina.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Just come with me!¡± Hong Qi Hua said and then left with Khina.


    After the two of them left, Little Warner hugged his pet pig and Pupu immediately started oinking. Little Warner¡¯s parents died in the chaos previously. He then followed his neighbour Uncle Hopper to this base, but because he fused with Pupu¡¯s genes, he wasn¡¯t too welcomed. Even his friend from before, Little Jones, wasn¡¯t willing to come close to him either.


    ¡°Yu Han will leave this base very soon. Are you going to follow him?¡± Hong Qi Hua asked.


    ¡°What? Isn¡¯t he severely injured? How can he leave now??¡± Khina said anxiously and then looked at Hong Qi Hua in shock, unable to believe her.


    ¡°It¡¯s you¡­ or is it Uncle Bai?¡±


    ¡°Both!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Khina opened her mouth and wanted to say something, but nothing came out in the end. What could she say? That Bai Yi was cold and heartless?


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave with him.¡± Khina said seriously.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t understand why you would make this kind of decision, but since you already made your decision then I won¡¯t say much either. Since you chose to leave with Yu Han, then I have some things that I want to tell you. This is very important. If possible, I hope you can keep it a secret from Yu Han. Don¡¯t think that I am selfish! If you can¡¯t promise me this then I won¡¯t talk about it anymore. Can you promise?¡± Hong Qi Hua said seriously while looking at Khina.


    Khina looked at Hong Qi Hua, not knowing how to reply. She¡¯s only telling her and not Yu Han!


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Can you promise?¡±


    ¡°¡­ok!¡± Thinking for a long while, Khina finally nodded her head.


    Hong Qi Hua gazed at Khina, making her feel very uneasy inside. In the end, Hong Qi Hua only sighed inside her heart. I will never suspect my friends, unless they do something wrong to me first! Hong Qi Hua thought to herself in her heart and then smiled sweetly.


    ¡°Little Warner¡¯s pig genes cannot be fused by other people, so you can relax and touch him. However, if you come into contact with Pupu then you can still merge with its genes, so you still need to be careful of that.¡± Hong Qi Hua said.


    ¡°What?¡± Khina asked, puzzled.


    Hong Qi Hua repeated herself again.


    ¡°Wait wait, what I meant was, how did you know this?¡± Khina interrupted Hong Qi Hua.


    ¡°This is the reason why I came to look for you¡­ Active fusion of certain lifeform¡¯s genes.¡± Hong Qi Hua said after Khina interrupted her. This sentence instantly shocked Khina to the spot. Is Hong Qi Hua joking? Actively fusing genes from other lifeforms, does she want to turn into a monster! However, Hong Qi Hua completely didn¡¯t seem like she was joking right now.


    Rather than fusing with some useless genes outside your control, you might as well fuse with some more useful genes!


    ¡°Remember your promise, do not tell Yu Han!¡± After she finished talking, Hong Qi Hua reiterated again.


    Khina finally woke up from her shock, before she could ask any questions Hong Qi Hua had already left this place. She only reminded her to not tell Yu Han, and didn¡¯t make her swear an oath or anything. Hong Qi Hua was just like this, believing in her friends and never doubting them first.


    Hong Qi Hua knew, and Bai Yi had definitely guessed long ago that something like this would happen. After all, the only one who pleaded on Yu Han¡¯s behalf was Khina, but Bai Yi still agreed.


    Returning to where Little Warner was, Khina¡¯s mind was still quite preoccupied.


    ¡°Older sister!¡± Little Warner¡¯s voice woke Khina from her daze.


    ¡°Little Warner¡­Little Warner, probably sometime not long after, the people in this base will leave. If you have the chance, then you must follow that older sister just now.¡± Khina said, and left in the middle of Little Warner¡¯s puzzlement.


    She was being stupid, but she still hoped that Little Warner would walk on the right path.


    ¡­¡­


    After two days, Yu Han took the initiative to say that he was going to leave the base. Although it was expected, many people still felt surprised. It must be known that Yu Han¡¯s injuries hadn¡¯t healed yet, and those people who were initially following him would definitely not do so anymore.


    However, unexpectedly there were still two people who were willing to stay by Yu Han¡¯s side.


    One was Yu Han¡¯s current girlfriend, Ning Xue. No matter her body or heart, both seemed to be already conquered by Yu Han. The other person was of course Khina. Clearly Yu Han was already in love with another girl, but Khina was still so foolish. When the others knew of Khina¡¯s decision, they weren¡¯t in much of a position to say anything. When it came to emotions, there really wasn¡¯t much rationality to talk about.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Is there something else?¡± Although Yu Han was the loser, he did not want to show weakness in front of Bai Yi.


    ¡°Old Harvey, you have quite a few weapons here right? Can you give a few to Yu Han¡¯s group?¡± Bai Yi asked Old Harvey.


    ¡°Oh, sure, sure!¡± Old Harvey nodded.


    ¡°Is this pity?¡± Yu Han squinted his eyes at Bai Yi.


    ¡°Pity? Don¡¯t be mistaken, my pity won¡¯t be wasted on you. Ning Xue and Khina are willing to follow you. I just don¡¯t want them to not even have a weapon to defend themselves with when they are in danger.¡± Bai Yi said coldly.


    Yu Han clenched his fist tightly, but did not continue saying anything. It was true that he didn¡¯t have a single weapon, even the katana was broken in the battle with the Armoured Shark Tortoise previously.


    Very quickly, Hong Qi Hua carried the weapons over. She threw a 1.2 meter long katana to Yu Han, similar in form to the katana that he previously had. Two machetes roughly 80 cm long were given separately to Khina and Ning Xue. Two handguns and one shotgun were also all passed to Khina.


    Yu Han drew the katana from its sheath. Although he didn¡¯t understand swords very well, he could tell that this katana was a lot better than the one he previously had.


    Why are they being so nice?


    Seeing Hong Qi Hua repeatedly nag Khina, Yu Han immediately understood why. With Bai Yi and Hong Qi Hua¡¯s personalities, they wouldn¡¯t try to sabotage him in things like this, especially if Khina and Ning Xue were following him.


    ¡°Take care!¡± Hong Qi Hua hugged Khina and Ning Xue. Although her relationship with Ning Xue wasn¡¯t so close, they were still friends. No matter what, Hong Qi Hua respected their decisions.


    The three of them sat in the car that Bai Yi¡¯s group prepared and left through the front door of the base. When the car drove past them, Yu Han looked at Bai Yi. Their gazes crossed, and they grew farther and farther apart as the car drove away.

 Chapter 41

    Bai Yi closed his eyes after seeing that Yu Han had left. He also had to hurry up now; he didn¡¯t know what might happen if he let Yu Han reach the research facility in Tongariro National Park first.


    ¡°Old Harvey, why don¡¯t you bring us to see your apocalypse equipment? I heard that it¡¯s really impressive.¡± Bai Yi said to Old Harvey. The rest who became rather down from the departure of Yu Han¡¯s group immediately started to pay attention.


    ¡°Of course, that¡¯s all the equipment that I¡¯ve collected!¡± Old Harvey was a fanatical apocalypse believer, so he instantly became excited talking about his apocalypse equipment.


    The others were quite surprised as well. Apocalypse equipment?


    In reality, Hopper and his family, as well as Mavis and the others, only entered this base half a day earlier than Bai Yi¡¯s group. After that, the monsters appeared, and they found Bai Yi and the other severely injured people. A lot of them didn¡¯t even know that Old Harvey had this ¡®apocalypse equipment¡¯. After all, not everybody was as meticulous and thorough as Hong Qi Hua.


    Old Harvey collected a lot of weapons, both hot and cold.


    Katanas, machetes, broad swords, sabres!


    Fire axe, heavy axe¡­!


    A flamethrower and a hook gun!


    Other than that, they were still 20 handguns and more than 10 submachine guns, 3 sniper rifles, 2 assault rifles and an uncountable number of bullets. Maybe when compared to the military this was nothing much, but when one realized that this was all acquired by Old Harvey himself, then it was absolutely astounding. Of course, Old Harvey¡¯s status wasn¡¯t that of just a fanatical apocalypse believer. This medium-sized base, along with those weapons, wasn¡¯t something a normal citizen could acquire.


    However, nobody was in the mood to care about Old Harvey¡¯s status now; they were all dazzled by these rare military weapons.


    ¡°These things were modified; you can¡¯t buy them outside! Although they still can¡¯t compare to the weapons that the military use, their power is already really amazing. Of course, these things aren¡¯t standard issue in the military.¡± Old Harvey explained as he walked. The people walking behind were all curious. Just how powerful were these weapons? Could they be used against those monsters?


    ¡°This is the flamethrower, who wants to try?¡± Old Harvey said to everybody.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try! How do you use this?¡± Qin Kai Rui was the most excited, and the others didn¡¯t fight with him over it either.


    ¡°You hold this here, this is the safety. Remember, do not point it at any of your allies, the destructive power of this thing is amazing.¡± Old Harvey said seriously first and did not immediately pass the weapon to Qin Kai Rui. This wasn¡¯t a joke, if the person treated it as a toy and fooled around then somebody really could die.


    The flamethrower used butane gas cassettes as the fuel source, it could be carried around on your back, and it connected to a muzzle on your hand. It could spew out high-temperature flames of more than 1000 degrees Celsius up to a distance of 400 meters away. The destructive power of this weapon was extremely huge, but it was also heavily dependent on fuel for its effectiveness. Old Harvey only had 20 butane cassettes and every cassette could only last for half an hour, so it couldn¡¯t be used carelessly.


    Everyone listened to Old Harvey explain but didn¡¯t pay it much mind.


    After Old Harvey finished his explanation and demonstration, Qin Kai Rui grabbed hold of the flamethrower and squeezed the trigger, pointing it at an iron pot three meters away.


    With a ¡®Pu!¡¯, everybody got a shock!


    Blue flames instantly shot out from the muzzle and halfway through the flames became as wide as a plate in size. The flames frenziedly consumed the oxygen in the air for combustion and within 10 seconds, the iron pot started to show signs of melting. Even though they were all quite far away, everyone could still feel the scorching air.


    ¡°Hahahaha! How awesome!¡± Qin Kai Rui laughed excitedly, already treating the flamethrower like his own.


    ¡°The flamethrower was initially meant to be used for welding, but this one went through some modifications and resulted in the power and distance of the flames increasing greatly. However, this caused the temperature of the flames to fall but I think you guys understand that.¡± Old Harvey explained proudly.


    They understood, of course they understood!


    With the flamethrower as the first demonstration, everyone was filled with expectations over the hook gun.


    The head of the hook gun was a 3-hooked claw; it used liquid nitrogen as the propellant and was connected to a high tensile strength titanium cable. Within a distance of 20 meters, it could even pierce through a 1-meter thick bridge pier. Moreover, the 3-hooked claw would automatically open up upon piercing through an object and lodge itself in it. Using the high tensile strength titanium cable, it could grab a hold of anything. Of course, if it really was used against a monster then it was more likely that the monster would pull you over.


    After Qin Kai Rui tested the flamethrower, he wanted to try out the hook gun as well. However, Hong Qi Hua walked over and took the hook gun from Old Harvey. Seeing that it was Hong Qi Hua, Qin Kai Rui blanked for a while, and stepped back timidly.


    Hong Qi Hua carried this nearly 1-meter long hook gun and aimed at the wall in the distance.


    Everyone else had expressions of excitement on their faces while waiting for Hong Qi Hua to test the gun. After aiming at the wall for a while, Hong Qi Hua pressed the trigger.


    ¡®Pachi!¡¯, Hong Qi Hua felt a powerful recoil pushing her body backwards, the half-meter long alloy claw reached the wall almost instantly and pierced into the concrete wall. Behind the alloy claw was the high tensile strength titanium cable forming a straight line.


    Powerful!


    The metal alloy claw went in at least half a meter deep into the concrete wall. If it were used on a normal monster, then the gun would definitely pierce through its body. If they had this kind of weapon earlier, then it wouldn¡¯t have been so dangerous facing those monsters. However, it was best to be more careful using this weapon. Being connected to the monster through the cable could possibly be even more dangerous.


    ¡°I think there¡¯s no need for demonstrations of the other guns. At the start I was looking forward to bursting some zombie heads, but it wasn¡¯t a zombie outbreak in the end, what dogshit luck! That time I fired my gun for half the day but I didn¡¯t even kill one monster in the end¡­¡± Old Harvey started scolding and retrieved the guns. In New Zealand guns were legal. Not every family would have one, but it was still quite common.


    Bai Yi and Hong Qi Hua looked at each other, the apocalypse in Old Harvey¡¯s mind really was a zombie outbreak! However, now the gene-fused monsters weren¡¯t slow-moving targets like those zombies. It probably wasn¡¯t possible for Old Harvey to hide in his ¡®fortress¡¯ and enjoy bursting zombie heads.


    The bunch of them came to another processing workshop-like place. Steel materials and half-completed swords were messily placed in this room.


    ¡°Some of these swords are completed products that I directly purchased, while the others were produced myself. The raw materials used range from the common high-speed steel to the more rare and durable alloy steel such as this San Mai III steel. It uses multiple thin sections of steel pressed together with a high-carbon content core. After tempering both sides, the toughness and hardness of this material is extremely amazing. Other than this, there¡¯s still ATS-34 steel. This material¡­¡± Old Harvey appeared extremely excited once he started to talk about cold weapons.


    At this time, amazement flashed across everyone¡¯s eyes as they looked at the weapons Old Harvey had collected.


    ¡°Be careful, these swords don¡¯t seem to be much on the surface, but the quality is definitely much better than those you can find on the market!¡± Old Harvey reminded.


    These swords didn¡¯t have racks to put them on display, but were just randomly placed inside the storeroom. Everyone grabbed hold of one and observed them interestedly. The swords seemed to be rather crude, as they were apparently processed by Old Harvey himself. However, all of them seemed to be extremely sharp, and some of the premium products made them look at it in wonder.


    ¡°Old Harvey, I have something to ask of you. It may be quite demanding, but I can¡¯t help but request this of you.¡± Bai Yi suddenly said to Old Harvey.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Old Harvey asked. At this time, the rest of them also heard the conversation between Bai Yi and Old Harvey and involuntarily started to pay attention. Bai Yi now was the most ¡®powerful¡¯ person in this base. If he wanted to do anything, then nobody else could stop him.


    ¡°Actually, a few of us are also intending to leave this base, so I wanted to request some equipment from you.¡± Bai Yi looked at Old Harvey and said seriously.


    ¡°You guys are planning to leave too?¡±


    ¡°En!¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°Really¡­¡± Old Harvey sighed.


    ¡°Ok then, how many do you guys want?¡± he continued and asked.


    On the other side Qin Kai Rui and a few others became anxious. They wanted to say something, but did not dare to stand out and speak. After going through so much danger, Qin Kai Rui and the others really didn¡¯t want to continue risking their lives over something that they weren¡¯t sure existed or not. However, if there were no weapons and supplies in this base, then they wouldn¡¯t be able to stay here as well. They were all afraid that Bai Yi would ask for too much.


    ¡°One cold weapon for each person, the hook gun, five handguns, two submachine guns, one sniper rifle and sufficient bullets. As for supplies, we only need the Tentacle Slug and Giant Crab Alligator¡¯s corpse, as well as one ton of wheat powder, one ton of rice¡­¡± Bai Yi said.


    Gradually, those who intended to say something didn¡¯t speak in the end. Honestly speaking, the things that Bai Yi wanted wasn¡¯t a lot compared to the resources stored in this base. The amount of resources collected in this base by Old Harvey was quite abundant.


    ¡°Ok then. Since you guys want to leave, then I guess it can¡¯t be helped.¡± Old Harvey nodded.


    ¡°Speaking of which, who exactly are the ones who want to leave?¡±


    Bai Yi smiled, and a few companions came to his side. 1) Bai Yi, 2) Momo (Pet: Sharpei), 3) Hong Qi Hua, 4) Woolf, 5) Heloise, 6) Martin Anderson, 7) Mavis and 8) Sara.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t ask who wanted to stay in the base or who wanted to go to Tongariro National Park Research Facility. He knew that if he asked then there were bound to be other people who wanted to go along with them. However, honestly speaking, after the incident with Yu Han, Bai Yi didn¡¯t want unfamiliar people who didn¡¯t have the same goals on his team anymore.


    ¡°Seems like you guys have made your decision long ago. Well, I don¡¯t have many things here, but as for cold weapons I do have quite a lot of them.¡± Old Harvey nodded.

 Chapter 42

    ¡°Old Harvey, can we get some weapons too?¡± Qin Kai Rui was quite envious looking at those weapons.


    ¡°Sure, of course! You guys come pick some too. We are not leaving but we can turn this base into a super fortress, impenetrable to any monsters, humanity¡¯s last bastion¡­¡± Old Harvey¡¯s eyes became brighter as he talked, appearing extremely excited. He was still quite normal before but immediately showed his true colours once they talked about the apocalypse.


    Was he really going to give out weapons like that to everybody? Military strength had always been always one of the ways to keep in power.


    Bai Yi looked at everyone who was staying, Qin Kai Rui, Dai Yu Yao, Hopper and his family, and also Pedro from the hospital. Forget about it, the people staying back are quite simple. We are already leaving this place so let¡¯s not care so much. Bai Yi gave them a glance but did not say anything in the end. Hong Qi Hua saw Bai Yi keeping quiet and didn¡¯t say more as well, since Bai Yi was the leader now.


    Everyone picked their weapons with excitement, after all, these things were hard to come by for normal people.


    The two eight-year olds Little Jones and Little Warner were especially excited. After all, men always loved swords by nature, let alone boys of their age. Little Jones¡¯ mum Julia saw him like this and wanted to stop him. What if her son accidentally harmed himself or others?


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to. Momo is so young, but Uncle Bai Yi is picking one for her too!¡± Little Jones objected.


    Julia looked over and saw that Bai Yi was really helping Momo to pick a knife. It wasn¡¯t even half a meter long, but to Momo it seemed like a long sword. Bai Yi helped Momo strap the knife to her back, and stroked her little head with a smile. Julia was quite baffled, Momo is only four years old, just what was Bai Yi thinking¡­ The weapons here were all real weapons; they were all extremely sharp!


    ¡°I think you should let Jones pick his weapon, he needs to learn to carry a heavier burden since he¡¯s a guy. In this new world, you can¡¯t possibly continue protecting him forever.¡± Bai Yi said as he saw the commotion.


    ¡°En¡­ Thank you!¡± Julia replied patronisingly, and promptly dragged Little Jones to the other side without letting him say anything.


    ¡°Somebody doesn¡¯t like you!¡± Woolf teased beside him.


    ¡°It¡¯s understandable.¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t show much change. He fought with Yu Han immediately after waking up. Hong Qi Hua told him that the battle was so fierce and brutal that it was evocative. To put it another way, it was the same as saying shocking and terrifying. Rather than saying Julia disliked Bai Yi, what she felt was actually more like fear.


    ¡°Speaking of which, you didn¡¯t choose any weapons?¡± Bai Yi asked Woolf.


    ¡­¡­


    At this time over at the Little Warner, he was tiptoe-ing and trying to reach for a knife on the table. Hong Qi Hua happened to pass by him and helped him retrieve it, putting the knife in his fat hands.


    ¡°Hold it properly. Remember, this is a weapon for you to protect yourself and your friends!¡±


    Little Warner looked at Hong Qi Hua and suddenly remembered what his older sister Khina told him before.


    ¡°Older sister, can I go along with you?¡± Little Warner looked at Hong Qi Hua.


    ¡°En? Why do you want to go along with me?¡±


    ¡°Older Sister Khina told me that you would leave and to follow you.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s like that¡­¡± Hong Qi Hua looked at Little Warner and didn¡¯t know how to respond for a moment. Khina you idiot, you clearly knew that it was the wrong choice, but you still ended up following Yu Han. Does this thing called ¡®love¡¯ really have such great power? After that Hong Qi Hua finally said to Little Warner: ¡°Ok, follow me then!¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Why, nothing catches your eye?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m too big now, probably only that heavy axe could barely fit my needs.¡± Woolf said scratching his head. Woolf was now 2.5 meters tall, his body was also extremely thick and sturdy, and he was still growing. These weapons to Woolf was really quite small.


    ¡°Then I guess you just have to use this for now!¡± As for this, Bai Yi had no solution as well.


    ¡°Actually, I¡¯m quite satisfied with the Giant Crab Alligator¡¯s pincer. It¡¯s both hard and heavy, just that the shape is quite unwieldy and unsuitable to be used a weapon.¡± Woolf waved his bandaged left hand and said sillily. Bai Yi couldn¡¯t help but to chuckle at his words, what an optimistic fellow.


    ¡°For weapons, there¡¯s two here that might be suitable for you guys.¡± Hong Qi Hua walked over with an additional fat follower behind her.


    Coming to a corner, Bai Yi and Woolf found the weapon that Hong Qi Hua said was suitable for them.


    Broad Sword


    It was roughly 1.2 meters long, similar to Yu Han¡¯s katana before, but it was much thicker and wider. Bai Yi held it and immediately felt his arms drop. It weighed at least 30 pounds, several times more than a typical katana. However, this kind of weight was more suitable to Bai Yi now. Bai Yi pulled the sword out from the sheath. The back of the sword was a faint black colour, shining with a metallic glint, and metallic patterns automatically appeared on the edge of the sword.


    The only pity was that the handle and blade of the sword seemed to be melted together, looking like there was an extra piece.


    ¡°This is made from ATS-34-03-G special steel, a complete product that I bought. This kind of steel is extremely hard, so normal grinding wheels can¡¯t even grind it. The most it could do was polish the sword. As you guys can see, this sword has a very a large flaw. The mold broke while casting, resulting in a large flaw on the handle of the sword. If not for the flaw I wouldn¡¯t have been able to buy this sword¡­¡± Old Harvey explained excitedly.


    ¡°Good sword!¡± Bai Yi exclaimed.


    It was really a good sword. Although it had a flaw, it was just an aesthetic flaw. In reality, when talking about the sword¡¯s actual purpose¡­ battle, it had completely no effect on it.


    Great Sword


    1.5 meters long, the handle, sword guard, and blade formed a complete body. They used the same type of metal with a wide blade, and the closer to the head of the knife, the heavier it was. The tip of the sword was angled slightly inwards, increasing its destructive power. The sword seemed to be dark navy in color, and the color should have come from the process of refining the metal. The edge of the blade hadn¡¯t been sharpened completely yet, and the sword as a whole gave people a very massive feeling.


    Bai Yi gradually used his strength to lift the sword and his hand immediately dipped while holding it¡­ This thing was at least 70 pounds. If it were before, then he¡¯d probably have needed both hands to lift it.


    This sword wasn¡¯t particularly good, and it didn¡¯t look like a premium product either. Bai Yi couldn¡¯t see anything special about the sword.


    ¡°I made this sword myself. I was inspired and couldn¡¯t help but want to make a sword myself after seeing that broadsword. In the end, the special steel was controlled very strictly by the country, so I was unable to purchase it. I only used a slightly better quality metal in the end. It¡¯s especially heavy as the metal used was not as good as the broadsword¡¯s. Based on the weight and hardness of the sword, however, if it were to clash head to head with the broadsword then I¡¯m afraid the one to break would be the broadsword.¡± Old Harvey explained in glee.


    Hong Qi Hua¡¯s weapons were two short knives. The entirety of one of those knives wasn¡¯t even 25 centimeters long, and she strapped them horizontally on her back. Hong Qi Hua was the first to come in contact with Old Harvey. This pair of short knives should be quality products as well, so she didn¡¯t ask for anything more. However, Hong Qi Hua really favored these kinds of small and delicate knives.


    ¡°Hong Qi Hua said that you guys loved swords, so she made me specially prepare them.¡± Old Harvey said.


    ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s like that, thank you!¡± Bai Yi thanked him seriously.


    ¡°Hey Old Harvey, military might is the most stable way to maintain power, you better be careful giving out weapons like this.¡± Bai Yi suddenly said to Old Harvey. Honestly speaking, Bai Yi felt that it was not safe for Old Harvey to stay in the base. Not because of monsters but because the most dangerous thing was¡­ the human heart.


    However apparently, Old Harvey did not mind Bai Yi¡¯s words.


    Qin Kai Rui, Pedro, and the rest were glancing over from time to time. Seeing Bai Yi¡¯s group and Old Harvey chatting together, the rest of them did not come and disturb them either, but their eyes still revealed some ineffable expressions. The weapons that Bai Yi¡¯s group is picking, are they the best weapons in this store?


    Not long after, everyone picked their weapons and left this weapon store. In a short while, this cold weapon store was emptied by almost half. In the end, there weren¡¯t as many weapons here as they thought there were. One person¡¯s passion and energy were not unlimited after all.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Uncle Bai, I still don¡¯t understand completely. Why do you keep emphasizing that everyone must pick their own weapon, especially cold weapons?¡± Hong Qi Hua asked. The hot weapons in this base weren¡¯t low in numbers too, but Bai Yi didn¡¯t pick many guns.


    ¡°I thought you would know.¡±


    ¡°I thought of one thing, it¡¯s because bullets are consumables, after using them it¡¯s not easy to get more?¡± Hong Qi Hua said.


    ¡°That¡¯s one of the reasons. The other reason is that the propelling force behind guns are machinery and gunpowder, so the power of guns is fixed. If it were before, then these guns would definitely be lethal weapons to all lifeforms on Earth. But now as the evolved lifeforms and humans ourselves become more and more powerful, the threat of these guns would become smaller and smaller. In that case, it is better for us to start getting used to cold weapons, since their power would increase along with the owner¡¯s individual strength.¡± Bai Yi said seriously.


    At this time, Woolf was swinging around the great sword, his mouth unable to close in joy. The sound of the wind as he swung the sword revealed the scarily destructive power of the great sword.


    If it were before, not many people could wave this 70 odd pound great sword with both hands, but now Woolf was swinging it around with one hand without breaking a sweat.


    Looking at Woolf, Hong Qi Hua immediately thought of everybody¡¯s transformations and nodded.


    Activated cells could produce special energy. It comprehensively raised the host lifeform¡¯s physical strength, senses and nimbleness. After fusing with genes from other lifeforms, the individual strength could be increased even more quickly. Guns, with their fixed power, would become redundant sooner or later.

 Chapter 43

    The group of them split into two separate groups after coming out of the weapon store. Actually, some of them wanted to go along with Bai Yi¡¯s group, but gave up on that idea after seeing that they gathered together without informing anybody else.


    This was also the reason why Bai Yi directly asked Old Harvey for weapons and didn¡¯t openly ask who wanted to go to the research facility. If he¡¯d asked that way, then there would¡¯ve definitely been some extra people in the team and honestly speaking, Bai Yi didn¡¯t feel at ease with these extra people. After the incident with Yu Han, Bai Yi didn¡¯t want to waste energy on internal struggles and schemes.


    Bai Yi looked at the people gathered around him¡­ 1. Bai Yi, 2. Momo (Pet: Sharpei), 3. Hong Qi Hua, 4. Woolf, 5. Heloise, 6. Martin, 7. Mavis, 8. Sara, 9. Little Warner (Pet: Pupu). Although the addition of Little Warner was unexpected, Hong Qi Hua already told him the reason and Bai Yi could still accept him entering the team as he was a child.


    These people formed a real team, a real united team!


    Woolf was now 2.5 meters tall with his muscles bulging out all over his body. His mouth became somewhat like a combination of a crocodile, dog, and cow, and his mouth that protruded outwards contained incomparably sharp teeth. On the surface of Woolf¡¯s body, thick armoured skin started to appear, and behind his butt grew a thick and short tail. His right hand transformed into a sharp claw with curved nails, but it was definitely much more nimble than an animal¡¯s claw.


    Sharpei¡¯s body grew to twice its previous size and it was almost 1.5 meters long now. Its skin was broken in multiple places as if pulled apart, revealing the bright red muscles underneath. Even so, there was no bleeding, and its skin now looked somewhat like that of the Tentacle Slug. Overall, Sharpei looked as different as it could be from its previous silly appearance. Now only one word could be used to describe it ¨C sinister!


    Bai Yi himself experienced great changes as well. Countless soft fur and colourful patterns spread out from his eyes and reached up to his chest. Other than not having any wings, Bai Yi completely looked like a hairy giant butterfly now.


    If Bai Yi was a big butterfly, then Momo was a small butterfly. However, Momo¡¯s change was a lot milder than Bai Yi¡¯s, and her coloured patterns were dimmer as well.


    Everyone else similarly had some changes, but they were not considered too big.


    Bai Yi observed everyone seriously, and all who met his eyes gave a smile.


    ¡°Together, all of us¡­ will survive and return to a safe world!¡± Bai Yi stretched out his right hand. Starting from Hong Qi Hua, everyone else also put their hands on top of Bai Yi¡¯s and smiled. Even Little Warner stood with everyone as Hong Qi Hua held his hand. Momo at the end even jumped up and hung from everyone¡¯s hands, and all of them immediately starting laughing out loud upon seeing her childish actions.


    Sharpei and Pupu stayed outside and didn¡¯t enter as they couldn¡¯t pass their genes to the rest.


    Happy and free laughter sounded from everyone¡¯s mouth, and none of them had laughed this carefreely ever since New Zealand changed.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Now then, let us begin our plans. Are all the cars and supplies ready?¡± Bai Yi looked at Martin. Over the past two days, Bai Yi didn¡¯t just lie in bed all day. Ever since he woke up, Bai Yi began planning for their path in the future. Going to Tongariro National Park Research Facility wasn¡¯t as easy as just saying it. The world outside had become extremely dangerous, so they had to make plenty of preparations early.


    ¡°En, everything¡¯s prepared. With one heavy truck with a container, a lot of things can be stored inside. There¡¯s also two off-road vehicles, and one of them is a convertible, along with another sports car. They¡¯re more than enough for everyone to sit in.¡± Martin answered.


    ¡°Other than food, are other things like medicine and first aid supplies ready?¡± Bai Yi asked again, and Mavis and Sara immediately nodded their heads.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s load the vehicles up and set out!¡± Bai YI nodded.


    ¡°Your injuries are still very severe, aren¡¯t you going to continue resting?¡± Woolf asked.


    ¡°No need, resting on the road is the same as well. Now that Yu Han has left the base, we must hurry up as well. It wouldn¡¯t be good if we let him reach the research facility first.¡± Bai Yi shook his head. What a regret, his heart had softened for a moment because of Khina, and now he had to be on guard against an enemy at all times.


    When Bai Yi¡¯s group finished loading up their vehicles and opened the main entrance to the base, everyone else was surprised. Just when did Bai Yi¡¯s group finish all their preparations? Also, leaving so confidently like that with not even the slightest hint of worry, weren¡¯t they afraid of encountering monsters?


    The four cars drove out from the main entrance of the base, and everyone else looked on from the sides. As the cars passed the entrance, everyone¡¯s line of sight crossed each other, and in their eyes contained various thoughts and emotions. From now on, everyone walked forward based on their own choices, and nobody knew what would happen in the future.


    The gazes of people who were once friends crossed and watched as the cars drove farther and farther away into the distance.


    Bai Yi, Woolf and Sharpei sat in the convertible leading the group. Following right behind them were Martin and Little Warner, who sat in the heavy truck. Their only role was to drive the truck well since they wouldn¡¯t be able to help if there were any sudden incidents. After them were Mavis, Sara, and Momo who sat in the sports car. Hong Qi Hua and Heloise sat in the last off-road car. Although both of them were girls, they showed very outstanding performances during this period of time, so they should be able to handle any unexpected situations.


    ¡°Bai Yi, where are we headed to?¡± Woolf asked. Recently, Woolf had been recuperating from his wounds, so he was unable to help out with the preparations that Bai Yi had been secretly making. He couldn¡¯t use his muscles, and obviously his brain wasn¡¯t too useful either, so making Woolf think and plan ahead was just torturing him.


    ¡°Otorohanga Middle School!¡±


    ¡°There¡­ But why?¡±


    ¡°Because Otorohanga Middle School has an ecological park; it was where students learned about animals. We won¡¯t be able to find any special animals inside, but the more common ones should be there.¡±


    ¡°Ecological park?¡±


    ¡°You idiot, you forgot about our plan to actively fuse genes so quickly?¡± Bai Yi laughed and scolded. After Bai Yi¡¯s reminder, Woolf suddenly recalled the matter. Bai Yi and Hong Qi Hua did raise this matter a few days ago, but after the encounter with the monsters and his severe injuries, he¡¯d basically forgotten all about it.


    It had been one week since the appearance of monsters in Otorohanga to now, and those who were initially in the city were either dead or had already escaped. Even if there were survivors, they would¡¯ve definitely hidden themselves away at a safe and quiet place, so the entire city now was incomparably silent. The entire city was just like a ghost town, and they could only hear the sounds of their cars driving down the road.


    Bai Yi drove the car while Woolf and Sharpei sat in the back of the convertible. With their sizes now, it was impossible to enter a normal car. Woolf cautiously carried a submachine gun while being on guard, fearing that a monster might jump out from anywhere. Sharpei laid on top of the car with its ears perked up slightly, the muscles bulging out from underneath its broken skin, appearing extremely sinister.


    Suddenly, Sharpei turned its head, and Woolf pointed his submachine gun towards the side of the street.


    The rest of them also instantly reacted and looked towards that direction. A large dog about the same size as Sharpei appeared over there. There were various characteristics of other lifeforms on its body, and it looked at everyone with hesitation in its eyes. Cats and dogs were the most common pets that humans had, however in comparison, dogs were more loyal to humans. This dog apparently did not have any plans to attack them.


    ¡°Should we kill it?¡±


    ¡°Woof!¡± Suddenly, Sharpei stood up and gave a loud bark over to that side. The large dog immediately replied with two barks after hearing Sharpei, and retreated towards the street behind them. Seeing the other dog leave, Sharpei laid down on the car again.


    ¡°What did Sharpei do?¡±


    ¡°Probably making the other dog leave, although they¡¯re transforming into different types of monsters, they¡¯re still of the same species. Sharpei probably didn¡¯t want the other dog to throw away its life for no reason.¡± Bai Yi explained. Hearing Bai Yi¡¯s words, Sharpei lightly barked a few times as if replying to Bai Yi¡¯s words. Bai Yi was surprised for a moment, his explanation was purely a guess, it couldn¡¯t be that Sharpei understood him?


    Suddenly, they heard the sound of wings fluttering, and a big bird with wingspan over a meter wide flew over an apartment in the distance. Such a big bird definitely could not be found in a city in normal times, and an experimental monster wasn¡¯t just this big either. Apparently, this bird had evolved naturally over this period of time.


    Everyone inevitably got a fright seeing the big bird fly up, but seeing that the bird wasn¡¯t a threat, they immediately let out a breath of relief.


    They met several animals that were in their initial stages of evolution along the road, but Bai Yi¡¯s group finally reached Otorohanga Middle School safely.


    ¡°Strange, there aren¡¯t any monsters!¡± Woolf said somewhat dim-wittedly.


    ¡°Not strange, actually Hong Qi Hua had already analyzed this before. The three monsters we encountered before ¨C the Giant Crab Alligator, Tentacle Slug and Armoured Shark Tortoise are all aquatic monsters. Based on Otorohanga¡¯s topography, it¡¯s located at a dispensary of the Waipa River. The research facility there is probably used for researching aquatic creatures. After so many days, these water creatures should¡¯ve left through the river long ago.¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°In reality, these cars were found by Martin and Heloise two days ago. This proves that all the giant monsters from the research facility have all left the city.¡± Bai Yi added.


    ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s the case!¡± Woolf nodded.


    ¡­¡­


    The school was dead silent, and the convoy entered in a straight line and stopped in the middle of the spacious school field. Everyone got out of the cars and stood on the wide field. The trees and bushes on the edges of the field swayed gently in the wind while the sun in the sky shined brightly, giving everyone a feeling of peace.

 Chapter 44

    Just as the sports car came to a stop, Momo immediately jumped off, ran towards Bai Yi, and hugged his leg. Bai Yi stroked her head gently as he held her hand and brought her to the center where they gathered.


    ¡°Let¡¯s find an empty classroom first, I have some things that I want to clarify with you guys.¡± Bai Yi told everybody.


    Everyone nodded their heads and started moving. This place was a middle school, empty classrooms were everywhere, and they were more orderly compared to a residence. Very quickly, everybody sat down in a classroom at the side of the field.


    Little Warner was a little shy, so Bai Yi let Momo sit together with him. Two kids should have common topics to talk about.


    ¡°All of you probably know what I want to say, just that I don¡¯t think you guys understand it completely yet. I¡¯ll explain everything in detail here.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°What I want to talk about is the active fusion of genes!¡±


    The sentence wasn¡¯t too solemn, and everyone already knew of this, but they still trembled in their hearts upon hearing this. Hong Qi Hua walked out at this time and gave a list to everybody. There wasn¡¯t much content on the list, but everybody¡¯s expression turned serious as they read what was on it.


    Hong Qi Hua passed a list with everyone¡¯s name on it, and beside their names were the genes that they had fused with. From Woolf with the most number of genes fused to the least number of genes filled, all of their names were there. On the right side of the list was the power ranking of everyone in the group and everyone was given number based on their strength. Although it was impossible to be accurate, it was easier to see and compare. (TN: The author said that there was a numerical ranking based on their strength, but it wasn¡¯t there in the raws so hmmm not sure why).


    There were nine of them that had fused with genes from other animals, and only Hong Qi Hua and Sara hadn¡¯t fused with any genes. This was only the information on the current team, in reality the list had information on everybody in Yu Han¡¯s team as well.


    ¡°There¡¯s some rules behind this, but I¡¯ll talk about them later. The purpose of actively fusing genes is not to turn everyone into a monster, but to have the ability to choose what genes we fuse with.¡± Bai Yi said after everyone looked over the list.


    ¡°Perhaps all of you already know about this, but I still want to tell you guys again.¡±


    He continued. ¡°Martin!¡±


    ¡°En, here!¡± Martin replied with slight surprise and stood up. Although he knew that Bai Yi would talk about the active fusion of genes, he didn¡¯t expect Bai Yi to call him first.


    ¡°Go through the detailed information about activated cells with them.¡±


    ¡°Oh, sure!¡± Martin nodded.


    __________________________________________________________________________


    Activated Cells: Special cells extracted from devil algae after going through thousands of mutations due to radiation. They were finally developed and transplanted successfully into the human now known as the Progenitor. Activated cells have strong assimilating powers, and once they infect the host and get awakened, they will gradually transform the organism¡¯s original cells and grant them activated capabilities.


    Activated cells currently have three abilities manifested.


    This ability had already manifested on everyone in the form of extreme hunger and appetite. All the nutrients in the body were used to produce special energy, causing everyone to feel the extreme hunger and appetite.


    Gene Fusion: Activated cells have strong gene fusion capabilities. If lifeforms at the binging stage consume or come into contact with fluids from other lifeforms, they will undergo gene fusion.


    Activated cells have levels too, ranging from level 1 to level 9. The number of times gene fusion could occur is also correspondingly 1 to 9 times. The higher the level of the activated cells, the more times gene fusion can occur. However, the more times gene fusion can occur, the more the physical body would change and mutate further away from its original physical shape. Only when all the gene fusion slots are used up would there be no more gene fusion from coming into contact with other lifeforms¡¯ genes.


    Chain Infection: Even if the activated cells did not come from the Progenitor, they would still have the ability to infect lifeforms. However, the level of the activated cells would decrease, and when the activated cells become level 1, they would lose their chain infection capability.


    ________________________________________________________________________


    ¡°Gene fusion has no special order; it¡¯s purely based on the sequence. Lifeforms that got infected with activated cells would fuse with the first few genes that they came into contact with until all the gene fusion slots are used up. Oh, gene fusion slots are just what we use to refer to the number of genes that a lifeform can fuse with, I think you guys can understand that.¡± Martin added on.


    ¡°Of course, that¡¯s easy to understand.¡±


    Everyone nodded their heads and even Little Warner and Momo could understand it as well. After all, this was what they¡¯d been hearing about all day recently. Martin repeated the information on activated cells again and only sat down after confirming that everyone had understood.


    ¡°Including Sharpei and Pupu, nine of us have fused with genes! What genes that we¡¯ve fused with are all written on the list. Of course, these are just the genes that we can see, as for genes that don¡¯t show on the surface, they are impossible for us to know.¡± Bai Yi said and looked at some of them. The rest of them also immediately observed those who had fused with genes from other organisms.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how did you guys fuse with those genes, but we can see one thing ¨C Once we are infected with activated cells, there is a very high chance of gene fusion. Very possibly, while we were unaware we had already fused with genes from some other organisms.¡± Bai Yi paused for a moment and then continued speaking.


    ¡°You guys heard what Martin said just now, based on the level of the activated cells there is a limited number of genes we can fuse with. My plan is, rather than fusing with some random and useless genes in some unexpected situation, why don¡¯t we actively try and fuse with genes that are useful?¡±


    ¡°For genes such as¡­ Butterfly, mouse, rabbit, cow, pigs and such animals, do you think that fusing with these genes would be helpful to you?¡±


    What use can there be? Everyone shook their head involuntarily; these animals were weak even in the natural world. Other than causing your physical body to turn into a monster, there really was no use in fusing with these genes. Perhaps there might be some use for it, but apparently now it couldn¡¯t be seen.


    ¡°We have fused with a lot of genes, but most of them are quite useless. As for the rest of the genes that we¡¯ve fused with, I think there are a few that aren¡¯t bad.¡± Bai Yi continued.


    ¡°1) Ant ¨C Ants in natural world can easily move objects 20-150 times their weight, they are fully deserving of the title ¡®Hercules¡¯. Yu Han¡¯s strength is apparently from fusing with the genes of an ant.¡±


    ¡°2) Cat ¨C a cat¡¯s night vision and nimbleness are both decent upgrades.¡±


    ¡°3) Dog ¨C A dog¡¯s sense of smell, hearing and nimbleness are also good to make up for our weaknesses.¡±


    ¡°4) Tortoise ¨C A tortoise¡¯s shell has a powerful defensive ability.¡±


    ¡°5) Bald Eagle ¨C Eagles can fly so Woolf may start to grow wings, and moreover¡­ An eagle¡¯s vision is also very good, so it is also a decent choice.¡±


    ¡°Other than these, some other genes are also beneficial, but from what I see they aren¡¯t really that helpful. Of course, this is just what I think now.¡± Bai Yi said again.


    ¡°What do you mean by not really that helpful? Aren¡¯t alligators powerful?¡± Woolf asked, puzzled. He even intentionally opened his alligator mouth wide to show off to everyone else. The rest of them immediately started laughing, lightening up the initially serious atmosphere in the room. This guy¡­ Bai Yi didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry, but it wasn¡¯t bad to be more relaxed.


    ¡°Exactly what those words mean; we classified various organisms based on some criteria that¡¯s different from how we usually classify organisms. For example, the alligator, you may think that it¡¯s a very useful and powerful animal, but in reality, that¡¯s not the case. This is because¡­¡± Bai Yi said when he suddenly held his mouth and a faint red colour seeped through his fingers.


    Bai Yi¡¯s injuries weren¡¯t healed yet!


    Everyone immediately had this thought, but only Mavis looked at him in surprise and looked pensive. Although she only knew about the activated cells later on, she was more sensitive to changes to a person¡¯s body as a doctor. Bai Yi¡¯s condition¡­was very different compared to Woolf¡¯s and Yu Han¡¯s.


    To think of it, Bai Yi¡¯s injuries weren¡¯t as serious as Woolf¡¯s, but he was the last to regain consciousness. Moreover, his injuries were healing at such a slow pace, it just didn¡¯t seem right!


    However, at this time, Bai Yi himself didn¡¯t realise this. To save Martin and also while battling with Yu Han, Bai Yi¡¯s body heated up to extreme levels as if it were boiling. Just what kind of changes did the activated cells cause?


    Please don¡¯t let anything happen to you, Bai Yi!


    Mavis rubbed her hands together and watched Bai Yi silently. She could see very clearly that although everyone had good relationships with each other, Bai Yi was still the one linking all of them together. If something happened to Bai Yi, this team might continue to operate, but it would definitely not be as smooth as before. However, Mavis didn¡¯t interrupt the meeting. If she wanted to say anything it would be after the meeting was over.


    ¡°Hong Qi Hua, why don¡¯t you explain to everyone?¡± Bai Yi said to Hong Qi Hua. Bai Yi only thought that his injuries were more serious and needed more time to recuperate.


    Hong Qi Hua, seeing that Bai Yi was in this condition, stood up and nodded to everyone.

 Chapter 45

    Hong Qi Hua stood up and nodded to everyone after seeing the condition that Bai Yi was in.


    ¡°There are 121 research facilities in New Zealand along with more than 100,000 experimental monsters, this is the information that Martin gave us. Although the monsters only escaped from the Northern Hamilton Research Facility and the other research facility nearby so far, none of us can be sure if the experiments from other research facilities will escape. Or rather, I¡¯m sure that they will definitely escape, it¡¯s just a matter of when.¡±


    ¡°However, the experimental monsters are just one of the reasons. Although they are powerful, there are only around 100,000 of them. The real danger is the entire ecosphere of New Zealand. Now we are still within human civilization and not much time has passed, so we don¡¯t see any big changes. However, in those remote places where man¡¯s footprints are rare, I¡¯m afraid that those animals in the wild have already started their cruel process of natural selection. Those that are strong will live while the weak become food.¡± Hong Qi Hua said, and suddenly opened her mouth and bit down hard.


    Hong Qi Hua¡¯s teeth bit down with a ¡®kacha!¡¯, causing the few girls who were listening intently to jump in fright. Hong Qi Hua didn¡¯t jump straight into the topic of what genes to fuse, but explained the situation they were in first, increasing the worry in everybody¡¯s hearts by another level.


    ¡°Qi Hua, don¡¯t frighten us on purpose!¡± Sara patted her chest in fright.


    ¡°I¡¯m not frightening you guys. Fundamentally, we aren¡¯t different from those experimental monsters, and our situation may be even more cruel. If you want to survive, then you have to rely on your own efforts.¡± Hong Qi Hua said with increasing heaviness after smiling for a moment.


    ¡°Over these past few days, I have classified various genes into rough categories. They aren¡¯t classified based on species like we normally do, but in another way ¨C powerful physical strength, faster speed, precise vision, great regenerative capabilities, mobility and flight, poison immunity, aquatic adaptation and special abilities¡­¡± Hong Qi Hua said and wrote on the blackboard with a piece of chalk.


    ¡°There¡¯s roughly 2.5 million different types of living things in the biosphere that are known to us. Out of the 2.5 million, there¡¯s 2 million animals, 340 thousand plants and 37 thousand microorganisms. The first to be eliminated are the microorganisms. They¡¯ve always existed in all areas of the world. If it were possible to fuse with their genes, we would¡¯ve already fused with them long ago.¡± Hong Qi Hua said while drawing the categories out on the blackboard, helping the rest to understand her better.


    ¡°After that, although there¡¯s still a few million living things, we can eliminate those that we can¡¯t see normally. Based on our situation now, it¡¯s not possible for us to find them. Out of those remaining, it¡¯s best to pick some animals or insects that have special abilities.¡± Hong Qi Hua stood on the rostrum and spoke with assurance and composure.


    Everybody was captivated by Hong Qi Hua.


    The Hong Qi Hua before had always worn big wide-rimmed spectacles, which almost covered half her face and seemed very old-fashioned. Moreover, she wasn¡¯t outstanding in school either and that made people overlook her easily. Now, however, after she took off her spectacles, not only did she reveal her beautiful face but her individual disposition was also slowly being displayed. This made people feel very unfamiliar and yet¡­ very captivated.


    ¡°As for what genes to fuse with, I have already obtained more detailed information from Martin. I classified them simply, so if you have any opinions feel free to voice them.¡± There wasn¡¯t an electronic screen, but at least there was a blackboard, so it was already considered more convenient. Everyone sat quietly in their seats, and there was only the sound of Hong Qi Hua¡¯s chalk writing on the blackboard.


    Very quickly, Hong Qi Hua wrote down a few categories on the board and turned around to face everybody. At this time, everyone else was also looking at what Hong Qi Hua had written on the board. Her words were very graceful, although they couldn¡¯t be considered works of calligraphy, they were still quite pleasing to the eye. However, what people paid attention to now weren¡¯t her words but their contents.


    1. Strong Physical Strength ¨C Basic physical strength, this is easy to understand.


    Ant: Ants are very small, but relative to their body size no other organism in the biosphere can compare to the ant in terms of physical strength. Moreover, it is very easy to obtain their genes.


    Of course, this is only in theory. If the body size were the same, then ants would have unbeatable strength, but nobody knows what would happen after gene fusion. Hence, the animals that are known for great strength in the natural world can also be considered.


    Elephant and Whale: Both have enormous bodies and powerful strength, so they could be considered to be among the strongest animals on Earth.


    2. Faster Speed ¨C There are two aspects of this: ground speed and flying speed. After Hong Qi Hua and Bai Yi discussed this with each other, they concluded that agility was key on ground, as pure speed wasn¡¯t enough to deal with various kinds of dangers. For this kind of agility, there were a few choices.


    Flea: Agile reaction, able to jump within 0.7 ¨C 1.2 milliseconds of meeting danger.


    Hummingbird: In flight, it only requires 8 milliseconds to contract its muscles.


    Leopard: Leopards are known for their running speed, but they aren¡¯t too suitable. The reason a leopard can move so quickly is closely tied to its body shape.


    3. Formidable Five Senses ¨C What we commonly refer to as sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste


    Dragonfly and Butterfly: In general, insects all have decent dynamic vision, so of course we don¡¯t have to choose a disgusting one like flies.


    Owl and Cat: Of course, other animals also have night vision, but considering the ease of obtaining genes, these two animals are more commonly seen.


    Bald Eagle: This bird can watch its prey from thousands of meters in the sky, and swoop down for the kill. It has very outstanding long-distance vision.


    Bat: Echolocation is a very useful ability, but bats have this ability because their vision is close to non-existent. Nobody knows if you will go blind after fusing with a bat¡¯s genes, so it¡¯s best not to choose a bat.


    Cat and Dog: Both have decent hearing and can be used to detect danger earlier.


    In comparison, the last three senses aren¡¯t too useful when faced with danger. Moreover, the five senses of most animals are generally stronger than humans, so there is no need to give examples.


    4. Powerful Regenerative Capabilities ¨C Many animals have regenerative capabilities, but most of them are simple and primitive animals, so there is no need to expect too much. Moreover, there is no such thing as high-speed regeneration like you see in novels or mangas.


    Lizard: We are all familiar with how a lizard can regrow its tail after losing it.


    Zebrafish: Zebrafish can regrow their fins, scales, spines and even part of their hearts.


    Sea Cucumber: You can grow a new sea cucumber from a cut off piece of flesh of a sea cucumber. However, this ability seems to be more like cloning.


    Spider: Spiders can regrow their missing legs.


    In truth, from what we can see from Woolf and Sharpei¡¯s recovery rates these past few days, activated cells themselves have decent regenerative capabilities. Of course, this is assuming that there is sufficient food and energy.


    5. Flight ¨C Flight can let us avoid many instances of dangerous situations. Outstanding flight ability can let people rapidly escape from danger.


    Peregrine Falcon: The bird with the fastest speed; it can reach up to 180km per hour.


    Bald Eagle: This animal can stalk its prey from thousands of meters in the sky, then dive down for the kill. It can not only fly, but its long-distance vision is extremely strong as well.


    Fly: We mention flies because of their nimbleness as well as their dynamic vision. Overall, although we find them disgusting and want to avoid them, they have some abilities that are much better than those of humans.


    However, these animals may not be suitable because their speed is highly related to their body shape. If humans fused with their genes, we can¡¯t be sure that we can display the same level of flying ability.


    6. Poison Immunity ¨C There¡¯s no absolute choice for this, as many lifeforms have a certain level of poison immunity but it¡¯s normally only for certain poisons. For example, the kingsnake is immune to the poison of the rattlesnake and pit viper, and prey on them for food.


    7. Aquatic Adaptation ¨C All aquatic animals seem to be ok, but combined with the above conditions, aesthetic fishes are apparently not suitable. Other aquatic creatures like the octopus, however, are actually good choices.


    8. Special ability ¨C This includes things such as spider silk, venom from venomous snakes, and a mayfly¡¯s ability to traverse water surfaces.


    Hong Qi Hua finally finished writing and everyone fell into a daze after they finished reading. Can humans really gain these special abilities from gene fusion?


    ¡°Of course, this is only in theory. In reality, gene fusion can¡¯t possibly be classified into these simple categories. I¡¯ve already asked Martin about this. After so much research, other than the search for the ephemeral longevity, they were also researching the rules and conditions behind gene fusion. Actually, using strong genes for gene fusion isn¡¯t some extraordinary or out of the box idea. It has already been experimented on in the laboratory.¡± Hong Qi Hua said.


    ¡°Then what were the results?¡± Everybody asked with deep concern.


    ¡°The results weren¡¯t as good as we had hoped.¡± Hong Qi Hua went silent.


    ¡°Why?¡± Everyone was really puzzled. Hong Qi Hua just painted a picture of them gaining great powers in their minds, but in a blink of an eye, she suddenly said that the results weren¡¯t good?


    ¡°Let me explain.¡± Martin stood up and everyone immediately looked at him. Out of everybody here, Martin had the most experience with the experimental monsters and gene fusion. Even though Martin was only a side researcher, he was still more knowledgeable than the rest of them who didn¡¯t know anything.


    ¡°If we divide the experimental subjects in the research facility based on their physical power, we can roughly split them into four levels.¡±


    Four levels!

 Chapter 46

    ¡°If we were to split the experimental monsters based on their physical power, we can roughly divide them into four levels.¡± Martin walked out and stood on the rostrum. He then wrote a ¡®1¡¯ on the blackboard using chalk.


    ¡°1. Peak Level ¨C The genes they fused with may be extremely powerful or extremely ordinary, but it resulted in a manifestation of unimaginable power on the host body. The general cause is unclear, but we suspect that it may be due to a deeper level of assimilation with the activated cells. We refer to these experimental monsters as ¨C mutants!¡±


    ¡°2. Superior Level ¨C The genes they fused with were those of animals already at the peak of the food chain on Earth. Their gene fusion was also more perfect, and were hence able to fully display their power. Although they wouldn¡¯t be able to reach Peak Level with this kind of gene fusion, the power of their genes was very stable so it was an excellent choice. If they¡¯re lucky enough and manage to mutate, it¡¯s possible for them to enter Peak Level as well.¡±


    ¡°3. Middle Level ¨C The genes they fused with can be considered predators in the natural world, but the level of fusion is very average, so their level of strength is also just barely decent.¡±


    ¡°4. Inferior Level ¨C There¡¯s nothing much extraordinary about the genes they fused with, these kinds of gene-fused monsters, other than being food for other monsters, don¡¯t have much purpose. Of course, even monsters like these are extremely dangerous to humans now.¡±


    ¡°If we fuse with the genes that Hong Qi Hua described, what level would we be at?¡± Somebody immediately asked. Everybody minded things related to their strength and future survivability a lot.


    ¡°Roughly¡­Middle Level!¡±


    ¡°So low? And this is only roughly?¡± Everyone was shocked, Hong Qi Hua¡¯s plan sounded really good, so why was the level so weak after fusion?


    ¡°That is just based purely on physical strength, such as only using fangs and claws to fight. Don¡¯t forget that the biggest difference between humans and animals is that humans know how to use weapons.¡± Bai Yi stood up.


    ¡°The strength of an evolved lifeform is not just related to the physical body, it is also dependent on its intelligence. Moreover, don¡¯t forget the most fundamental factor¡­ activated cells, they are the core of everything. In reality, actively fusing genes technically isn¡¯t raising our strength, but just lets us have greater capacity to deal with dangers. As for how far each one of us can walk in this world, I¡¯m afraid that not even God can answer that question.¡± Bai Yi said slowly. His lungs were still throbbing in pain, so he couldn¡¯t speak too fast.


    Because he spoke very slowly, everyone heard his words very clearly, and all of them fell into deep thought.


    Using fangs and claws to battle, using weapons¡­ I think I understand.


    That was why Bai Yi said that the alligator genes were quite useless. Alligators were considered to be one of the peak predators in the food chain of the natural world. What it relied on was its fearsome huge jaw and that powerful biting force. However, was a human that fused with alligator genes going to use his mouth to battle? What humans were most familiar with were still using weapons, so those supporting abilities like what Hong Qi Hua wrote on the board ¨C strength, agility, vision, etc were still the most useful things to them.


    ¡°Hey hey, what are you guys looking at me for?¡± Woolf asked dumbly after seeing everyone looking at him.


    ¡°Pffft!¡± Heloise saw Woolf¡¯s dumb look and immediately couldn¡¯t help but laugh. Woolf really did not understand the meaning behind Bai Yi¡¯s words. Everyone looked at Woolf being confused and also started laughing, and overall the atmosphere in team wasn¡¯t too heavy. On the contrary, it was actually quite lively.


    ¡°Arrrgh! No laughing! You guys better explain to the noble Sir Woolf what¡¯s going on!¡± Woolf roared with his mouth wide open and said. However, this made it even harder for everyone to hold in their laughter and the laughter grew louder. In the end, Heloise came to Woolf¡¯s side and explained everything clearly to him. The others tried to add in from time to time but Woolf waved them away.


    Bai Yi saw the two of them like that and felt quite surprised. He still thought that Woolf would have no chance, so this was really quite unexpected.


    ¡°Let¡¯s continue then.¡± Hong Qi Hua knocked on the blackboard after Woolf finally understood everything. Everyone immediately started to focus again.


    ¡°Just as Uncle Bai said, although our strength would probably only be at Middle Level after fusing with those genes, we know how to use weapons. An agile body and strong base specs that gene fusion can give us would let us have greater capability to face dangers in the future. Of course, this is given that we can remain calm.¡± Hong Qi Hua continued.


    ¡°Actually, the combination of genes we chose now is not bad, and there¡¯s a chance of entering the Superior Level as well. However, as for whether we can really enter that level is also dependent on the degree of fusion.¡± Hong Qi Hua slowly said. This time around, everyone was learning very seriously. From what they saw just now, it appeared that Bai Yi and Hong Qi Hua had thought everything through very thoroughly.


    ¡°Degree of fusion?¡±


    ¡°To put it simply, if one of us here fused with the genes of an ant, in theory the person¡¯s physical strength should increase. However, how much the strength increases by is definitely different for different people. The higher the degree of fusion, the greater the increase in strength, and vice versa. It¡¯s even possible that only the outer appearance changes and there¡¯s no change in physical strength.¡± Every time when an explanation was needed, Martin would come out and speak.


    The idea about the degree of fusion being a factor wasn¡¯t too difficult to understand, and everyone nodded their heads.


    ¡°Other than that, can everybody look at the name list in your hands? I¡¯m not sure if you guys realized, but there¡¯s also a rule in gene fusion.¡± Hong Qi Hua said while gesturing for everyone to check the list.


    Everyone immediately checked their name list. What rule was there on this list?


    ¡°The rule is that the genes that an evolved lifeform fused with cannot be fused again onto another lifeform afterwards. For example, Woolf was pierced by the Giant Crab Alligator, but he only fused with the genes of an alligator but not a crab. Martin¡¯s skin was ripped off by the Tentacle Slug, but he only fused with the genes of a slug and not an octopus. That is to say, the genes that an evolved lifeform fused with at a later stage cannot be fused again to another lifeform. My guess is that after the first fusion, some aspects of the other lifeform would manifest on the evolved lifeform, but they aren¡¯t complete.¡± Hong Qi Hua did not let the rest of them wonder for too long and announced the rule.


    ¡°Are you guys happy? You don¡¯t have to be so careful around other people like they have infectious diseases now.¡± Hong Qi Hua said teasingly.


    Everyone immediately started to laugh awkwardly after hearing what she said. To think about it, that was really the case back in the base. All of them were afraid to come into contact with other people because they didn¡¯t know if they would fuse with the genes that other people had already fused with. Now that they heard Hong Qi Hua say this, they could finally put their hearts at ease.


    ¡°Of course, as for Sharpei and Pupu, it¡¯s best to keep a distance from them unless you want to fuse with their genes.¡± Hong Qi Hua added, and everyone looked at the two ¡®pets¡¯.


    ¡°However, Sharpei and Pupu don¡¯t have to worry about fusing with human genes because the origin of the activated cells came from the Progenitor. The Progenitor is a human and no other human genes can be above that of the Progenitor.¡± Hong Qi Hua said again. This sentence instantly made everyone focus their attention again. Although Hong Qi Hua used a light tone to talk about all this, this was actually incomparably important information.


    ¡°Now for the next piece of information!¡± Hong Qi Hua said.


    ¡°There¡¯s actually another way of classifying the experimental monsters ¨C 1. Animals fusing with genes from other lifeforms and turning into monsters. 2. Humans fusing with genes from other lifeforms and turning into monsters. To tell you guys a secret, back at the gas station I had the fortune to meet a human experimental monster, but he still retained enough intelligence and memories to not attack me.¡± Hong Qi Hua said, and everyone except Bai Yi instantly became stupefied.


    ¡°In some ways, those human experimental monsters are actually our predecessors or precedents.¡± Mavis very quickly calmed down and said.


    ¡°Precisely!¡± Hong Qi Hua nodded.


    Everyone else nodded too and expressed that they¡¯d understood.


    ¡°Next, we found out from the information that Martin and Heloise collected that this Otorohanga Middle School has a small ecological park. The students used this for studying nature. There aren¡¯t any special animals inside, but the more common ones can still be found. So, our first stop is here, to fuse with useful genes.¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°Then lastly, using all the information that we have so far, Uncle Bai and I came to a final conclusion on the genes that we should fuse with.¡± Hong Qi Hua said again, and now everyone couldn¡¯t be more focused. Every time Hong Qi Hua spoke, the information that came out from her mouth became even more astonishing.


    ¡°Just as what we have written on the board, the first genes that Uncle Bai and I suggest for everyone to fuse with are ant genes. Powerful physical strength can be useful in many situations. As for the others, we will be leaving them up to everyone to decide for themselves.¡±


    ¡°Only fusing with ant genes, the rest are uncertain?¡±


    ¡°Correct, we aren¡¯t certain!¡± Bai Yi stepped forward and nodded.


    ¡°Gene fusion isn¡¯t some simple process like playing a video game, as there isn¡¯t any fixed path to follow. Even if it seems like our analysis is very logical and thorough now, in reality a lot of things cannot be confirmed. Hence, the suggestion that Hong Qi Hua and I came up with is for everyone to fuse with two or three genes first. At the very least we must have some power to protect ourselves. As for what genes we would fuse with, how far we can go in the future¡­ will be up to fate.¡± Bai Yi said as he looked outside the window.


    Everyone looked outside the window too as they heard Bai Yi speak.


    Fate¡­ That was really a super irresponsible conclusion, and everyone felt quite bitter and astringent on the inside. However, all of them had to admit that everything Bai Yi said was the truth.


    Fate!

 Chapter 47

    ¡°I have a question. Bai Yi, you should¡¯ve come into contact with genes from other organisms multiple times as well, why is it that for you and Momo only the butterfly genes are manifested?¡± Mavis suddenly asked calmly.


    ¡°This question is actually very simple. The number of times gene fusion can occur is determined by the level of the activated cells. From LV1 ¨C LV9, the number of times gene fusion can occur is correspondingly 1 ¨C 9 times as well. So, the only possibility why me and Momo only fused with butterfly genes so far is¡­¡± Bai Yi replied composedly.


    LV1!


    Everyone was instantly shocked, and an ineffable emotion rose in them. What is this, is it sympathy? If the level of activated cells is only 1, then they could only fuse with one kind of genes. In other words, all the things about increasing your strength through fusing useful genes earlier had nothing to do with Bai Yi and Momo. Moreover, every person¡¯s individual strength was probably related to the level of the activated cells as well.


    ¡°Look at you guys, actually it may be LV1 for sure. There¡¯s another possibility, that is the fusion slots for me and Momo were all filled by butterfly genes. Although similarly we can¡¯t fuse with genes from other organisms, at least the level of activated cells isn¡¯t 1.¡± Bai Yi said reassuringly.


    The rest of them wanted to say something upon hearing Bai Yi, but looking at Bai Yi¡¯s expression they decided not to continue talking about this topic in case the mood became even heavier.


    ¡°On this topic, let me remind everyone again that the gene fusion slots are limited, and we may not have nine slots. Now that everyone had already fused with some genes, it¡¯s best to seriously consider what other genes you should fuse with.¡± Bai Yi reminded.


    Everyone immediately fell into deep thought, as this was really an issue!


    ¡°One more thing!¡± Mavis continued. Everyone¡¯s expression became tense again and then looked at Mavis nervously. It can¡¯t be more bad news? Unfortunately, with the solemn expression on Mavis¡¯ face it really seemed to be bad news.


    ¡°Bai Yi, your recovery rate is slower than Woolf¡¯s and the rest!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°When we rescued you to the base, your injuries were actually a bit lighter than Woolf and Yu Han¡¯s! However, your rate of recovery was a lot slower than theirs. You even fell into a coma for three days, if not for your vital signs being stable I would¡¯ve thought that you weren¡¯t going to make it.¡± Mavis said. Sara nodded as well. Although she was just a nurse, her medical skills were quite good.


    ¡°After asking Woolf and Martin about the battle you guys were in, and examining your injuries in detail, I found out that your injuries were all mainly external. They were mainly focused on your left arm and surface of your torso. However, have you noticed? What hasn¡¯t truly recovered is your entire body, if I really had to be precise then it¡¯s¡­ your activated cells!¡± Mavis said gravely.


    Bai Yi looked at Mavis in shock, and felt the mild prickling pain all over his own body.


    ¡­¡­


    An intense emotion screamed silently and crazily inside him. All of sudden, the muscles in his whole body started to twitch and the colourful patterns on his face from the butterfly genes expanded by a third¡­In a short moment, his muscles started to heat up vigorously, a feeling like his body was burning and screaming crazily, desiring to destroy everything.


    Twice, once was when he saved Martin, the other time was when Yu Han kicked him to the wall!


    ¡­¡­


    Bai Yi woke up with a shock and breathed heavily, at this moment everyone was staring at Bai Yi seriously, especially the coloured patterns that became even brighter on his face.


    ¡°You seem like you recalled something.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I did remember something.¡± Bai Yi nodded slowly. That was just a memory just now, but Bai Yi seemed to really feel a mild prickly pain and the flaming heat inside his body. At that moment, he really was¡­


    ¡°Martin, do you know anything?¡± Mavis asked.


    ¡°No, I have never seen a situation like this. In truth, the understanding of experimental monsters by you guys may even be more comprehensive than mine now. I was only a side researcher inside the research facility.¡± Martin said. Actually, Martin had already said these words from the moment they met, he wasn¡¯t some core researcher.


    Mavis gave Bai Yi a thorough check-up again, after being busy for a while she finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing abnormal! As for the activated cells, none of us understand it much, so we can¡¯t give you any opinions. Just be careful no matter what!¡± Mavis said to Bai Yi after finishing her check-up.


    ¡°En, got it.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°As for the active fusion of genes, I think everyone already understood so now let¡¯s split up. Half of us will stay here and guard the vehicles, and the other half will go to the ecological park together.¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t waste too many brain cells on the abnormality in his body. Since it was an abnormality, it was either a good thing or a bad thing. It wasn¡¯t like worrying himself sick over it would cause it to disappear, so Bai Yi didn¡¯t bother too much about it. To a certain extent, Bai Yi was quite a carefree person.


    ¡°Hong Qi Hua, Momo, Martin, Sara, Little Warner, Sharpei, Pupu, you guys stay here. Woolf, Mavis and Heloise, and I will go to the ecological park.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Bai Yi, your injury!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, as long as it isn¡¯t a head to head clash, my injuries won¡¯t be a problem. If we encounter any danger then Woolf will handle it for us, isn¡¯t that right, Woolf?¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Of course, leave it to me!¡± Woolf held his head high and stuck his chest out.


    Everyone agreed with this and nobody had any other objections. This allocation was quite rational, and everyone was more at ease with Hong Qi Hua around as they could all see her outstanding performance during this period. Bai Yi, Woolf and Heloise were also more experienced in dealing with unexpected changes, and with Mavis around she could treat them if anybody got injured.


    ¡­¡­


    Bai Yi brought a handgun and that broadsword. Woolf brought along his greatsword and a submachine gun. Heloise also brought a handgun and her own short sword. Mavis was a doctor, so she brought along a first aid kit, but at the same time she didn¡¯t forget to bring her short sword with her.


    The importance of cold weapons that Bai Yi talked to Hong Qi Hua about was already conveyed to everybody, so everyone planned to start familiarising themselves with it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s head to the laboratory first!¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Why?¡± Woolf asked.


    ¡°To find a suitable container, like a test tube or reagent bottle to store an organism¡¯s muscles or fluids more conveniently. It¡¯s not like we have to eat the entire animal for gene fusion.¡± Bai Yi explained.


    Woolf was suddenly enlightened and nobody else had any objections, so they headed to the laboratory.


    There was no reason for any of them to go to Otorohanga Middle School before, and the area that this school occupied was really quite large due to the low population density of New Zealand. The few of them had already walked a few rounds around the school building. If not for Heloise coming to this school before, all of them would have already gotten lost.


    ¡°This place is really damn huge.¡± Woolf couldn¡¯t help but to complain after he finally saw Heloise stopping in front of a door. The door was standard-sized, and from just a look Woolf knew that he would never fit through that door. With his size now, walking along the corridor was already a bit of a squeeze.


    ¡°This is where they keep all their lab equipment; this place is still surprisingly the same after so long!¡± Heloise said with some nostalgia. Mavis saw that the room was quite dark and subconsciously went to switch on the light.


    Fluorescent lights instantly shined on them and Bai Yi raised his head.


    ¡°There¡¯s still electricity here?¡± Bai Yi questioned with suspicion. After so long, the city had had its power cut long ago. Even the base only had a small generator, just barely enough for their daily necessities.


    ¡°I only switched on the lights out of habit, I¡¯m not sure.¡± Mavis shook her head. She only thought the room was quite dark, so she went to switch on the light subconsciously, she didn¡¯t think about whether there was still electricity or not.


    ¡°Heloise, do you know anything?¡±


    ¡°Maybe the students did it themselves.¡± Heloise said uncertainly.


    ¡°Students!¡±


    ¡°En, Otorohanga Middle School emphasized a lot on practical skills, and there were many clubs in the school. Maybe this was a product of one those technological clubs, but as for what¡¯s going on I really have no idea.¡± Heloise explained.


    Students made this? Bai Yi was quite surprised; students in China were all a bunch of bookworms. If they had to make a power generator that could supply the entire school with electricity, then they could probably do it¡­ but just in theory. However, what Bai Yi cared about wasn¡¯t this, he didn¡¯t even care about how the electricity was produced, it was all good as long as he knew that there was electricity here. Bai Yi brought along a grinder polisher from the base. He initially thought that he had to find electricity from somewhere else, but now he didn¡¯t have to go through the trouble.


    ¡°Having electricity is a good thing, take the test tubes and we will head to the ecological park.¡± Bai Yi said.


    The few of them moved together, taking more than 10 empty test tubes from the laboratory, and used the specialised case to store them. Mavis then carried the case along with her first aid kit. At this time, Bai Yi didn¡¯t try to be gentlemanly and carry it for her, Mavis wasn¡¯t going to participate in battle, so it was most suitable for her to carry it.


    ¡­¡­


    Over at Hong Qi Hua¡¯s side, all them started to rest after preparing a simple defensive line to guard against unexpected danger. Little Warner played with the knife that Bai Yi picked for him and looked at Momo who was teasing Pupu from time to time. All of Momo¡¯s fusion slots were filled by butterfly genes, so she didn¡¯t have to be afraid of fusing Pupu¡¯s genes and she also really liked this fat and round pet pig.


    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Hong Qi Hua came beside Little Warner.


    ¡°I¡¯m not thinking about anything!¡± Little Warner looked at Hong Qi Hua.


    Hong Qi Hua looked at Little Warner¡¯s pure eyes, she could be sure that Little Warner really wasn¡¯t thinking of anything. With New Zealand¡¯s change and the death of his parents, he probably hadn¡¯t completely understood what had happened as a small kid. Although Little Warner knew some things, he still didn¡¯t have the awareness to think about how to adapt to the future world.

 Chapter 48

    ¡°This is the ecological park?¡± Bai Yi asked. Although he knew that New Zealand was a large country with a low population, he was still shocked to see the vast and endless forest enclosed in front of him.


    ¡°Yep, this is the ecological park of Otorohanga Middle School.¡± Heloise nodded.


    ¡°Let¡¯s enter then, be careful!¡± Bai Yi reminded them.


    The few of them entered the ecological park carefully, preparing to find suitable animal genes to fuse with inside. The ecological park belonged to a school, so it only reared some small animals, even if there were any large ones they were few in number. Moreover, it had already been 10 plus days since the activated cells proliferated, so these animals had long run somewhere else.


    Walking on the man-made road, Bai Yi suddenly stopped!


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too lush! This is an ecological park belonging to a school, the paved path we are walking on right now must¡¯ve been what students would normally use to walk, but now the path is almost completely covered by vegetation. There¡¯s only one possible reason why it is like this now, and that is within the 10 plus days these plants grew by this much!¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°What are you trying to say?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m saying that the activated cells accelerated the growth of these plants!¡± Bai Yi chuckled, Woolf was really quite slow, he couldn¡¯t understand until he laid it out in black and white.


    ¡°So that¡¯s what happened!¡± Woolf was suddenly enlightened.


    The few of them moved carefully inside the park, being cautious and on guard for anything that might happen. However, the entire ecological park was abnormally silent, and they didn¡¯t find any animals around. This made Bai Yi, who was on guard against evolved lifeforms, extremely surprised. Where are the animals? Where are all the animals that were originally here?


    ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡±


    They stopped at a small open patch of land that hadn¡¯t been overtaken by vegetation yet. It was strange that the ecological park had suddenly become so empty, and the few of them wouldn¡¯t continue moving until they figured this out. Bai Yi, Heloise and Mavis looked at the park and pondered hard, but as for Woolf, it was better to spare him. Thinking was definitely not his job.


    ¡°This became really dangerous!¡± Bai Yi said, slowly looking at his surroundings.


    ¡°The introduction of activated cells would definitely completely destroy the original food chain in the natural world. We don¡¯t know what would happen to the organisms in the future, but just the Binging Stage now would ruin the entire food chain. That frightening hunger and appetite would cause various animals to hunt and eat each other, resulting in a great number of animals dying and being eaten by the small minority in a short period of time.¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t wait for Woolf to question him and started to explain.


    ¡°The ecological park is so quiet because¡­ a great majority of the animals are already eaten. Under the same reasoning, the animals that are still alive must be those that evolved to become the peak predators in the food chain.¡± Bai Yi said while his right hand held the handgun and his left hand grabbed onto the hilt of the broadsword.


    ¡°They¡¯re coming!¡± Bai Yi¡¯s eyes looked towards the left, where a bunch of small black shadows were rapidly approaching them.


    ¡°What are those!¡±


    ¡°Run!¡± Bai Yi saw the black shadows, and though he couldn¡¯t clearly what they were, he very decisively gave the command because the group of black shadows looked like a swarm of bees. Even if it wasn¡¯t a bee swarm, it would be something similar. To the few of them now, it was definitely something extremely dangerous.


    ¡°Over there to that building!¡± Bai Yi pointed to a small house in the middle of the ecological park.


    The rest of them immediately followed. Even Woolf, whose confidence had boosted greatly recently did not have any objections. If a few meter tall monster appeared, then he might¡¯ve had the confidence to clash with it, but with such a big group of bee-like creatures, he wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with them even if he had a few more limbs.


    The few of them ran crazily, and the black cloud behind rapidly closed in on them.


    Bai Yi was the first to barge inside the house and rapidly dashed to the nearest window. Behind Bai Yi, the rest of them followed closely behind him, and Woolf, who was last, slammed the door shut. The moment the door closed, numerous ¡®Pa Pa Pa Pa¡¯ sounds like nails banging on the door rang out. The entire door was shaking nonstop from all the collisions, and their hearts sped up in fear of the door getting broken.


    Such great power!


    ¡°Go inside, the window won¡¯t hold!¡± Bai Yi saw how violent the banging was and immediately made his judgement. Those small creatures were just following their path and banging on the door. When they try to find another way later, the window definitely wouldn¡¯t stop them.


    They immediately ran inside the room, and with Woolf¡¯s huge size, he almost couldn¡¯t squeeze inside. Not long after entering the room, everyone heard the sound of the window glass breaking. Then there was a dense buzzing sound, and immediately after that were the sounds of numerous impacts on the door again. Only after a long while did the sound outside slowly disappear.


    Only then did everyone ease up slightly and have the spare attention to observe the room they were in.


    ¡°This is a mini-observation room!¡± Heloise looked around and ascertained. Bai Yi also looked around the room to see if there was anything useful. However, this place was really quite simple, and he couldn¡¯t find anything.


    ¡°What are those things outside?¡± Woolf asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but it looked like a bee swarm.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll take a look, a few probably died from the collisions.¡± Woolf said as he went to open the door.


    ¡°Wait, open a small crack first!¡± Bai Yi said to Woolf and gestured for Heloise and Mavis to move away. At this time, Bai Yi walked right beside the door and raised the broadsword in his right hand. ¡°Close the door immediately if there¡¯s anything!¡± Bai Yi said to Woolf and nodded his approval.


    Seeing Bai Yi being so cautious, Woolf couldn¡¯t help but be careful as well, and he cautiously opened the door. The door slowly opened wider and wider. It seemed like the small creatures just now had already flown away. The moment Woolf wanted to relax, the buzzing sound suddenly appeared again. Recalling Bai Yi¡¯s words, he immediately tried to shut the door and at this moment Bai Yi also focused his eyes and the broadsword cut down like a ray of light.


    ¡®Pom!¡¯ the door was shut by Woolf again and at this moment Bai Yi already shifted himself quickly in front of Mavis.


    I didn¡¯t get everything!


    The moment Bai Yi¡¯s broadsword fell, he realised he missed two, and immediately placed himself in front of Mavis. Mavis was the doctor here, so everyone had to prioritise protecting her.


    Two small shadows shot over like bullets, and Bai Yi instantly moved his sword vertically in front of him.


    With a soft ¡®chi!¡¯, one of them just happened to ram into the edge of the sword, and the sharp blade instantly sliced it in half. Bai Yi twisted his head at this moment; the blood splattered a trail of his face, and his changing irises completely captured the process of the small bird being cut in half in detail. However, the remaining one sped past him and Bai Yi instantly raised his left hand to intercept it. The small shadow instantly started spinning and landed on Bai Yi¡¯s palm.


    ¡®Puchi!¡¯, Bai Yi and Mavis let out a groan at the same time.


    The small shadow pierced through Bai Yi¡¯s palm and landed on Mavis¡¯ thigh. Just like a drill, the small shadow dug deeply into her thigh.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡± Bai Yi said to Mavis and instantly switched to a reverse grip, the tip of the blade viciously stabbing into the bloody hole in her thigh before stopping the blade by force. After Bai Yi¡¯s stab, the thing spinning in Mavis¡¯ thigh finally stopped moving and apparently died from his blade.


    In this short moment, Woolf and Heloise hadn¡¯t even begun to react. Only now did they realise just how big the difference was between them and Bai Yi. It wasn¡¯t about absolute strength, but the ability to adapt and react to sudden situations.


    With only a few movements, although it wasn¡¯t clashing with some giant monster, Bai Yi was still breathing rapidly as cold sweat dripped down. The few of them saw how Bai Yi was, and knew that his injuries were affected again. Woolf and Heloise wanted to say something, but Bai Yi waved his hand, indicating that he was fine, just that it was really hard to act with this injury-ridden body.


    Only now could everyone look at the thing that was killed by Bai Yi on the floor.


    It was very small, about the same size as a bee, but it had a long and sharp beak that was almost the same size as its body.


    ¡°It¡¯s a hummingbird¡­ sword-billed hummingbird!¡± Heloise instantly recognised it. Of course, these hummingbirds were very different from normal sword-billed hummingbirds. All of them took a few more looks, and found that even though they were all sword-billed hummingbirds, there were still differences between them. Apparently, even if the genes they fused with were the same, how it manifested on their bodies would still be different.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Doctor Mavis, I didn¡¯t protect you well!¡± Protecting the medical personnel was everybody¡¯s responsibility.


    Looking at how Mavis and the hummingbird¡¯s blood mixed together, everyone knew that she had definitely fused with the hummingbird genes. Luckily, from their analysis before, hummingbird genes weren¡¯t too bad. It could improve the speed at which her nerves and muscles reacted, just that they didn¡¯t know how much they would improve by.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, isn¡¯t the hummingbird gene one of the genes we were considering?¡± Mavis waved her hand too.


    Mavis had heard much from them during this period of time, but she still hadn¡¯t been in any battles with evolved lifeforms, so she was still in shock. Although Bai Yi didn¡¯t manage to protect her perfectly just now, his reaction and movements in that moment were simply astonishing. Mavis felt that she couldn¡¯t even do one tenth of what Bai Yi did, she had completely forgotten to even dodge.


    Mavis didn¡¯t use the anaesthesia, as things like that were extremely valuable now. Her body trembled while she extracted the hummingbird corpse from the bloody hole in her leg, and instantly sucked in a breath of cold air.


    Heloise brought out a test tube from the case beside Mavis, intending to put the dead hummingbird inside it. Collecting genes from various useful organisms was the purpose of this trip.


    ¡°Wait, take this one!¡± Bai Yi said to Heloise and pointed to the one that avoided Bai Yi¡¯s first slash but slammed itself onto his blade in the end.


    ¡°Although they are all hummingbirds, this one was the most threatening just now. Maybe its genes are of superior quality.¡± Bai Yi explained.


    There was still something like superior quality? The rest of them immediately started chuckling upon hearing his words.

 Chapter 49

    ¡°But if you are talking about superior breed, isn¡¯t the one that wounded you and Doctor Mavis stronger?¡± Heloise asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that. Just now both birds dodged my first strike, but I suddenly felt at that moment that this one was a greater threat, so I moved to stop it. The second one only took advantage of the situation. I have a feeling that the one that rammed into my sword was a little stronger, though¡­ it¡¯s just a feeling, so I have no basis behind it.¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°S-sorry! It¡¯s all my fault, if only I didn¡¯t open the door!¡± Woolf was at quite at a loss.


    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, I let you open the door. It¡¯s my miscalculation instead; I never expected that these hummingbirds would be so intelligent. They actually knew how to wait in ambush of us.¡± Bai Yi looked at Woolf blaming himself and patted his arm to console him.


    ¡°Bai Yi, what did you say just now?¡± Heloise suddenly asked when she heard Bai Yi.


    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, I let you open the door. It¡¯s my miscalculation instead; I never expected that these hummingbirds would be so intelligent. They actually knew how to wait in ambush of us.¡± From just a look at Heloise¡¯s expression, Bai Yi could guess that she¡¯d thought of something and immediately repeated himself again. Woolf wanted to say something, but Bai Yi waved his hand at him, warning him not to disturb Heloise at this time. This rare moment of inspiration could result in some very important information.


    ¡°Intelligent. Yes, these evolved lifeforms are too intelligent!¡± Heloise finally said to everybody excitedly after thinking for a moment.


    ¡°Bai Yi, I noticed recently that Sharpei seems to be able to understand human speech. Was he always so intelligent?¡± Heloise asked.


    ¡°Actually, Sharpei has always been very smart, and it seems to be able to understand what Momo says. But now that you mention it, Sharpei really seems to have become more intelligent.¡± Bai Yi suddenly recalled how Sharpei got the other dog that they met on the way to Otorohanga Middle School to back off.


    ¡°Actually, it isn¡¯t just Sharpei. Even Little Warner¡¯s pet pig, don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s a little too intelligent?¡±


    Everyone immediately thought of the two pets in their team. Normally they just thought that both Sharpei and Pupu were quite smart and they didn¡¯t mess around like normal animals. However, now that Heloise mentioned it, it really seemed like they were extremely intelligent. However, wasn¡¯t it a good thing? If the pets were smarter then it would be easier to control them, otherwise it would be troublesome if they ran amok.


    ¡°Activated cells!¡± Bai Yi said gravely.


    ¡°En, activated cells!¡± Heloise.


    ¡°Just what are you guys talking about?¡± Woolf asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s the influence of the activated cells. We have concluded so far that activated cells have 3 abilities ¨C 1. Activated Capabilities, 2. Gene Fusion, 3. Chain Infection. If my deduction is correct, then we have to add another ability to that¡­¡± Heloise looked at Woolf¡¯s blank face and explained.


    ¡°Becoming smarter!¡±


    ¡°Intelligence enhancement!¡±


    ¡°Awakened Intelligence!¡±


    The three of them spoke at the same time. although they didn¡¯t say the same thing, the meanings of it were the same.


    ¡°Really, activated cells still have this capability? Why don¡¯t I feel anything?¡± Woolf couldn¡¯t help but scratch his head and said dumbly after hearing the three of them.


    ¡°You can¡¯t be saved, really, even the power of activated cells can¡¯t make you smarter!¡± Bai Yi joked.


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Everyone immediately burst out laughing after hearing Bai Yi.


    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s just record this down as a guess of ours. As for whether it¡¯s true or not, we¡¯ll find out after we encounter other evolved lifeforms in the future.¡± Bai Yi said.


    At this time, Mavis had already finished wrapping up the wound on her thigh. From the start till end Mavis didn¡¯t speak much, but she didn¡¯t whine and cry like what a normal girl would do. Mavis, who had already lived to middle age, had plenty of life experience which caused her to become more mature and calm.


    ¡°Give me your left hand!¡± Mavis said to Bai Yi.


    ¡°En!¡±


    ¡°Your left hand has really been through many calamities, really, do you not want your left hand anymore?¡± Mavis looked at Bai Yi¡¯s left hand and said. A single sentence left Bai Yi speechless, ever since Te Awamutu his left hand had been continuously getting injured. His left arm even fractured in the battle against Yu Han a few days ago; now that it got injured it really seemed like he didn¡¯t want his left hand anymore.


    ¡°It couldn¡¯t be helped, hehehe¡­¡± Bai Yi said meekly.


    Very quickly, Bai Yi¡¯s palm was bandaged. He took out the communicator and tested it; the distance wasn¡¯t too far so they could still communicate.


    After the communicator got through, Bai Yi told Hong Qi Hua about their mishap in the ecological park and reminded them to be careful. They had to be wary of not just large animals now, but the smaller animals and insects were just as dangerous.


    After they finished talking, Bai Yi¡¯s group sat quietly inside the mini observation room, not knowing when those hummingbirds would leave.


    ¡°Woolf, you fused with the genes of a dog, so your sense of hearing should¡¯ve increased by a lot. Can you try to listen carefully and see if you hear anything?¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Oh really?¡±


    Woolf was quite taken aback but still followed Bai Yi¡¯s words and listened carefully for any sounds outside the room. After focusing his senses, Woolf realised that he really could hear the sounds outside just like Bai Yi said.


    Woolf placed his dog ears to the door. After a while he slowly turned around and nodded. ¡°I can hear them; they¡¯re still outside. There¡¯s a slight buzzing sound. Weird, why didn¡¯t I notice it just now?¡±


    ¡°I probably can guess why!¡± Bai Yi said, looking at Woolf.


    ¡°After being infected by activated cells and fusing with many genes, our bodies started to change rapidly. Not just in our physical form but in some other areas: strength, speed, senses¡­But in reality, just 10 odd days ago we didn¡¯t have these abilities. Although we¡¯d already changed, the ¡®common sense¡¯ we had in our bodies for the past decades is impeding our ability to display these abilities.¡± Bai Yi stretched out his right hand and clenched his fist.


    ¡°Oh really? That means that we have to practice and familiarize ourselves with our abilities!¡± Heloise and Mavis nodded.


    ¡°En, precisely!¡± Bai Yi nodded too.


    Woolf understood as well after the few of them explained and gave examples in detail. At this time, a long period of time had already passed and based on Woolf¡¯s hearing, the hummingbirds were still waiting for them outside. It was Bai Yi¡¯s group that seemed to have run out of patience first.


    ¡°We can¡¯t continue like this. Even if the hummingbirds leave we¡¯ll still encounter them when we go out later. We must find a way to kill all of them.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Bai Yi, don¡¯t you know knife skills? Just like in the movies, a few lines of light will flash, then all the hummingbirds will fall onto the floor¡­¡± Woolf said.


    ¡°What nonsense are you talking about, my knife skills are from practicing cooking, they¡¯re not something like that.¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry.


    ¡°Then what do we do?¡±


    ¡°Use that!¡± Heloise said, pointing at the curtain in the room.


    ¡°A curtain?¡±


    ¡°Yes, use this. Wrap this over the crack in the door and open the door, those hummingbirds will definitely rush in and get trapped inside the curtain.¡± Heloise nodded.


    ¡°How is that possible? The curtain will be useless, we already saw that the birds were like drills just now.¡± Woolf shook his head.


    ¡°No, it can work!¡± Bai Yi tested the curtain and discovered that the curtain was made of some unknown material; it was abnormally tough and flexible. It should be able to trap those hummingbirds.


    They didn¡¯t have many resources, so even though this method didn¡¯t seem too reliable, they didn¡¯t have much of a choice. They first folded the curtain onto itself and layered it, blocking the crack in the door. Bai Yi then nodded to Woolf.


    Woolf opened the door again, and this time the buzzing noise came in an instant. Multiple sharp protrusions appeared on the curtain that was used to block the door before the protrusions started to twist.


    The curtain was flexible yet tough; it was actually tougher for the birds to break through the curtain than through a hard surface like the glass window.


    Animals originally already had the ability to judge their strengths and weaknesses. After becoming intelligent, the more they wouldn¡¯t fight an enemy they couldn¡¯t win.


    After a few minutes, some of the birds were stuck inside the curtain but the others decided to escape. Only now did the few of them let out breaths of relief and looked at the giant curtain bundle with dozens of hummingbirds inside.


    ¡°What do we do with these guys?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we grill and eat them?¡± Woolf asked.


    ¡°Dream on; hummingbirds are the smallest species of birds in the world. They¡¯re normally around the same size as a bee, and the smallest of them only weigh 2 grams. Look at these hummingbirds. Although they¡¯re a bit bigger, they probably don¡¯t exceed 10 grams. What¡¯re you going to eat from this thing?¡± Bai Yi suddenly felt like Woolf was just like a clown.


    ¡°Er¡­ I just thought that we didn¡¯t have enough food, and that we couldn¡¯t release them either¡­¡± Woolf said awkwardly.


    Bai Yi stretched out his hand and cautiously grabbed hold of a struggling hummingbird inside the curtain bundle. The bird very rapidly flapped its wings trying to escape from Bai Yi¡¯s hand, but to no avail. After a while, the hummingbird completely accepted its fate and didn¡¯t bother to struggle anymore.


    Bai Yi stretched out his index finger and stroked the head of the hummingbird with it, and in the end, he totally released his grip.


    The hummingbird tilted its head and looked at Bai Yi. It then flew to the window ledge and looked at the curtain. Bai Yi felt that he seemed to understand what the hummingbird meant and slowly opened the curtain bundle. The hummingbirds which were initially trapped flew out one by one. The birds looked at Bai Yi¡¯s group for a while and slowly flew away through the crack in the doo

 Chapter 50

    ¡°Bai Yi, you can communicate with them?¡± Not just Woolf, but even Heloise and Mavis were both extremely shocked.


    ¡°Remember our guess just now? Living things that assimilated with activated cells will become ¡®smarter¡¯. In the clash just now, these hummingbirds judged that ¡®they can¡¯t defeat us¡¯. So when I released them, they didn¡¯t continue attacking us either. This can only prove one thing¡­ These hummingbirds are really intelligent!¡± Bai Yi looked at the hummingbirds flying off with a slightly heavy expression on his face.


    Evolved lifeforms becoming more intelligent¡­ they just didn¡¯t know how intelligent would they become.


    ¡°Let¡¯s continue searching for other useful animals.¡± Bai Yi said, and the group of them continued their task.


    These were the considerably useful animals that they¡¯d found in the end. The others were either not too useful or had already become food for other animals. During the Binging Stage, probably more than half of the animals here were already eaten.


    However, what gave the few of them a pleasant surprise was that they found a small garden. Although it was small, many of the plants inside was edible.


    Actually, ever since the activated cells proliferated, they hadn¡¯t really starved yet. Food had always been sufficient, although they hadn¡¯t had vegetables in a long time.


    ¡°This is a Chinese toon, it¡¯s edible, but you can only eat the sprouts.¡± Bai Yi pointed at small tree more than 3 meters tall nearby.


    ¡°Can the leaves also be eaten?¡± Woolf was quite surprised.


    ¡°Of course!¡± Bai Yi said and continued walking inside.


    ¡°This is a dwarf lilyturf. Its stem tuber can be eaten, though it¡¯s normally used in medicine.¡± Bai Yi pointed at a small plant on the floor. Although this was a small garden, there weren¡¯t many types of vegetables that could be consumed in great quantities. Many of the plants were edible, but the volume was too small. Things like sprouts and stuff, other than changing up the taste, couldn¡¯t be used to allay one¡¯s hunger.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t bad, sweet potatoes! Woolf, help me to dig them up!¡± Sweet potatoes were high in starch, so it was definitely much better than sprouts at relieving hunger. Bai Yi said this to Woolf, but found that he had already headed farther inside. Bai Yi didn¡¯t have a choice but to do it himself. Luckily, Heloise and Mavis weren¡¯t so carefree like Woolf was and followed close by. They immediately helped dig up the potatoes, they had to treasure every bit of food they could find now.


    ¡°Bai Yi, this can be eaten, right?¡± Woolf ran back, carrying two giant green beans in his hands.


    ¡°Green beans, everybody knows that they can be eaten!¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll go and pluck more!¡± Woolf said and ran back. Bai Yi watched Woolf¡¯s actions and in that moment, he could only smile helplessly.


    Bai Yi was quite far away so he didn¡¯t realize that the beanstalk was shockingly huge, and the vines curled around each other like a nest of snakes. Woolf had always been eating meat these few days and he was growing tired of it, he immediately headed to the giant beanstalk after seeing the green beans.


    Woolf was completely oblivious to how the vines were slowly closing, surrounding him as he walked past them.


    The few of them were digging the sweet potatoes out when suddenly they heard a loud cry of help from Woolf. The three of them immediately looked over in Woolf¡¯s direction and sprinted over.


    From far away the three of them saw that a few vines had wrapped themselves around Woolf¡¯s body, pulling him towards their center. Woolf¡¯s arms and legs were all bound, and even his greatsword couldn¡¯t be drawn. Seeing the three of them run over, Woolf immediately shouted for them to be careful.


    That should be said to you, you idiot!


    The three of them immediately drew their swords and fiercely hacked away at the thick vines. These vines were as thick as a person¡¯s forearm. Small and thin barbs grew on their surfaces, and they were extremely tough. Luckily, the swords they¡¯d gotten from Old Harvey were sharp, and very quickly they hacked apart many vines. After these vines fell on the floor, they still wriggled as if they had life left in them.


    Not long after, Woolf was rescued successfully, and he immediately wanted to draw his greatsword to vent his anger.


    ¡°Wait, let me check you first!¡± Mavis stopped Woolf from acting.


    ¡°Why? I¡¯m fine! I just got pricked a few times.¡±


    ¡°Just a few pricks can cost your life. Let me check if you don¡¯t want your organs to become a puddle of liquid.¡± Mavis said angrily. Her tone alarmed Woolf greatly. It can¡¯t be¡­ This can kill me too?


    ¡°If I didn¡¯t guess wrongly, this beanstalk has already become a carnivorous plant. There should be some hemolytic poison inside those barbs, which can cause its prey to dissolve from the inside and absorb its nutrients.¡± Bai Yi looked at Mavis¡¯ worried actions and immediately deduced this based on a normal carnivorous plant.


    ¡°That¡¯s precisely the case!¡± Mavis nodded.


    ¡°No! Save me, please save me Doctor Mavis!¡± Woolf instantly started to act pitifully.


    ¡°Stop acting, this poison isn¡¯t too severe. After all, it¡¯s only been 10 odd days since New Zealand changed. However, if you still dare to be so reckless in the future, then I may not be able to save you in the future!¡± Mavis said, and injected Woolf with a shot. Bai Yi looked at the first aid kit; there weren¡¯t many medical supplies left inside of it.


    Bai Yi picked up a green bean on the floor and plucked out a pea. It was extraordinarily plump, and as big as a thumb. Bai Yi put it into his mouth and slowly chewed.


    ¡°Bai Yi, didn¡¯t you say that it was poisonous?¡± Woolf instantly said in shock.


    ¡°Keep quiet you idiot, I know more about food than you.¡± Bai Yi was really helpless in dealing with Woolf.


    ¡°Perhaps due to becoming a carnivorous plant, the nutrients in this green bean is much more abundant than in normal green beans, so it¡¯s a decent source of nourishment.¡± Bai Yi swallowed the pea and concluded.


    ¡°Ok then, didn¡¯t you want to vent? Come, pluck more green beans in addition to the sweet potatoes and Chinese toons. We can make quite a few dishes when we go back.¡± Bai Yi said to Woolf.


    ¡°Leave it to me!¡± Woolf nodded. At this time, Mavis also gestured that Woolf¡¯s body was fine. Woolf immediately grabbed his greatsword and started going crazy. The vines that the three of them took effort to chop broke like pieces of paper in front of Woolf¡¯s overwhelming strength.


    Inside the beanstalk, Woolf saw a big pile of yet-to-be completely dissolved animal bones, and he suddenly felt another wave of fear.


    This beanstalk was extremely huge, and they plucked about half of its green beans. Woolf had initially wanted to kill this beanstalk, but Bai Yi stopped him.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to destroy it completely. Overall, this beanstalk is a decent source of food. Now that all lifeforms in New Zealand have entered the Binging Phase, there definitely isn¡¯t enough meat to go around. We need these fast-growing plants to support the entire New Zealand food chain. Just leave it here. If anybody else comes here after us they can get some food as well.¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°If you say so, but I think the probability of people getting eaten by this beanstalk is greater!¡± Woolf jibed.


    ¡°Are you talking about yourself?¡± Heloise laughed and said.


    ¡°I was just careless, careless!¡± Woolf retorted meekly. Everyone immediately burst out laughing again, and started to look for containers to put the foodstuff in. During this period, the group of hummingbirds flew over again, but this time they only circled nearby for a while, then flew away.


    ¡­¡­


    When night fell, Bai Yi¡¯s group finally returned back the school building. Seeing Bai Yi¡¯s return, Momo and Sharpei both ran over excitedly.


    Hong Qi Hua and the rest also came to help carry the foodstuff that Bai Yi¡¯s group found, and everyone was surprised at the harvest they got. Such a big bag of green beans and sweet potatoes! Even if they were in the Binging Phase, it was enough to eat for two meals.


    ¡°Plants are also evolving. This beanstalk evolved into a carnivorous plant, so everyone needs to be even more careful. The New Zealand in the future will be even more dangerous.¡± Bai Yi reminded everyone.


    Bai Yi only reminded them briefly, as by now everyone had already come to understand the danger they faced. Repeated reminders would just seem like nagging.


    While Bai Yi¡¯s group was gone, Hong Qi Hua and the rest didn¡¯t laze around either. They found the school¡¯s canteen, though the place was in a mess and there weren¡¯t any foodstuff left to be found. However, cookware could still be found, and there was still some gas left as well. Overall, it would be quite a convenient place for them once they tidied it up a bit.


    Everyone got in the cars and changed their location to the left side of the school, right beside the canteen.


    Bai Yi, Heloise, and Sara started to cook a meal using the simple ingredients they¡¯d found, while the rest of them tidied up their things and relaxed. Woolf was just as he always was, chattering noisily and bragging about his ¡®battle accomplishments¡¯. This included the great battle against the evil hummingbirds, and how he slayed the wicked beanstalk.


    The two kids Little Warner and Momo let out gasps of shock from time to time listening to him, making Woolf feel very pleased with himself.


    The rest of them saw Woolf showing off in front of the kids and did not expose him either. With the change in New Zealand, everyone had a lot of stress piled up in their hearts. If there wasn¡¯t anything to relieve this stress, then it would crush them sooner or later. Fortunately, everyone was glad that the people in the team were all good people. No matter what the world turned into, they would definitely be able to stay strong and pull through!


    Definitely!


    ¡°Food¡¯s ready!¡± Bai Yi shouted at the bunch of people.


    ¡°En!¡± Momo and Sharpei reacted first, even at home these two were absolute gluttons. The two of them ran towards Bai Yi while the others smiled and followed behind them.


    The lights were switched on, which was still all thanks to Otorohanga Middle School¡¯s independent power generator and the aroma of the food wafted through the canteen. Although the facilities and tools were basic, Bai Yi was still a chef. Doing his best to let people eat delicious food was the job of a chef.


    The group of them gathered around, eating delicious food and chatting with each other, carrying relaxed smiles on their faces.


    People who could sit together and enjoy delicious food had always been true friends!

 Chapter 51

    After finishing their meal, everyone gathered around a table with the animals that Bai Yi¡¯s group had found earlier in the day on it. An ant, hummingbird, centipede, spider¡­ and a cat. The cat was something that Hong Qi Hua¡¯s group found in the school building, and it had quite a few characteristics of a mouse on it. A mouse-cat? Anyway, it looked extremely fierce.


    Although all of them agreed on the active gene fusion plan, at this moment they all remained silent. Bai Yi wanted to take the lead, but he couldn¡¯t fuse with genes from other organisms now, so it was useless even if he tried.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go first!¡± Hong Qi Hua spoke.


    ¡°I¡¯ll fuse with the genes first and we can wait for two days. We can officially execute our plan after we¡¯ve confirmed that it¡¯s workable.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? Active fusion of genes is something everybody agreed to, how can we only let you take the risk? If we want to fuse with the genes, we will do it together.¡± Woolf said. Although Woolf was quite dense normally, he was quite forthright at this time.


    ¡°Woolf is right, how can we let you take the risk alone? Let¡¯s do it together.¡± Heloise nodded as well.


    ¡°Ok let¡¯s just do it this way then, everybody will fuse with the genes. The first gene that we recommended is the ant gene, so everybody will fuse with this. As for the other genes, you can make your own choices.¡± Bai Yi said as well.


    ¡°How do we do this?¡± Sara asked, and everyone turned to look at Martin.


    ¡°Very simple, you just need to be in contact with its fluids.¡± Martin said.


    Fluid contact was really quite simple. In the end, Mavis used a few syringes to extract fluids from the animals. She then poked a small hole on each person¡¯s arm and dripped a drop of the fluid from the animal they¡¯d chosen onto it.


    Everyone fused with the genes of an ant, and Hong Qi Hua chose the genes of the hummingbird and cat in addition to it. Sara and Heloise also chose the genes of a cat because they saw how Ning Xue looked like. Although they were still fusing with genes from other organisms, looking like a cat-girl was still easier for them to accept.


    Martin chose the spider genes to fuse with in addition to the ant genes. This guy, was he looking for novelty?


    Little Warner looked at Hong Qi Hua and also followed her decision of an ant, hummingbird and cat. Khina only wanted him to follow Hong Qi Hua on the journey, but unexpectedly he even followed her on the choices of genes to fuse with.


    Bai Yi and Momo decided to try as well. Bai Yi wanted to see if he and Momo were really unable to fuse with genes from other lifeforms.


    After everyone completed their procedures, they looked at each other for a while and started to laugh. It would definitely not be like this if it were only Hong Qi Hua who took the initiative to fuse with genes. This was the so-called ¡®enjoying fortune and going through difficulty together¡¯ (TN: Chinese idiom as well!). No matter what the end result was after gene fusion, everybody was in this together and developed a sense of camaraderie.


    ¡°Now, let¡¯s summarize everything so far and record it down on the laptop and a notebook. However, I hope that everyone will still remember everything in your heart. Who¡¯s willing to do this and copy everything down in the notebook?¡± Bai Yi said to everybody after they had finished laughing.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it, I¡¯m already used to writing medical notes back at the hospital.¡± Mavis said. Bai Yi nodded. This place was a school, so they very quickly found a thick notebook and a few pens.


    ¡°Why do we still need a notebook?¡±


    ¡°Electronics are too fragile considering what we have to face in the future, so it¡¯s better to have a physical notebook to record things down.¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°No one knows what New Zealand will change into in the future, other than those researchers who specialized in this¡­ Or rather I should say, even those researchers who developed the activated cells wouldn¡¯t know what New Zealand will be like in the future.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Although the future has always been unknown, opportunities will always be left to those who are prepared. Now that all of us are in a team now, we must all work hard together. Hong Qi Hua, you use the laptop to organise the notes first before passing it to Mavis for copying.¡± Bai Yi said to Hong Qi Hua and Mavis. Although Mavis always had an aura of a strong and independent woman and Bai Yi would normally be quite timid around her, he didn¡¯t show any apprehension this time.


    This was the attitude of a real leader!


    ¡°I won¡¯t repeat the things we discovered in the past. What I want to talk about is the thing we found out today. This is just a guess, so I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s correct.¡±


    ¡°1) Due to binge eating and gene fusion, the food chain in New Zealand is completely destroyed. Various organisms are dying quickly en masse due to them preying on each other for food, and a big portion is already gone. Under the same reasoning, the organisms that are still alive would probably be the more powerful ones. 2) Plants that got infected by activated cells are also rapidly growing and mutating. This may be the cornerstone that will sustain the food chain of New Zealand. 3) Organisms that got infected by activated cells would have a great increase in its intelligence even if they are not humans. They can already begin to understand simple instructions and meanings. 4) After fusing with genes from other organisms, the host body will undergo great changes, but due to the ¡®common sense¡¯ developed throughout their lives, they would not be able to completely make use of their abilities. It would take time to familiarize with and control these abilities.¡± Bai Yi listed out the four things that they found today.


    ¡°Anybody who has questions can speak.¡± Bai Yi looked at everyone.


    ¡°These four things¡­¡± Although everyone was shocked, they still raised the questions that they had. Bai Yi replied based on his own understanding on things, and at the same time let everyone think about them for themselves, discovering and deducing even finer details.


    ¡°What I mean by ¡®common sense¡¯ that we developed throughout our lives, ah¡­¡± Bai Yi explained to Woolf again at the end. This idiot, he just couldn¡¯t remember.


    ¡°To put it simply, you don¡¯t have any wings now. If the bald eagle genes that you fused with really let you grow wings, do you think you can start flying immediately? Even for a normal person it takes a period of time for them to learn how to drive a car, what more an ability that you did not have in the first place? Do you understand what I mean now?¡± Bai Yi looked at Woolf, but only saw a pair of wide, innocent, and watery eyes.


    ¡°Idiot, if you don¡¯t understand then forget about it.¡± Bai Yi gave up.


    ¡°Heloise, can you explain to me?¡± Woolf suddenly said.


    Heloise was surprised for a moment after hearing Woolf and then smiled while sitting beside him. Bai Yi just felt like laughing looking at him. This idiot, his acting was so obvious. He clearly understood everything in the afternoon, only he could use this kind of method to try and woo a girl. However, looking at Heloise, she didn¡¯t seem to reject him.


    ¡°After that, everyone take out your swords!¡± After he finished laughing, Bai Yi suddenly said to everybody.


    Everyone was quite taken aback but took out and held the swords that they chose from Old Harvey¡¯s storeroom in their hands. Momo was only four years old, but Bai Yi did not try to help her at this moment but let her clumsily take down the half meter long blade from her back.


    ¡°I guess all of you should be curious. Why did I make everybody pick a sword?¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Although you guys should have more or less guessed the reason already, I still want to talk about it.¡±


    ¡°The first reason is that bullets are limited. Unless we manage to find a military weapon store, it would be difficult to replenish our bullets in New Zealand now.¡±


    ¡°The second reason is that the propelling force behind guns is from machinery and gunpowder, so the power of these weapons is fixed. If it were before, these guns would definitely be lethal weapons to all lifeforms on Earth, but now as humans and evolved lifeforms grow more powerful, the threat of these weapons would only become smaller and smaller. However, cold weapons are different. How much power cold weapons can display is dependent on their users. If it were before, cold weapons would definitely be incomparable to hot weapons, but now as our basic abilities grow, cold weapons will be able to display unimaginable power.¡± Bai Yi said and drew his broadsword.


    Everyone looked at Bai Yi, and at this moment he measured the distance between him and the table in front of him with his broadsword. Everyone could see that his broadsword was about 20 centimeters away from the table.


    Gradually, they saw Bai Yi raise his sword, the muscles on his arm tensed and the blade abruptly shot out, with a hum it cut through the air and stopped.


    With a soft ¡®kacha!¡¯, a 10+ centimeter long scratch instantly appeared on the surface of the table. The scratch wasn¡¯t deep at all and it wouldn¡¯t even be noticeable normally. However, everyone saw with their own eyes the scene of Bai Yi swinging his sword.


    It didn¡¯t touch!


    The closest point on Bai Yi¡¯s broadsword was at least 20 centimeters away from the surface of the table.


    After swinging the sword, Bai Yi¡¯s face changed colour and his body trembled. Sara immediately wanted to go over and support him.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it just affected my old injuries. I¡¯ll be more careful.¡± Bai Yi declined Sara¡¯s support.


    ¡°Chinese Kung Fu!!¡± Woolf instantly opened his eyes wide.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t some Chinese Kung Fu, but a way of using the body¡¯s physical strength after it reaches a certain point. Vacuum strike. (TN: the author used Õ¶»÷, which means slash strike, but it isn¡¯t exactly just a slash so I¡¯m going to call it vacuum strike. Open to suggestions too if anybody has better ideas for names!) In ancient times when heavy emphasis was put on cold weapons, this wasn¡¯t much of a secret. Using the high-speed swing of a sword to move the air in front of it, it could form a vacuum-like strike. I thought the old man was just joking in the past, but unexpectedly I really managed to grasp the border of this technique now.¡± Bai Yi slowly explained and waved his hand.


    ¡°Everyone saw that in my movements just now, my broadsword didn¡¯t touch the surface of the table at all, but it still managed to create a scratch on the table. The scratch I made is quite small now. A child casually running a knife through the table could make a deeper scratch, but it proves a great possibility. Cold weapons to people like us who assimilated with activated cells will soon produce previously unimaginable power.¡±


    ¡°Next, what I want to tell you guys is¡­¡±


    ¡°The skill of knife!¡± (TN: Woolf literally just said ¡®the skill of knife¡¯ in English here)


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Woolf kept interrupting Bai Yi in his excitement. Bai Yi couldn¡¯t help but to be dejected and droop his head.


    ¡°Shut up, you.¡± Although Bai Yi sounded like he was scolding him, his face was actually quite helpless. In reality Bai Yi wasn¡¯t really angry either.

 Chapter 52

    ¡°This isn¡¯t some sword skill, what kind of society are we in now? How can there be something like that? Let me tell you, this isn¡¯t a sword skill or some secret technique. If you think that this like the flashy sword techniques you see in movies or anime then you are dead wrong. This is just something an old man blindly developed through luck. I personally feel that this may be useful so I¡¯m telling you guys about it.¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°That old man called this thing¡­ blade force!¡± Bai Yi said as his broadsword split through the air, and abruptly stopped at a spot.


    ¡°This is the most basic blade force!¡±


    Most basic blade force?


    Everyone stared at Bai Yi¡¯s movements, but after looking for awhile none of them understood what was going on. This so-called most basic thing, it couldn¡¯t be that it was just a downward strike? Bai Yi saw the blank looks on their faces and suddenly felt like laughing. To think back, he followed that old man for the sake of culinary skills but ended up learning a bunch of nonsensical stuff.


    Hong Qi Hua stared at Bai Yi¡¯s movements, and suddenly her eyes lit up. Complete stillness!


    ¡°Is it stillness?¡±


    ¡°Finally, somebody could see it. That¡¯s right, this is the most basic blade force control. If you can¡¯t even keep your sword completely still, then there¡¯s no need to think about the rest.¡± Bai Yi said and demonstrated again. His right hand held the sword horizontally in the air, still without a single hint of movement.


    Hong Qi Hua drew her own short knife, and held it horizontally in the air. Her two knives were not even 25 centimeters long, and their weight was very light too. It was completely incomparable to Bai Yi¡¯s broadsword. However, when she raised her knife horizontally in the air she immediately realised that her muscles were trembling involuntarily. This wasn¡¯t due to fatigue or that it was too heavy, but it was the automatic trembling of her muscles. It wasn¡¯t obvious but definitely existed.


    Everyone started to raise their own swords after seeing Hong Qi Hua¡¯s actions. Just like Hong Qi Hua, everyone immediately discovered that their arms were shaking slightly when holding the sword. No matter how they changed the position, this kind of shaking was always there.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t tell the rest of them how to train this, but beckoned to Momo.


    ¡°Momo, you try too!¡±


    Momo looked at Bai Yi, and after a moment she cheerfully nodded her head.


    ¡°En!¡± Momo replied tenderly and clumsily took out the short sword that Bai Yi picked for her. Her short sword was also a straight-edged blade like Bai Yi¡¯s broadsword. It was only half a meter long but to Momo it was just like a long sword. She even needed both hands to be able to hold onto the hilt. Bai Yi similarly did not tell Momo what to do, but just stood there and watched Momo clumsily fiddle with her short sword.


    Sharpei stood watching by the side when it suddenly opened its mouth wide and yawned. It then continued laying down on the floor and stared at the rest of them lazily. The pet pig Pupu similarly laid on the ground with its fat and round body a distance away from Sharpei. Just as Bai Yi said, animals that assimilated with activated cells would become more intelligent¡­ even if it was a pig.


    After a while, Bai Yi smiled looking at Momo¡¯s watery eyes, and taught her how to hold the sword properly. Bai Yi only looked at the rest after Momo learned how to hold onto the short sword. Only Hong Qi Hua wasn¡¯t distracted by his actions just now, and she continued to hold her knife straight, both eyes focusing on the movements of her arm.


    ¡°It still isn¡¯t completely still. Even if it looks completely still, it¡¯s just your eyes lying to you. What you guys need to grasp is the fine control over every single contraction of your muscles.¡± Bai Yi pressed down on Hong Qi Hua¡¯s knife with his broadsword.


    Hong Qi Hua immediately discovered that her knife had stopped moving. However, it didn¡¯t feel like the stillness that came from leaning on an object for support. It felt more like Bai Yi¡¯s movements were adjusting themselves based on the movements of her muscles. However, the result of this kind of interaction was actually absolute stillness, making it feel extremely strange.


    Everyone looked over, and Bai Yi demonstrated it on them one by one. After that, he went to sit down feeling slightly tired. An injured body was really too troublesome, it couldn¡¯t even last through that bit of activity.


    ¡°I hope you guys understand that though I made you guys choose swords, it¡¯s not necessary that you guys must use swords.¡±


    ¡°Then what do we use?¡±


    ¡°Use your body!¡±


    ¡°A blade is just an extension of your body. What I hope you guys can grasp is the gradually increasing power of your body. If you guys want to, it doesn¡¯t matter if you want to use an axe, club or even your empty fist. Fundamentally, it¡¯s fine as long as you guys can grasp and display the powerful strength within your bodies. As for why I made you guys choose a sword, it¡¯s just because a sword is more easily obtainable. Moreover, having a weapon at this stage is definitely better than being empty-handed.¡±


    Everyone slowly nodded as they heard Bai Yi¡¯s words, each having their own thoughts.


    ¡°Uncle Bai, you¡¯re a chef right? Does a chef need to learn so many things?¡± Hong Qi Hua asked curiously. The rest of them looked over as well, if chefs were really that awesome then how can the other professions survive?


    ¡°Ah¡­ hahahaha!¡± Bai Yi heard and couldn¡¯t help but to laugh awkwardly.


    ¡°Of course it isn¡¯t like that, probably only that old man is so crazy. The old man that I¡¯m talking about is the master that taught me cooking, he was active in the 90s. At that time, the old wuxia novels were very popular, and the old man was also crazy over it. He then somehow blindly developed a set of ¡®blade techniques¡¯. Of course, he didn¡¯t become some expert pugilist, in the end he just became a chef that wasn¡¯t too good nor too lousy. Later when I learnt the culinary arts from him, he forced me to learn a bunch of nonsensical things.¡± Bai Yi explained to the rest of them after laughing.


    ¡°However, at that time I was pretty diligent in learning those things, and I still thought that I¡¯d met some legendary expert.¡± Bai Yi seemed to have suddenly recalled something and laughed.


    ¡°Oh, what happened?¡± The others couldn¡¯t help but smile as well.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably just my own wuxia dream. Before I started learning cooking I happened to watch a movie by Stephen Chow, I forgot the name of the movie but it¡¯s the one with Buddha¡¯s Divine Palm (I think he¡¯s probably talking about Kung Fu Hustle directed by Stephen Chow, it¡¯s a martial arts comedy film and pretty awesome). My dad said that my grades weren¡¯t good, so I might as well learn to be a chef. I was initially very unwilling, but when I found out that the master I was going to learn from was a legendary ¡®expert¡¯, you can imagine how excited I was at that time.¡± Bai Yi said and couldn¡¯t help but laugh to himself.


    As long as you were in China, who didn¡¯t have a wuxia dream? Especially to Bai Yi then, at the age of 15 years old, how could he not be excited to the point of death meeting a legendary expert?


    Hong Qi Hua heard this, also covered her mouth, and laughed.


    The rest of them definitely couldn¡¯t understand, but Hong Qi Hua as a Chinese could understand the wuxia fantasy that was in the bones of the Chinese people.


    No matter how strange this ¡®blade force¡¯ of Bai Yi¡¯s was, it was still pretty useful to them now. Maybe it didn¡¯t have that kind of shocking destructive power like in the movies, but looking at Bai Yi¡¯s extremely delicate and fine control over knives, they could tell that this was still useful.


    Bai Yi continued to explain for a few hours, this so-called ¡®blade force¡¯ wasn¡¯t just simply absolute stillness, but there were still some other aspects to it. Actually, to put it plainly, it was neither difficult nor mysterious. It was just about extremely delicate and fine control over blades. People before didn¡¯t pay attention to this because there was no need to. Who would practice sword skills in modern society?


    Bai Yi explained till his mouth was dry. These theories had very strong Chinese influences on them so only Hong Qi Hua could understand them completely. After translating them to English, they just seemed to be incongruous, so he wasn¡¯t sure if the rest of them could understand what he¡¯d said.


    Seeing that Momo had already started dozing off, Bai Yi stopped his explanation and let everyone go to sleep.


    ¡­¡­


    It was late at night. Everyone laid down simple mattresses in two neighbouring classrooms and prepared to sleep. The food in the school was all taken away, but things like blankets could still be found in the student hostels. In this kind of environment now, they couldn¡¯t expect too much.


    ¡°Daddy!¡± Momo pulled on Bai Yi¡¯s right hand. For as long as she can remember, Momo had always slept with Bai Yi. Now that they had to sleep separately, Momo was quite uneasy.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, follow older sister Hong Qi Hua and the others, but you must remember one thing¡­¡± Bai Yi quietly moved himself beside her ear. ¡°Don¡¯t wet the bed, ok?¡±


    Momo¡¯s cheeks instantly became red, and the soft fur that grew on her face swayed about.


    ¡°I, I won¡¯t!¡± Momo didn¡¯t seem to have much confidence when saying this.


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Bai Yi couldn¡¯t help but laugh seeing Momo like this. The others heard Bai Yi¡¯s laughter and didn¡¯t know what he was laughing about. Hong Qi Hua walked over and looked at Bai Yi and Momo in puzzlement. Bai Yi of course wouldn¡¯t spread his daughter¡¯s embarrassing incident out at this time. This was a secret between them!


    ¡°Nothing important, I have to depend on you to take care of Momo then.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Sharpei, you follow them too. Be on guard!¡± Bai Yi said to Sharpei. It was now 1.5 meters long, and the huge Sharpei already seemed to be extremely fierce and sinister.


    ¡°Woof!¡± Sharpei barked and followed Hong Qi Hua to the girl¡¯s classroom. Apparently, Sharpei really could understand Bai Yi¡¯s words now. When Hong Qi Hua brought Momo to the other classroom, Bai Yi returned to the classroom where the guys slept. Entering the room, Woolf sneakily came up beside Bai Yi and said softly in glee: ¡°My blanket definitely belonged to a girl, I can smell a sweet scent!¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­!¡± Bai Yi was speechless, Woolf, this guy.


    ¡°Idiot, everything here was taken from the female hostel.¡± Martin sneered. The two of them started to quarrel again, but after a short while they seemed to begin talking about something sneakily again. Occasionally he could hear Martin¡¯s pleased voice with words such as ¡®bra¡¯ and ¡®lace¡¯. Bai Yi didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry hearing all this on the side, but he too added in a few words from time to time.


    The female hostel had always been man¡¯s fantasy!

 Chapter 53

    Nothing much happened that night, and everyone prepared to set off in the morning after washing up. The only incident was how Woolf¡¯s toothbrush became quite useless. He held the toothbrush in his hands, not knowing how to go about brushing his huge terrifying alligator-like mouth.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± In the end he got angry for no reason and smashed the tap.


    Irritable!


    Bai Yi looked at Woolf and observed his actions. Woolf was being slightly irritable lately, was it because there was too much stress lately, or perhaps¡­ Anyway, this was a problem. As their bodies grew bigger, the daily items they usually used became unsuitable for their body size and shape. For example, for Woolf it was not only the toothbrush but even his clothes were made out of a few pieces of clothing sewn together.


    ¡°Come on, calm down and just roughly washup. We need to set off soon.¡± Bai Yi patted Woolf¡¯s back and said.


    ¡°En, got it.¡± Woolf nodded and some of his irritability gradually faded away.


    Bai Yi saw that Woolf had calmed down and didn¡¯t say anything more, but a slight wariness slowly grew in his heart. The naming of the phases by the researchers weren¡¯t just for fun, an important criterion for being a researcher was being realistic and practical. If LV1-1 meant binge eating in the Binging Phase, then the violence in LV1-2 Brutal Phase would definitely appear as well.


    ¡­¡­


    Along the way, no other monsters appeared, and they smoothly drove along the road to enter the next city. They encountered a few car accidents along the way, but it became completely normal to them by now. The moment they entered the edge of the city, the sky started to drizzle and caused the entire Te Kuiti to appear extremely shady.


    Te Kuiti was located in a small basin surrounded by small hills. Due to the geographical limitations of this place, it was also not a big city.


    It was very quiet; the four cars gradually drove through Te Kuiti and they didn¡¯t even find the slightest trace of any living things. Not only were there no evolved lifeforms, but there weren¡¯t even any signs of humans.


    ¡°Weird, there shouldn¡¯t be any experimental monsters in Te Kuiti? There aren¡¯t any signs of large-scale destruction either, where¡¯s everybody?¡± Sara asked through the communicator.


    ¡°This is a city! It¡¯s normal to have nobody around.¡± Bai Yi replied.


    ¡°Why? Shouldn¡¯t there be more people in a city?¡±


    ¡°That¡­ was in the past. A normal city definitely has more people, but it is different now. Due to the Binging Phase, all the food was rapidly consumed so there¡¯s nobody left in the city now.¡±


    ¡°Let me put it this way, a normal city is usually made up of consumers and not producers. For the sake of keeping food fresh, food is kept flowing and circulating. Normally, all the food stock in a city won¡¯t be kept for more than a week.¡±


    ¡°A week? So short?¡± Sara was not the only one surprised and the rest of them also made sounds of disbelief through the communicator.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen the things in the supermarket many times before, it doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯s only sufficient for a week?¡± Heloise also added.


    ¡°That¡¯s why I said food stock inside a city is kept flowing. The abundance of food you guys see normally is because food is constantly being imported and replenished from outside, such as from farms and gardens. However, it is different now. New Zealand underwent a great change and this supply chain had long been disrupted. Without the replenishment from outside, the city is just purely a steel forest. Even the dumbest person would gradually leave this place when they find that there¡¯s no more food to be found in the city. They would head for places like the rural farms, croplands, and even the forest where humans do not usually visit.¡±


    ¡°Hence, that is why the city is this quiet now. There¡¯s definitely still people remaining here, but it won¡¯t be many.¡± Bai Yi concluded.


    ¡°So that¡¯s what happened, it¡¯s like that.¡±


    ¡°But Bai Yi, I really couldn¡¯t tell, but you really know a lot, huh?¡± The latter half of Sara¡¯s sentence caused her true colours to be shown, casually teasing Bai Yi.


    ¡°I¡¯m a chef, I just know some things related to food.¡± Bai Yi said nonchalantly.


    What Bai Yi didn¡¯t say was that this city just appeared to be quiet on the surface. Now that order had completely broken down in New Zealand, nobody knew what was happening underneath. There were a lot of records detailing what happened during famines in ancient China.


    Since they didn¡¯t encounter anything along the way, they didn¡¯t stop in this city but continued onto the next city.


    The next city was Taumarunui; the city was really far away, as far as the distance from Hamilton to Te Kuiti. Moreover, this path wasn¡¯t like the one they¡¯d taken previously where there were cities in between to replenish their supplies. Fortunately, along the way there were various households and small farms.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Martin, help me stop it! This guy can feed us for a few days!¡± Woolf shouted and chased after an ancient beast-like ¡®cow¡¯.


    All the living things in New Zealand got infected with the activated cells and their body size grew greatly. However, just like Bai Yi said, the ¡®common sense¡¯ these creatures had of their bodies previously impeded their ability to display their true power. For animals like cows, goats and horses, even though they grew greatly to become like monsters, a portion of them still remained on the farm and grazed on the grass.


    Of course, it was difficult to find livestock now, most had already run off or were already caught and eaten by humans.


    The cow that Woolf was chasing was 3 meters tall, with a pair of thin wings on its back just like that of a warble fly. Even though it had wings, it was still completely unable to fly and ran around on the ground as usual. However, the limbs of this cow became rather strange and its leaping ability evolved to become extremely outstanding. One leap could bring it more than 10 meters into the air, so it could move around rapidly in the meter plus tall grass field.


    Seeing Martin standing in front of it, the cow didn¡¯t attack Martin but powerfully kicked with its back legs and ¡®flew¡¯ over the top of Martin¡¯s head in the tall grass. Although it couldn¡¯t fly, it still subconsciously opened its wings by a bit, and there were even signs of gliding.


    Martin saw the cow flying over him and thought to grab onto its hooves, but he immediately lost courage looking at that gigantic body.


    ¡°Hey! Fuck, no wonder this guy still remained here, I¡¯m so tired.¡± Woolf tripped and fell down in the thick grass, planting his face into the grass patch and eating a mouthful of it.


    ¡°Bai Yi, let¡¯s just use the guns. We really can¡¯t catch it!¡± Woolf shouted to Bai Yi from the other side.


    To let everyone familiarize themselves with their changed bodies, Bai Yi instructed them to use their own bodies to hunt and not use guns as much as possible. This was the fastest way for them to get used to their new bodies.


    Bai Yi glanced over after hearing Woolf¡¯s voice and didn¡¯t say anything. In reality, with the strength of Martin and Woolf¡¯s bodies now, they could completely hunt this ¡®not too threatening¡¯ cow bare-handed. However, Woolf and Martin¡¯s common sense were still restricting them, so they were still quite timid and hesitant to take action. If not, Martin could have easily dragged the cow down from the air just now.


    ¡°Continue, the mission you guys have today is to hunt this cow. Be careful not to touch its blood, unless you want to merge with its genes.¡± Bai Yi did not accede to Woolf¡¯s request.


    Woolf and Martin looked at Bai Yi¡¯s expression and knew that there was no room for negotiation, they had no choice but to continue chasing the cow. Unknowingly, the cow very quickly ran to a distant place, Woolf and Martin also disappeared inside the underbrush and shrubbery.


    ¡°Hong Qi Hua, go give them a hand.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°En!¡± Hong Qi Hua nodded and jumped down gracefully like a cat, landing without a sound. She then rapidly ran out towards them.


    Cat¡¯s gracefulness!


    Very quickly, Hong Qi Hua caught up with the two of them. Judging by the direction they were running in, she quickly found a large tree, easily climbed up and ran along the branches. While running, her eyes that had become incomparably sharp mapped her surrounding situation. Not only was she observing the humans and cow running below, but also everything that was happening on the large tree.


    An insect with wings and sharp teeth suddenly shot out towards her from underneath a leaf while she was running, however her short knife was already moving through the air.


    With an almost inaudible ¡®chi!¡¯, the insect split into halves and she lightly jumped down from the branch. At this moment, the evolved cow just happened to run below the branch as well. As though a real cat, Hong Qi Hua nimbly landed on the head of the cow. At the same time when her body crouched down slightly, two short knives sliced across both its eyes.


    ¡°MOOOO¡­!¡± A booming cry shocked their ears.


    Hong Qi Hua completely ignored the cow¡¯s cries as she agilely ran across its back and landed on the floor. After landing on the floor, her hands rapidly moved for a moment and the two knives left several afterimages in the air. The blood that was on the knives was all completely flung off of them. Hong Qi Hua then sheathed both knives back into the sheaths on her back on either side.


    ¡°Hong Qi Hua, why are you here?¡±


    ¡°Uncle Bai said that the forest is too dangerous to us now, so he asked me to come help you guys. Let¡¯s hurry up. Kill this guy and rush back.¡± Hong Qi Hua said and did not continue helping them. If they couldn¡¯t even handle a blinded mutated cow, then it was really not doing justice to the training that Bai Yi had made them go through during this period.


    ¡°Really! Making you help again, let me show you!¡± Woolf rushed forward, holding that frightening greatsword in his hands.

 Chapter 54

    Over 10 minutes later, Martin and Woolf dragged the giant mutated cow back to the edge of the small farm.


    Little Warner stood at the side very excitedly. He was now already at the height of an adult male, with a body that was as round as a fat pig. However, his strength now couldn¡¯t be underestimated, and his body was very agile as well. Other than the pig and cow genes, Little Warner followed Hong Qi Hua in everything, even including her battle style. However, he was still very young, so Bai Yi had no intention of letting him participate in battle, just that he still underwent training normally.


    Although everyone understood what Bai Yi said previously to not be restricted by their common sense, the ones that managed to do it the best were still Bai Yi and Hong Qi Hua.


    Just like Heloise said, maybe some people were just more suited to certain environments and times.


    ¡°You guys worked hard!¡± Bai Yi said to the few of them.


    ¡°En.¡± Hong Qi Hua replied plainly.


    ¡°Bai Yi, how about we eat beef hotpot today? I remember that we found some hotpot seasoning last time!¡± Woolf said excitedly.


    ¡°Ok!¡± Bai Yi smiled and nodded. A packet of hotpot seasoning was definitely not enough for everyone to eat, so he still had to season the base himself.


    After nearly three days, they were finally approaching Taumarunui. However, more than half the time was spent on searching for food, cooking and resting, so the time used for travelling wasn¡¯t that much in comparison. This couldn¡¯t be helped as well. Bai Yi¡¯s body healed at an abnormally slow pace, so they couldn¡¯t afford for him to become travel-worn. Moreover, during the Binging Phase, food had to always be ready, or else it wouldn¡¯t be just an issue of getting hungry faster.


    They didn¡¯t have a fixed time for meals now; they just prepared food whenever they got hungry. So, the group of them didn¡¯t wait for mealtime, and while the cow was still fresh they started to prepare their meal.


    Bai Yi already had no problems moving about now, as the abnormally slow speed of recovery was only in comparison to Woolf and the others. Compared to normal people before the change, it was actually many times faster.


    The road to Taumarunui was built along the Whanganui River, which was downstream from the Waipa River. The small farm that they stopped at was right beside this river. Bai Yi prepared the food on an open patch of ground while Sara and Heloise helped out. Hong Qi Hua went to ask Mavis about things regarding medical expertise, while Momo rode on top of Sharpei as they ran around nearby, playing their hearts out.


    ¡°See, what did I say, this thing would definitely be useful!¡± Martin searched the container inside the truck for awhile and took out a fishing rod, showing off to Woolf.


    ¡°To think of it, it has been so long since I ate fish. There should be a lot in this river, right?¡± Woolf said.


    ¡°There used to a lot of fish, but I don¡¯t know about now.¡± Martin said and the two of them headed to the edge of the river. There wasn¡¯t any fish bait around here, so the two of them took some cow organs that Bai Yi had taken out just now as bait.


    ¡°Anyway, what fishing rod is this? Would this kind of fishing rod be useful now?¡± Woolf suddenly asked when Martin was preparing the bait.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know how great my fishing skill is.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯re no more normal animals left in New Zealand, I doubt that you can catch a fish using this fishing rod!¡± Woolf was surprisingly smart for once and ran back towards the truck. Woolf suddenly recalled that there was a 3-meter-long steel bar inside the truck as well as a roll of steel wire. After struggling for a while, Woolf carried his ¡®fishing rod¡¯ back to Martin and winked at him in glee.


    ¡°To fish in New Zealand now, you have to use something like this!¡± Woolf said extremely pleased with himself.


    ¡°Tch, you think you can get a fish like that?¡± Martin saw the so-called fishing rod and jibed.


    Bai Yi and the rest were closeby and didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry looking at their actions. Did they really want to fish? What kind of fish were they intending to catch, sharks? Very quickly, this caught the attention of Momo as well and she rode Sharpei over to Martin and Woolf¡¯s side.


    ¡°Is there any fish here? Didn¡¯t Bai Yi say that many animals died because they started to eat each other due to the Binging Phase last time?¡± Staring at the fishing float for a long time, Woolf finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore. He didn¡¯t have that much patience.


    ¡°What do you think you¡¯re fishing for? Even in normal times fishing isn¡¯t so fast!¡± Martin retorted and waved his right hand, gesturing for Woolf to go play somewhere else. Suddenly, Martin felt his left arm shake as an enormous strength transmitted from the fishing rod.


    ¡°It took the bait!¡± Martin shouted excitedly and tried to raise the fishing rod.


    With a ¡®Pa!¡¯, just like Woolf said, a slight tug was enough to snap the fishing line. At this moment, Woolf also felt tension in his hands and started to pull his steel bar.


    ¡°What did I say, your lousy fishing rod can never get any fish!¡± Woolf said gleefully while exerting his strength to pull the steel bar.


    ¡°Fuck, it¡¯s so strong! Come help me!¡± Woolf said and the two of them joined forces to pull the steel bar. At this moment, the steel wire was already completely taut.


    Suddenly, the tension disappeared and the two of them fell back onto the floor. At this moment, the surface of the river broke with loud splashes and a giant head raised itself up. The head was kind of sharp, and along its back grew multi-coloured sharp spikes like that of a porcupine. Purplish-black patterns circled its mouth and extended all the way down its body. Above the surface of the water was an upper body roughly the size of a car tire. However, the fish¡¯s body seemed to be very long, and they didn¡¯t know how much of it was hidden underneath.


    Coloured Poison Spike Lizard! (TN: I¡¯m not too sure what this is either, I suspect it may be a thorny dragon? So yeah I went with a more literal translation. It¡¯s²ÊÎƶ¾´Ìòá for any curious souls. Or it could be a fictional creature, i mean, this is a fictional story.)


    ¡°Hsss¡­¡­!¡± The spiked lizard opened its mouth wide and hissed fiercely. There was still a giant ¡®fish hook¡¯ stuck to its mouth, and its cold vicious eyes stared at Martin, Woolf and Momo.


    Martin and Woolf were completely stunned.


    ¡°Fuck why did you want to fish, see what you caught!¡± Woolf immediately pushed away the responsibility guiltlessly.


    ¡°You caught that thing, what has it got to do with me!¡± Martin instantly retorted.


    Momo was rooted to the spot in fear from the beast that suddenly appeared from the water, but Sharpei reacted the moment the spiked lizard appeared. Sharpei immediately tensed its body and shot out viciously. Before the beast could react, Sharpei¡¯s sharp claws brutally swiped across its nose.


    ¡°Hss, Hss¡­!¡± All the spikes on the lizard¡¯s body instantly erected and at this moment, Sharpei already hopped away and rapidly dodged.


    Although they were blaming each other, Woolf and Martin¡¯s movements weren¡¯t slow at all. Martin immediately ran towards Momo by the side. Momo was the flesh of Bai Yi¡¯s heart (TN: means really loved, hurting her would mean hurting the person¡¯s heart.), if anything happened to her then Bai Yi might just murder the both of them. Woolf held the steel bar in his hand and stabbed it towards the spiked lizard. Both of them didn¡¯t bring along the weapons, nobody knew that something like this would happen.


    The spiked lizard was also fuming. It was initially extremely hungry and bit the piece of meat after smelling blood. Who knew that it would get caught on the hook, and the moment it came out of the water it got clawed on its nose! Just from looking at the wound you could tell that it was very deep.


    The spiked lizard hissed again; its body paused for a moment, then pounced towards Sharpei. At this moment, its full body was finally revealed. It was just like a lizard with four legs. Its body wasn¡¯t big, but the tail was very long, roughly 6-7 meters in length. Many coloured spikes adorned its back as well.


    At this moment, Bai Yi and the rest of them who were nearby also discovered the commotion. They immediately threw down whatever they were doing and ran towards the lizard.


    Sharpei saw the coloured spikes on the back on the lizard and knew that he definitely couldn¡¯t touch those. When the spiked lizard pounced, Sharpei immediately dodged nimbly, waiting for his chance to counterattack.


    At this time, Woolf had already fiercely stabbed the steel bar towards the spiked lizard. It then curled its body up and those spikes abruptly closed onto itself. Woolf¡¯s steel bar rammed into it and immediately slid off its body. So slippery¡­a phrase rose in Woolf¡¯s heart and at that instant the spiked lizard opened up its spikes again. Due to Woolf miscalculating his actions, his body was about to slam into the spikes.


    At this moment, Bai Yi rapidly dashed from the other side and rammed into Woolf. Woolf got knocked to the side but Bai Yi himself went onto the path of slamming into those poisoned spikes.


    Looking at the colourful spikes, Bai Yi could guess how potent its poison was. At this moment, Bai Yi could very clearly see the poison spikes on its body swell slightly and become even more colorful, glistening.


    Damn it!


    Bai Yi raised the broadsword in his right hand and his left hand still held onto the kitchen knife that he was using to prepare the cow. His focus was incomparably sharp at this point and as expected, in the next moment those poisoned spikes burst out from its body like arrows. The soft fur around Bai Yi¡¯s eyes trembled a few times and his irises contracted, pushing his concentration to the limit.


    Bai Yi¡¯s body twisted slightly and both blades in his hands waved rapidly, almost forming a whole series of afterimages. Countless ¡®ding¡¯ and ¡®dang¡¯s sounded and after a few seconds, Bai Yi stopped with his body twisted into an awkward position. Beside him was over a hundred colored spikes on the floor.


    The spiked lizard still thought of doing something, but Bai Yi¡¯s body fiercely snapped back, and at the same time the broadsword cut down brutally.


    Bai Yi exerted his strength and the broadsword hacked through the neck of the spiked lizard. With a ¡®puchi!¡¯, multi-coloured blood sprayed out from its neck and Bai Yi instantly jumped back and dodged. After its head was chopped off, the body of the lizard flailed for a few moments and gradually stopped moving.


    At this time, everyone looked at the corpse and looked at each other in dismay.


    ¡°Bring your weapons along with you next time, no matter what!¡± Bai Yi said to Woolf and Martin.


    ¡°Yes!¡± The two of them immediately stood at attention. Although Bai Yi¡¯s tone wasn¡¯t heavy, but everyone could tell the furious undertone in his voice. Bai Yi emphasized this many times. New Zealand was very dangerous now, nobody knew when danger would appear, so they had to be prepared at all times.

 Chapter 55

    ¡°But you guys did not do bad this time, it was a stroke of luck but fortunately we managed to catch this guy. Otherwise, it would have been really dangerous to just let it hide in ambush near us.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Bai Yi, are we going to keep this lizard for food?¡± Woolf said.


    Bai Yi looked over the flesh of the spiked lizard and saw that it was bright red. However, he adjusted his angle so that it would be against the Sun and saw the fluids containing a tinge of purplish light. Meat could of course be consumed, and the nutritional value would be very high as well. However, this meat couldn¡¯t possibly be prepared through normal means, if they didn¡¯t want to be poisoned to death.


    ¡°No, there¡¯s poison in this. If it were before then perhaps I would have the interest to try and prepare and neutralise the poison, but we don¡¯t have that time now.¡± Bai Yi said as he used his broadsword to flip the lizard over. He then split open its tummy, then cut off a few organs and roughly a meter-long stretch of meat.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that it¡¯s inedible?¡±


    ¡°This thing can¡¯t be eaten, but I want to try and see how can I prepare and neutralise the poison in this meat. Nobody knows what we will encounter in the future. Who knows, maybe this can stave off hunger when we have no food left. Remember well, don¡¯t take the wrong food in the future!¡± Bai Yi said to everyone.


    ¡°En.¡± Everyone nodded, and Bai Yi placed the poisoned meat inside a metal container.


    Bai Yi returned to Momo¡¯s side and found that Momo was still trembling, but she still brought out her short sword and grabbed it tightly in her hands. Due to an excessively tight grip, her small hands had already turned white. Seeing Bai Yi walk over, Momo immediately raised her head and look at him, her eyes containing fear and grievance.


    Bai Yi squatted down and gently caressed Momo¡¯s little tense face, revealing a small smile.


    Under Bai Yi¡¯s consolement, Momo¡¯s tense body gradually relaxed and her unfocused eyes gradually came back into focus. She then immediately jumped into Bai Yi¡¯s arms and wailed loudly. Momo almost stabbed Bai Yi with her indiscriminate sword, and after Bai Yi carefully grabbed hold of her sword, he patted her on her back.


    ¡°En, cry as much as you want.¡±


    Bai Yi had always been emphasizing during this period that New Zealand became extremely dangerous, so everyone had to be prepared to face danger at any time. What was important to know was that, when facing the danger, the only one who could protect you at the very last moment was only yourself. This was the first time Momo had faced such a fierce monster directly. The fact that she could still remember his words and draw her sword was already very good. One must know that Momo was still only four years old.


    ¡°Bai Yi¡­!¡± Woolf and Martin wanted to explain themselves, but Bai Yi just shook his head at them.


    Bai Yi wasn¡¯t angry. You could even say that he was slightly happy, since Momo had to take that step eventually. Although it was quite dangerous this time, at least nothing bad happened in the end. When Momo calmed down, Bai Yi brought Momo back to Sharpei¡¯s side. Now Sharpei was already a meter tall standing up straight, looking extremely sinister.


    Bai Yi saw that Sharpei¡¯s right paw had some bloodstains. It wasn¡¯t his own, but from when the spiked lizard just appeared from the water and Sharpei clawed its nose.


    The genes that Sharpei fused with now were 1. Slug, 2. Ant and 3. Hummingbird. These were the genes that Bai Yi had decided for Sharpei, and now Sharpei probably fused with its fourth type of genes. It was just that they didn¡¯t know what the monster¡¯s original genes were. Hopefully it wasn¡¯t too lousy.


    Bai Yi patted Sharpei on its head, the muscles that burst out from underneath its split skin were rather rough to the touch, but they also felt very tough.


    As the group walked back towards their campsite, Sharpei followed behind Bai Yi and his huge body gave off a terrifying pressure.


    Though there was a small accident, everyone put it aside very quickly. It was just a monster, what was the big deal? It wasn¡¯t like they had never encountered one before. Very quickly, Woolf¡¯s long-awaited beef hotpot was prepared, and everyone ate in a circle ravenously. In times like this, there was nothing more important than filling your stomach.


    ¡­¡­


    Very quickly, they finished their meal and left this place in their cars. More than two hours later, another two cars reached this place and stopped here.


    ¡°Team leader, there¡¯s a small farm here. The sky is almost dark. Are we going to rest here for the night?¡± A voice came from the car.


    ¡°We¡¯ll rest here then, remember to be careful.¡± Another voice sounded, and six people got out of the cars. Of course, the six people were just ¡®human-like¡¯, there were probably very few people who still maintained their original human form now. Excluding the dead, 90% of those who were still alive had probably already fused with genes from other animals.


    ¡°Team leader, there seems to be people who were here before¡­ Team leader, team leader! There¡¯s a monster here, so much meat!¡± Suddenly, the person who was sent out to scout the situation shouted in joy and ran over to the spiked lizard¡¯s corpse.


    ¡°Wait!¡± The person who was being called team leader immediately stopped the guy nervously.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, team leader?¡± Luckily, the trust in leader was still not bad, the initially excited guy immediately stopped after hearing his voice.


    ¡°Be careful, at a time like this where everyone is starving, don¡¯t you find it strange that there would be monster meat leftover?¡± The leader said and slowly walked towards the lizard corpse.


    The group of them walked over and the leader carefully checked over the marks in the surroundings, his eyebrows creasing tighter and tighter.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, team leader?¡±


    ¡°An expert, and this meat probably can¡¯t be eaten.¡±


    ¡°Look at these marks, very obviously, somebody encountered this monster by the river, but they didn¡¯t panic much. And over here, look at these spikes, it fell all over this area but there¡¯s just one space within the area that didn¡¯t have even a single one. There weren¡¯t any other bloodstains in that area too, apparently all the spikes were blocked. There weren¡¯t any other signs of battle nearby either, it should mean that in the next moment this monster was slain. What a smooth cut, I¡¯m afraid that person has a very sharp sword in his hands.¡± The leader started deducing from the small details he observed.


    ¡°This monster probably has poison¡­¡± The leader said as he looked at its tummy area, the huge cavity that Bai Yi cut down.


    ¡°Maury, bring the knife, we will cut a piece of its meat too.¡± The leader said to the excited youth.


    ¡°But team leader, didn¡¯t you say that it was poisoned?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s poisoned, but I¡¯m not making you eat it. This thing might have other uses, and it doesn¡¯t hurt to be prepared.¡± The team leader explained. After slicing off a big slab of meat, the team leader casually dug a hole and buried the lizard corpse. If this thing fell into the river, it would probably poison the entire river.


    ¡°I can even be sure that the previous team definitely has an excellent chef, not sure how long they¡¯ve left this place for, but I can still smell a trace of a delicious aroma¡­¡± The other guy said as he swallowed his saliva. He then discovered the scraps from the leftover of the hotpot at the corner.


    ¡°Hey you, are you saying that my cooking skills aren¡¯t good? That the things I make don¡¯t taste good?¡± A rather plump pig-man walked out and said in a low muffled voice.


    ¡°It¡¯s really not good¡­¡±


    ¡°Then you do it, I happened to not want this job¡­¡± The pig-man immediately gave up his job and quit.


    ¡°Hey, how can you be like this? Out of everyone here, only the things you make could barely be considered to be edible. Bastard, don¡¯t be arrogant¡­¡± The team immediately started to become noisy.


    The team leader held his head helplessly. A bunch of idiots, looks like we really have to find a chef now, a real chef. The so-called real chef referred to somebody who could turn these weird ingredients into something delicious. Even people like them would definitely be able to season the food properly, but there weren¡¯t any normal ingredients left in New Zealand anymore. If you did not know how to prepare those ingredients, the texture was enough to put you off. After eating the food made by the old pig for a few days, their tongues were almost growing mold.


    No, they should say that as long as they weren¡¯t poisoned to death, it meant that they had a strong life force!


    ¡­¡­


    Bai Yi¡¯s group didn¡¯t know that the scraps they poured into the corner from their hotpot resulted in an internal conflict for another team, if they knew, they probably would¡¯ve burst out laughing.


    By now, they had already reached Taumarunui.


    Taumarunui was located at the confluence of Whanganui River and Ongarue River. The scenery was very beautiful, and Bai Yi had even brought Momo here to ski during Waikato University¡¯s holiday last year. Now, however,, the city in the late afternoon was completely lifeless. The remnants of the snow only revealed the biting cold and dead silence.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go and find a place to rest inside the city while the sky hasn¡¯t darkened yet.¡± Bai Yi said.


    The city now wasn¡¯t chaotic like how New Zealand had been when the changes first started happening, and they also weren¡¯t completely powerless like how they¡¯d been at the start.


    Bai Yi drove the car to the edge of the city and stopped at a coffee shop called The Flax Caf¨¦. The last time Bai Yi was here, he¡¯d visited this caf¨¦ and the coffee here was quite good. Moreover, the coffee shop wasn¡¯t too big, and with the few of them it was just right for resting. Not too far away, they could see a gas station. Although it was damaged, they still hoped that they could find some gas there. Otherwise, their cars wouldn¡¯t be able to move anymore.


    ¡°Bai Yi, what¡¯re you looking for?¡± Sara looked at Bai Yi searching the caf¨¦ and couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°The last time I came here I got along really well with Yoshimoto. He said he had some treasured civet coffee that he never could never bring himself to drink. Ah, I found it¡­!¡± Bai Yi said, and his tone suddenly became heavy. The last time he drank coffee here, the surroundings was still so comfortable and serene. Now though, the shop was still here, but the people were long gone. Yoshimoto didn¡¯t even bring his treasured coffee away; the chances were high that he had met with some mishap.

 Chapter 56

    The caf¨¦ was very messy. All the food was definitely gone, but nobody took the equipment inside. Bai Yi very quickly used the equipment in the caf¨¦ to brew a cup of coffee for everyone. By now, the rest of them had already tidied up the caf¨¦. It was definitely pleasurable to be able to drink a cup of rich and warm coffee in this cold weather.


    ¡°What is this taste, it¡¯s so weird!¡± Martin took a sip and creased his eyebrows.


    ¡°Civet coffee, it¡¯s the treasure of the original owner Yoshimoto; I¡¯ve never tried it before either.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°What treasure, it¡¯s not even as good as the coffee I normally drink.¡± Martin shook his head.


    ¡°Civet coffee, produced in India. Coffee beans are one of the things on a civet¡¯s diet, but the coffee beans cannot be digested by the digestive system. The coffee beans then ferment inside the intestines of the civet and are excreted out later. The locals then collect the coffee beans from its excrement and process it further, producing this ¡®cat poop¡¯ coffee. The taste is very unique, and I heard that the production volume is also very small¡­¡± Hong Qi Hua wanted to carry on speaking but Martin and Sara immediately spat out the coffee.


    Cat¡­ Cat poop coffee?


    ¡°Your interests are really too special.¡± Martin apparently couldn¡¯t carry on drinking.


    ¡°People always liked to keep rare things as their treasures to display their own unique taste and status, even if these things aren¡¯t actually that valuable. Actually, I don¡¯t really like this taste either.¡± Bai Yi creased his eyebrows, but he still finished his cup of coffee. Not wasting food was one of the basic qualities of a chef.


    ¡°It¡¯s just like that thing that I saw it on television awhile back, that Paris Fashion Show. The so-called ¡®fashionable¡¯ clothes that the models were wearing just looked like a few rags wrapped together, but they still treated it as the ¡®fashion trend¡¯. It¡¯s not even as nice as the clothes that I¡¯m wearing now!¡±


    Everyone looked at Woolf dumbly.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, why are all of you looking at me?¡±


    ¡°No, nothing. I just didn¡¯t expect that you would be able to occasionally see the truth.¡± Bai Yi said, and he himself couldn¡¯t help but to burst out laughing. The others weren¡¯t too different and they all started laughing. Actually, there were a lot of things that everybody knew, just that they didn¡¯t bother saying it out loud.


    ¡°Warm up. While the sky isn¡¯t dark yet, let¡¯s try to see if there¡¯s any gas.¡± Bai Yi said to the rest.


    ¡­¡­


    After finishing the coffee, Bai Yi split the group into 3 teams. Bai Yi and Martin were team one, while Woolf and Heloise were team two. The two teams would split up to look for gas in the city, and the rest of them would stay back to guard the place. There wasn¡¯t enough gas left. If they couldn¡¯t find some, then they would have to walk to Tongariro National Park.


    The city was still very quiet. After all, this wasn¡¯t like the zombie outbreaks in the movies. The two kinds of viruses were different. Binge eating and starvation caused those who still retained their rationality to leave the city that didn¡¯t have any food left in it.


    After more than two hours, Bai Yi and Martin didn¡¯t manage to find anything, and upon seeing that the sky was getting dark, they returned to the main group. Everyone was waiting for Woolf and Heloise, but after a long period of time they stared in the direction that Woolf and Heloise went off in and creased their eyebrows.


    Still not back!


    ¡°Drive the car into the forest and hide it well, then we¡¯ll all go and search for Woolf and Heloise¡­¡± Just when Bai Yi thought that something had happened to the two of them, Sharpei suddenly started barking loudly. They then saw Woolf and Heloise running towards them with another two people beside them.


    ¡°Bai Yi, we found gas, but the other side wants something in exchange.¡± Heloise went towards Bai Yi and said softly.


    ¡°You are the leader of this team?¡± One of the newcomers observed Bai Yi¡¯s group and said to Bai Yi.


    ¡°Yes, I am the leader.¡± Bai Yi nodded and at the same time observed the two newcomers silently.


    ¡°We are the only ones that have gas. You will probably have a very hard time finding more in the city. If you want some, then bring out something in exchange for it.¡±


    ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°Food, this is a must. Other things like weapons are fine too.¡±


    ¡°How do you want to exchange this?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no fixed way to exchange. After all, things are different from before. As long as we both feel that the terms are ok then we can do the exchange. Hurry up and decide. If you feel that it¡¯s ok then follow us.¡± This guy looked rather skinny, as if he hadn¡¯t eaten for days, but his mind was still rather clear.


    ¡°Where are we going for the exchange?¡±


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s to our place, who would bring gas around everywhere?¡±


    ¡°Ok then, lead the way.¡± Bai Yi nodded. At least from what he could observe, the other side was still quite normal. However, when Bai Yi turned around he still nodded to Hong Qi Hua almost imperceptibly. Bai Yi negotiated with the two of them as the leader, while Hong Qi Hua went to warn the others to be careful after seeing Bai Yi¡¯s gesture.


    ¡°They don¡¯t seem to be bad people.¡± Martin said.


    ¡°We have a saying in China ¨C You must always have the heart to guard against others!¡± Hong Qi Hua said. In reality, Hong Qi Hua had some things that she didn¡¯t say. The two of them were too skinny, just like skinny dogs. They also retained more than 90% of their human appearance, but rather than saying they did not fuse with any genes, it was more accurate to say that they did not have enough nutrition to provide their activated cells with. To put it simply, they were malnourished.


    Although Martin and the rest did not understand the saying too well, they still followed Hong Qi Hua¡¯s words and held their weapons properly, secretly being on guard for anything.


    Bai Yi gave the two of them a packet of dried meat, and tried to butter up to them deliberately. The two of them very quickly revealed quite a bit of information. They were apparently starving very badly, after receiving the dried meat, they didn¡¯t stand on courtesy and started devouring it in the car while telling Bai Yi some things.


    They belonged to the same team and were just struggling at death¡¯s door in the city. At the start everyone wanted to go outside to look for food, but a large portion of them never came back after leaving. The wilderness became incomparably dangerous. Although there wasn¡¯t much food left in the city, it was still the territory of humans. These people struggled to survive in the city and though the food was gone, they collected quite a bit of other resources.


    ¡°We¡¯re here!¡± One of them said.


    Bai Yi stopped the car and looked at the so-called gathering point. This place wasn¡¯t remote, and it was right beside Whanganui River and a mini hydroelectric plant. The gathering point was initially a supermarket, and beside it was a flower shop. At this time, a group of people walked out from the supermarket and the majority of them looked extremely skinny. Their expressions were also incomparably gloomy and in despair.


    The two groups observed each other and had their own thoughts silently.


    ¡°Welcome, welcome. What¡¯s your name?¡± The leader still looked quite ¡®normal¡¯, he was about 2.5 meters tall with bulging muscles over his body. A boar¡¯s tusks grew from his neck and his canine teeth stretched more than 10 centimeters outside of his mouth. A praying mantis-like sickle grew out from his right arm, while his left arm was in a huge bundle hidden inside his clothes and wasn¡¯t visible.


    ¡°Bai Yi.¡±


    ¡°Mr Bai Yi then, I am Jodi.¡± This Jodi was very warm and drew closer familiarly. While introducing himself, he similarly looked over Bai Yi¡¯s group. Wow, what a huge dog, that is a complete monster¡­


    The other group was extremely terrified when they saw Sharpei and some of them even immediately raised their guns.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Jodi immediately stopped everyone.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, your dog is too frightening, and they were also too agitated. I heard that you wanted some gas?¡± Jodi apologised on the surface, but he too looked cautiously at Sharpei. Seeing that Sharpei had no other movements, he finally relaxed a little.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, we need some gas.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°Please enter, we have gas here. We collected some while searching for food¡­¡± Jodi walked at the front and Bai Yi followed behind, the two groups of people still observing each other. There were quite a few people on the other side, more than 20 of them, but more than half were relatively skinny. It seemed that they didn¡¯t have enough to eat for a long time. The other portion seemed to be healthier, but their expressions also seemed to be more ruthless.


    Someone very quickly wanted to check their heavy truck, but Hong Qi Hua suddenly appeared beside the guy and grabbed onto the hand that was about to open the car door.


    ¡°What are you thinking of doing?¡± Hong Qi Hua asked calmly.


    ¡°Scram you little whore, can¡¯t I take a look?!¡± This guy was even taller than Woolf, a full 3 meters tall. He looked just like an elephant and waved his hand at Hong Qi Hua. The guy waved his hand and Hong Qi Hua also exerted her strength at the same time. Their hands clashed together but the guy who was even bigger than Woolf was the one sent flying away. He flew about 4-5 meters and landed heavily on the floor.


    A loud ¡®boom!¡¯ sounded as if a mini earthquake happened.


    This immediately drew everyone¡¯s attention and they all looked over, while Bai Yi stared at Jodi.


    ¡°Sorry, sorry, Maurice is a bit too impetuous. He just wanted to see what you guys have to eat, there were no evil intentions. But I didn¡¯t expect that this little Miss would have such great strength.¡± Jodi laughed loudly and explained.


    ¡°Oh really, of course you guys can look. Just bring the gas to exchange; it¡¯s that simple.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Sure, Mallory, bring out the gas.¡± Jodi nodded.


    Bai Yi nodded to Hong Qi Hua and she brought the prepared Tentacle Slug and Giant Crab Alligator meat over. Tentacle Slug meat wasn¡¯t too tasty, but it was good for staving off hunger. The Giant Crab Alligator¡¯s meat tasted better, but the nutritional value was very average, probably around the same as how beef would be like to a normal human before. Anyway, it was all meat from evolved lifeforms, so it had much higher nutritional value than normal food.


    Very quickly, Jodi brought the gas out, not only was there gasoline but various other types of gas. After that, Bai Yi and Jodi started to negotiate and barter over the terms of trade.


    Seemingly¡­ this Jodi wasn¡¯t being too difficult. Although the meat he wanted was quite a bit, it was still within the acceptable range for Bai Yi. In the end, the two of them finally reached an agreement, and it was considered a happy business completed¡­¡­?

 Chapter 57

    The gas was brought over to Bai Yi¡¯s side, and all the gas tanks of the vehicles were filled to the brim. Other than that, there were still three full containers of gas that were placed on the truck. They initially wanted to do it themselves, but the guy who helped them to move the gas container was too enthusiastic and directly brought it up to the truck. After that guy came down, he gave an almost imperceptible nod to Jodi.


    ¡°The sky is already dark, why don¡¯t you guys stay over at our place?¡± Jodi invited them passionately.


    At this time, Bai Yi saw from the corner of his eye a woman secretly shaking his head at him.


    If nobody tried to warn him, then he might have really left immediately. Bai Yi who was keeping a close eye on everybody saw the slight nod that the guy gave to Jodi, and moreover the atmosphere here was really strange. However, with somebody trying to warn him now, he on the contrary wanted to see what exactly was going on here.


    ¡°Sure then, thanks!¡± Bai Yi replied.


    ¡°No need for formality, we owe Brother Bai Yi so much, our food stock was running really low, hahahaha!¡± Jodi laughed loudly, seemingly very straightforward and passionate.


    Thinking that Bai Yi did not see her warning, the skinny woman sighed in her heart.


    The supermarket still had electricity. Apparently, this was the reason why they chose to set up their base right beside the mini hydroelectric plant. Humans had a natural fear towards the dark, especially during dangerous times like this.


    ¡°I think there¡¯s no need for you guys to bring your weapons here?¡± Jodi couldn¡¯t help but speak seeing that everybody in Bai Yi¡¯s group were still carrying their weapons.


    ¡°Sorry, we are all really frightened by New Zealand¡¯s situation recently. Bringing our weapons with us will make us feel safer.¡± Bai Yi smiled and explained. Doing this seemed to be quite rude, but Bai Yi didn¡¯t have any intention of putting down his sword. Jodi continued on the subject but seeing that Bai Yi just smiled and patronised him with no changes, he didn¡¯t bother to continue.


    ¡­¡­


    Jodi apparently treated himself like a host, and took the initiative to treat them to dinner. Very quickly, the food was served. It wasn¡¯t considered to be plentiful, but it wasn¡¯t little either. A lot of it was the Tentacle Slug and Giant Crab Alligator meat that Bai Yi handed over just now, and the rest of it apparently came from their own supplies.


    ¡°Eat, eat!¡± Jodi invited.


    Bai Yi ignored the Tentacle Slug and Giant Crab Alligator meat. He was already sick of it over the past two days. He looked at the other types of meat on the table, and there was even a type of vegetable that he didn¡¯t recognise¡­a new type of plant? At this time, Mavis suddenly put down her fork and knife, and shook her head at Bai Yi. Bai Yi looked at Mavis¡¯ actions and he too put down his fork and knife.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, why aren¡¯t you guys eating?¡± Jodi¡¯s tone suddenly became slightly colder.


    ¡°The thoracic vertebra, each vertebra gradually increases in size from top to bottom, and its horizontal cross section looks roughly like a heart shape. From the lateral profile, there¡¯s an upper and lower cavity at each vertebra to connect to the ribs. I want to ask you, what is a human¡¯s thoracic vertebra doing on a plate here?¡± Mavis¡¯ eyes were very complicated. In reality, she had already guessed the answer, but she couldn¡¯t accept it in her heart. It was a human being served on the table!


    ¡°You, you can tell!¡± Jodi¡¯s voice started trembling.


    ¡°I am a doctor!¡± Mavis said plainly. She wasn¡¯t only a doctor, but one with great medical skills and proficient in both internal and external medicine. Nobody here was more familiar with the human body than Mavis.


    ¡°Move!¡± Jodi suddenly shouted. Actually, he didn¡¯t intend to act in a situation like this, but he didn¡¯t expect that the group of them would be so cautious. Now that things had developed to this stage, he had no other choice.


    Before Jodi¡¯s voice could come out, Bai Yi already rushed forward, running across the hastily built table. His every step landed on the gap between the cups and plates, and not even a single drop of soup was spewed. Jodi¡¯s mouth opened wide and his eyes looked at Bai Yi in shock, at this moment Bai Yi was already right in front of him. Jodi could clearly see his pair of eyes that were calm to the point of being icy.


    Bai Yi wanted to subdue Jodi before he could even speak, but apparently his movements were still slower by a bit.


    Gunshots rapidly fired, at this moment everyone swiftly dodged and ran.


    Hong Qi Hua grabbed Momo, rolled on the floor and rushed behind a corner. The bullets raised a trail of dust on the floor and the rest of them too quickly dodged to the side, frantically looking for cover.


    ¡®CHENG!¡¯


    Bai Yi¡¯s broadsword landed heavily on a canine tooth-like weapon in Jodi¡¯s hand, and sparks immediately flew. This guy, his actions were so swift as well! Two powerful strengths clashed against each other, and the chair beneath Jodi instantly broke into pieces. Bai Yi made use of the momentum and flipped in the air. He simultaneously tilted his blade slightly, hacking down along the canine tooth.


    ¡°AHHH¡­!!¡± An ear-piercing scream filled the air and Bai Yi¡¯s blade sliced off four of Jodi¡¯s fingers.


    Bai Yi wanted to follow up with his attack, but his eyes abruptly contracted, and he quickly raised the sword to block in front of him.


    ¡®Ding ding!¡¯ Bai Yi¡¯s broadsword moved almost imperceptibly to intercept the incoming objects.


    Two bullets instantly slid off the surface of the sword and flew past Bai Yi¡¯s body. One of the bullets even rubbed across Bai Yi¡¯s face, forming a line of blood. Bai Yi flipped in the air and landed, immediately bursting towards the corner and hiding behind the wall. Only now did Bai Yi touch his waist, finding his hand full of blood.


    Just now in that hasty moment he only blocked the two fatal bullets, as for the other bullets he didn¡¯t have the capacity to care about them.


    Closing his eyes, Bai Yi took a deep breath and opened them again, his eyes containing incredible coldness and anger. Actually, Bai Yi long knew that something like this would happen. After all in the history of China, there were records detailing how families would eat their children in times of extreme famine. However, regardless of the reason, this kind of behaviour was not forgivable.


    Bai Yi suddenly dashed out again, his body rapidly flashing past a guy holding a gun in another corner.


    ¡®Puchi!¡¯, a line of blood appeared on the guy¡¯s neck and his head fell onto the floor. Bai Yi¡¯s left hand grabbed his submachine gun and squeezed the trigger towards the other firing points. Those people who were scared of death immediately retreated and dodged behind obstacles, but in that short window of opportunity, Woolf, Heloise and Martin had already taken the chance and rushed forward.


    ¡®Your weapon must never leave your hand.¡¯ That was what Bai Yi had always been emphasizing. Only now did they truly understand what he meant.


    Honestly speaking, Woolf and the others did not have the mental preparation to fight with fellow humans, but their bodies still moved with practiced familiarity¡­ This was an instinctual reaction to danger. Everyone rushed towards their respective opponent, even Little Warner, while Pupu hid in an unknown place with its fat and round body.


    The moment she brought Momo outside, Hong Qi Hua immediately threw her and turned around. ¡®Dang dang dang!¡¯¡­Hong Qi Hua¡¯s two short knives clashed against a steel rod. In an instant, her hands moved with an imperceivable speed and knocked against the steel rod dozens of times. The sounds were so concentrated that it connected together. The rapid continuous collisions dispersed the strength behind the steel rod and she then flipped in the air and crouched on the floor.


    When Momo was about to land on the floor, Sharpei suddenly rushed out from inside and caught her. Momo also familiarly grabbed onto the tuft of hair on its neck, and looked at Hong Qi Hua and the big guy. Although Momo felt very nervous, she was gradually getting used to these kind of sudden situations after the encounter with the monster by the river.


    ¡°Protect Momo!¡±


    ¡°Woof!¡± Sharpei barked and ran somewhere else carrying Momo.


    Hong Qi Hua stood up straight and looked at the 3-meter-tall elephant-like fellow. She seemed to remember that he was called Maurice? This was the guy that she¡¯d sent flying earlier. Now he was carrying a giant thick steel rod, carrying an incomparably dangerous air around him.


    ¡­¡­


    After creating a gap for Woolf and the others, Bai Yi did not continue to stay at the supermarket but chased after Jodi deeper inside. Along the way there were two people who tried to shoot at Bai Yi, but Bai Yi triggered his gun faster than them and killed them instantly.


    Along the corridor, Bai Yi finally managed to stop Jodi. Bai Yi did not waste any words, and aimed his submachine gun at him and squeezed the trigger, only to find that there were no more bullets.


    This was why he¡¯d said that hot weapons were just like pieces of scrap metal without bullets.


    Jodi¡¯s four fingers on his right hand were already cut off, but the sickle on the surface of his arm swiftly shot forward, incomparably sharp. The left hand that hid inside his clothes all along also revealed itself to be a¡­mouth, a big mouth that was full of sharp teeth. Seeing that Bai Yi threw away his submachine gun, Jodi didn¡¯t try to run anymore and turned around panting, standing off against Bai Yi.


    Bai Yi fiercely rushed forward, his broadsword tilted at an angle from his body.


    Apparently, Jodi understood well enough too, and after giving a loud roar, he similarly sprinted towards Bai Yi, raising the sharp sickle on his arm.


    ¡®Clang~~!¡¯


    Bai Yi¡¯s broadsword vibrated at a high speed within an extremely small area, and from looking at it, it seemed just like a normal sword. The two of them flashed past each other with a loud collision. Jodi¡¯s left arm flew into the air from his elbow onwards, and a giant gash appeared on his chest as well. Jodi¡¯s eyes filled with deep disbelief. His sickle was even tougher than normal swords, how could it just break like that?


    In some ways, Bai Yi¡¯s broadsword could be considered to be one of those more treasured blades inside the mangas.


    ¡°Hahahaha, I never thought that you would be so powerful. I¡¯m sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have had ill-intentions towards you.¡± Jodi kneeled on the floor and laughed loudly, blood spewed out from his mouth, making his voice sound somewhat strange.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the issue here!¡± Bai Yi walked over and said coldly.


    ¡°You can¡¯t blame for me that, you can only blame this damnable world! You understand right, that kind of hunger, that extreme hunger that drives you crazy, that hunger that forces you to eat even if it meant eating another human being!¡± Jodi said loudly and gradually became more and more agitated. ¡°In the end, all of us have become monsters, who still treats another person as a human being? I saw it, this world¡¯s future! Everyone will become monsters, preying on each other as¡­ food.¡±


    Jodi looked at Bai Yi viciously, a maniacal look on his face.

 Chapter 58

    ¡°How did you block it?¡± The elephant-like Maurice asked. Only he knew how much power was contained in that steel rod of his. With Hong Qi Hua¡¯s small body, it shouldn¡¯t have been possible for her to stop it.


    ¡°If once is not enough, then I just have to do it multiple times and disperse it.¡± Hong Qi Hua held her two short knives and replied seriously.


    ¡°Disperse?¡±


    What she was dispersing was of course the impact!


    For example, that huge steel rod. In theory, it¡¯d be impossible to try and use a small knife to block it. The knife would either be knocked away or broken. However, even if it were a toy knife, it would still be able to cause some resistance to the steel rod when being knocked away. What Hong Qi Hua did was to automatically separate their weapons when she felt that the force her knife could bear had reached its limit. She then rapidly repeated the same movements multiple times in a short period, causing resistance every time and dispersing the force of the steel rod.


    If it were before, then it was impossible for her to do this, but now it was possible!


    This was of course one of the blade force techniques that Bai Yi talked about that was very hard for humans to do before!


    Hong Qi Hua apparently did not have the habit of clearing doubts for her opponent, so after that sentence she gripped her knives in both hands and burst forward. Maurice was shocked, he instantly raised his steel rod and smashed it down. At this time, Hong Qi Hua was actually waiting for his attack. Her body was as agile as a cat. When the steel rod smashed down, she instantly jumped on top of it and flew up.


    From the left and right, the two short knives crossed and went through his neck.


    After landing, Hong Qi Hua stared at the dark sky, her eyes containing great sorrow.


    To be truthful, Hong Qi Hua did not have the mental preparation to fight with her fellow humans as well. However, this group of people had already started eating other humans, and their intentions were clearly bad as well. She wouldn¡¯t be that stupid to let those people live after that. It wasn¡¯t that she couldn¡¯t be kind, but many times unnecessary kindness would just harm yourself.


    ¡°So¡­ fast!¡± Lifeforms infected with activated cells really had scarily powerful life forces.


    ¡°A real battle aims for fatality!¡± Hong Qi Hua turned around. Since she had the strength to kill her opponent in one strike, there was no need to dilly dally. That wouldn¡¯t be a real battle. After purposely fusing with some animal genes, Hong Qi Hua and the others were already ahead of the majority of people.


    The elephant-like Maurice cracked open a smile and his head rolled onto the floor.


    No matter how powerful the activated cells were, apparently even they couldn¡¯t save someone from decapacitation.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Do it, I have already lost hope in this world. In truth, the rest of them are probably in despair as well. Maybe death to them is a form of mercy. You are very strong, if possible, I hope that you can bring them and¡­ live on.¡± After shouting and venting, Jodi seemed to become calmer.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t have that power!¡± Bai Yi rejected him even before he finished his last few words.


    ¡°But, I will give them hope, hope within that despair.¡± Bai Yi said, as he swung his broadsword in the middle of Jodi¡¯s puzzlement, providing liberation.


    ¡­¡­


    Very quickly, everyone gathered back at the supermarket. The battle ended abnormally quickly. Just as Bai Yi said at the start, life was actually very fragile. When you had the advantage, it only took an instant to kill the opponent. All the guns were confiscated and thrown into the center, and those who originally belonged to Jodi¡¯s group were either dead or kneeling along the wall.


    ¡°You, tell me what happened exactly!¡± Bai Yi pointed to the woman who tried to warn him at the start.


    The woman that Bai Yi pointed at raised her head and looked at Bai Yi seriously. Her eyes were full of disbelief, and at the end a hint of sorrow appeared in them. She only wanted Bai Yi and his team to leave this place, she never thought¡­


    ¡°Actually, Jodi did not actively kill people for food. We weren¡¯t originally in one group, but gradually we started to gather together. A few days ago, there was a conflict due to starvation and a few people died. Jodi and the rest were too hungry and so¡­ The rest of them couldn¡¯t bear with their hunger either, and followed Jodi to start consuming human flesh. The others, which are the few of us remaining, still refused to eat human flesh, and we became so thin in just a few days.¡± Doris explained.


    ¡°And then?¡±


    ¡°Jodi saw that you guys had a lot of food, so he wanted to steal it.¡± Doris said in a low voice.


    ¡°It¡¯s like that¡­ How much food do you guys have left?¡± Bai Yi suddenly asked.


    ¡°There¡¯s none left.¡± Everyone who were originally here shook their heads.


    ¡°Bai Yi!¡± Sara saw Bai Yi¡¯s expression and wanted to say something, but Mavis stopped her.


    ¡°Bring all the corpses over here.¡± Bai Yi suddenly said after standing at the same spot for a long while and giving a deep sigh.


    Most of the people in the supermarket had not guessed Bai Yi¡¯s intentions yet, but Hong Qi Hua suddenly opened her eyes wide. Bai Yi¡¯s actions, is it for real? I really hope that I guessed wrongly. However, very quickly Hong Qi Hua knew that her guess was right. Bai Yi really intended to do that.


    In one battle, nine people died. All the bodies were gathered at the center, and the stench of blood coming from the bodies assaulted their noses.


    ¡°What if I, too, tell you guys to eat human flesh!¡±


    His tone wasn¡¯t too heavy, and was even quite light. However, everyone was absolutely shocked to the core and couldn¡¯t believe their ears. Even Woolf, who had the most trust in Bai Yi, opened his eyes wide. Sara and Martin immediately couldn¡¯t hold it in and wanted to say something but were suppressed by Hong Qi Hua and Mavis.


    ¡°The situation now is that, if you don¡¯t eat their corpses then you will die of starvation! Even if we showed some kindness and leave some food, it¡¯s definitely not enough for all of you to eat.¡±


    ¡°Actually, human beings and other animals aren¡¯t too different. We are similarly made out of muscles, fats, proteins and other compounds. It¡¯s just that the subjective notions of humanity¡­ morals, religion and law, give a different meaning to these corpses. However, now that even the human organization called ¡®society¡¯ is non-existent in New Zealand, these subjective notions of course have no basis to exist on anymore. What I feel is that, rather than letting these corpses rot away underground, why not let you guys survive and live on.¡± Bai Yi slowly said.


    None of them could express how they felt inside their hearts. What were these words that sounded like the Devil¡¯s voice, freezing their souls and tempting them into the abyss?


    ¡°If you have really starved to the limit and want to eat them, I will not object to it.¡±


    ¡°But!¡±


    ¡°I hope you remember how you feel while eating them, but I¡¯m definitely not telling you to prey on other humans. I¡¯m letting you guys remember, this resolution you have to survive even if it meant eating your fellow human beings! When you eat them, your life will carry another set of heaviness and hope. You must not only just continue living, but see for yourself, why did this world become so cruel!¡± Bai Yi said in an abnormally heavy and ruthless voice.


    After speaking, Bai Yi drew his broadsword and picked up Jodi¡¯s corpse. He then cut off Jodi¡¯s left arm that resembled nothing like a human¡¯s.


    Bai Yi picked up the left arm, and under the gaze of everybody here¡­


    Bite!


    Everyone could see, Bai Yi really bit off a piece of the flesh from the arm and swallowed it just like that. After eating a mouthful of flesh, Bai Yi passed the arm to Hong Qi Hua beside him.


    Hong Qi Hua looked at the arm and stood silently on the spot, while everyone else looked at her.


    If there was one person who could still understand Bai Yi¡¯s actions, then that could only be Hong Qi Hua. Even if it meant carrying the lives of others, we have to continue living? Uncle Bai, has New Zealand already become so cruel in your eyes? Hong Qi Hua looked at Bai Yi, and slowly received the arm. She then¡­bit on it.


    Everyone understood Bai Yi¡¯s words, but understanding was one thing and accepting was another. Nobody thought that they really had to eat their own kind.


    Carrying another set of heaviness and hope, to see with your own eyes why this world became so cruel!


    With Bai Yi and Hong Qi Hua taking the lead, everyone else gathered their resolution and they all took a bite from the arm, just like taking an oath. Even Little Warner and the four-year-old Momo didn¡¯t fall behind. They bore with the stench of blood and bit a piece of human flesh.


    Eating human flesh, this violation of morality that countless people couldn¡¯t accept it the world, actually evoked a sense of hope in their despair.


    Even those who refused to consume human flesh initially did not reject it now. One notion arose in everyone¡¯s hearts: Even if it meant eating the corpses of my kind, I will live on for you to see! This world that became cruel, why exactly did it become like this!


    Everyone¡¯s mindsets started to change!


    ¡­¡­


    Before leaving, Bai Yi¡¯s group left behind half of their food. Doris, who became the temporary leader, did not reject as well and accepted it graciously.


    ¡°What are you guys planning to do?¡± Hong Qi Hua asked.


    ¡°Bury the corpses of Jodi and others.¡± Doris gave an answer that was different from her question.


    ¡°Oh? So confident?¡±


    ¡°En, just like Uncle Bai said, we will carry on the burden and hope from the others. We will continue to live on courageously in this world, and see for ourselves why it became so cruel.¡± Doris said seriously. The other people beside Doris nodded their head solemnly as well. The air around them and their expressions were already worlds apart from their previous despair and lack of will to live.


    ¡°I wish you guys good luck.¡± Hong Qi Hua smiled, waved her hand and left.


    ¡°Help me to thank Uncle Bai!¡± Doris shouted. Actually, many people here were older than Bai Yi, but at this time everyone addressed him as Uncle Bai from the bottom of their hearts.


    ¡°He will say that you guys are making him seem older than he is!¡± Hong Qi Hua walked towards the vehicle convoy, leaving behind the view of her back.

 Chapter 59

    They went back onto the road again, and the mindset and atmosphere around every single person had a perceivable transformation. The scene which seemed like a mass oath-taking session impacted not only Doris¡¯ group. Actually, ever since the change in New Zealand, Bai Yi¡¯s group had it quite good. They lacked neither food nor information throughout their journey, so they didn¡¯t feel it as much. However, after seeing that group of people, they finally realised that the world wasn¡¯t as easy as they imagined.


    Live on, and see for ourselves why this world became so cruel!


    ¡­¡­


    Tongariro National Park laid in the central area of Northern New Zealand. It was the oldest National Park in the country. Trees covered the entire park densely with snow-capped mountains around it and flowing creeks within. The scenery was breathtakingly beautiful, and with its spectacular volcanoes and the ever-changing ecosystem, it was one of the top tourist destinations in New Zealand.


    To summarize¡­ this place was extremely big!


    Bai Yi¡¯s group stopped at National Park (TN: Apparently there¡¯s really a small town called National Park there). This place was the last town before they entered Tongariro National Park. More than half of the road in front was covered by weeds and other plants. In reality, this was the reason why they travelled so slowly: these plants really grew too quickly. If they did not drive carefully, it would have been easy for the car to flip or fall into the thick bushes. If that happened, they would not be able to move.


    Bai Yi stood on top of the car and looked at the direction of Tongariro National Park. In the distance was a vast plain, and even farther than that was a mountain range with snow-capped mountains. Due to the enhancement of the activated cells, everyone¡¯s vision become incomparable to how it was before, and they could see very clearly.


    Bai Yi lightly jumped down from the car and stretched his body. His body had finally recovered by more than half at this point in time.


    ¡°Tongariro National Park Research Facility!¡± Bai Yi looked at Martin.


    ¡°En, it¡¯s at the feet of Mount Ruapehu.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s set off then.¡± Bai Yi nodded after hearing Martin¡¯s confirmation.


    Although they said that it was a park, it was actually more like a protected nature reserve. The farther they headed inside the park, the more fully the road was covered by the plants. Until the end, the heavy truck had to drive in front and create a ¡®path¡¯ for them. Only then could the few small cars smoothly drive through. When they came to a stretch of forest, the road was thoroughly covered by thick tree roots and became completely impassable.


    ¡°Hong Qi Hua, Heloise, you guys go ahead and scout the surroundings. If the damaged road is too long, we will have to abandon our cars here.¡± Bai Yi instructed the two of them after getting off the car and taking a look.


    ¡°En.¡± Hong Qi Hua replied, then ran off with Heloise.


    ¡°Hey Bai Yi, you should¡¯ve let me go with Heloise.¡± Woolf got off the car and said to Bai Yi.


    ¡°I can¡¯t do that; your body size and agility isn¡¯t suitable for a scouting mission. Hong Qi Hua and Heloise both fused with cat genes, so things like this are much easier for them. Now then, stop pestering me so much. Everyone be on guard. Be careful of ambushes from strange insects and animals.¡± Bai Yi ignored Woolf and said to the rest.


    This place was still relatively close to the road, and empty patches of land could still be found. The underbrush in other areas nearby grew so much that it was even taller than humans now.


    After more than an hour, Hong Qi Hua and Heloise ran back and shook their heads at Bai Yi.


    ¡°It¡¯s not possible, this road through the forest is completely ruined. If we wanted to fix it, then we¡¯d have to spend too much time.¡± Hong Qi Hua said.


    ¡°We will abandon the cars then. Pack up our stuff and we¡¯ll continue on foot.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Ah what lousy luck, we have to abandon the cars now.¡± Woolf scratched his head. Woolf now neared 2.8 meters, and looked just like a real monster. With a body size like his, manual labour definitely fell to him.


    The group of them were long prepared for a situation like this. After packing their food, medicine and weapons, they immediately set off again. As expected, Woolf himself carried a 4 meter plus bag made from monster skin, and it was packed full of food. Actually, this wasn¡¯t considered too heavy to Woolf now. He was already approaching 3 meters tall, with the addition of the gigantic bag he was carrying, he seemed like a moving hill.


    Of course, everyone else carried some things with them as well, as all of them had decent physical strength by now.


    ¡°Momo, do you want to come and sit on top?¡± Woolf said to Momo.


    Momo looked at the monster skin bag swaying as Woolf moved, and at Sharpei at the side. She immediately shook her head and rejected him, climbing onto Sharpei¡¯s back. Ever since Sharpei became big, Momo loved to ride Sharpei and run around.


    ¡°Momo, walk by yourself. Remember to keep up with us.¡± Bai Yi suddenly said.


    Momo was just about to climb onto Sharpei¡¯s back, but immediately looked at her daddy after hearing his words. After a while, she realised that her daddy had no intention of changing his mind and helplessly replied in a thin voice: ¡°En!¡±


    The others saw Momo¡¯s plea for help from her eyes. They¡¯d like to help but they were unable to do anything as well. Bai Yi really did love Momo, but every time Bai Yi wanted to teach Momo something, the rest of them had completely no say in it. Even if it was Mavis or Sara speaking, it was still completely useless. In Bai Yi¡¯s words, over-pampering was the same as harming the child.


    Bai Yi followed beside Momo, letting her run along with everyone else. He never changed his mind and he didn¡¯t even hold her hand while they ran. After using her puppy eyes on her daddy a few times, she finally gave up and knew that her daddy wouldn¡¯t change his mind. Unwillingly, Momo could only run along with her short legs, trying hard to follow everyone else. Bai Yi and the rest had such a tough time running through the forest, let alone Momo. Any small obstacle in this place was enough to completely engulf Momo.


    Very quickly, Hong Qi Hua and the rest ran along the road and disappeared in front, leaving Momo, Bai Yi, and Sharpei behind.


    ¡°Daddy!¡± Momo fell down again, her eyes looking like they were about to cry, making her seem very pitiable yet adorable.


    ¡°Stand up. If there¡¯s a branch blocking you then chop it off yourself!¡± Bai Yi said, drawing his broadsword and hacked apart a branch blocking their way on the road. Only after awhile did Momo purse her lips and draw her own short sword, learning from whatever Bai Yi did.


    ¡°Grab your sword well and mind the angle. Isn¡¯t it too stupid if you accidentally hurt yourself? Also, move faster, how long do you want others to wait for you?¡± Bai Yi said to Momo.


    Momo kept on holding onto her willpower, as well as a bit of hope, hoping that somebody would come and help her, hoping that her daddy would be soft-hearted¡­ Very unfortunately, after running for the entire afternoon, Momo¡¯s entire body became covered in dirt from all the sweat and dust, but there was still no sign of older sister Hong Qi Hua or Sara. Nobody came to help her, really nobody did. Even Sara, who doted on her the most usually, did not come. As she felt disappointed, her mindset gradually started to change as well.


    Your daddy is really damn scary when he gets serious!


    It was definitely a joyful thing to receive help from your friends, but you definitely couldn¡¯t put all your hope on that, Momo!


    Only when the sky turned dark did Bai Yi carry Momo and raise his speed. After an hour, they finally caught up with Hong Qi Hua and the rest of them. At this time, they had already set up a camp on a relatively undamaged patch of road. The tar road always felt quite dirty normally, but at this time it was much better than the soil and vegetation everywhere.


    Momo wiped herself clean simply and then very quickly fell asleep after eating. After such a long period of high-speed running in the afternoon, she was already extremely exhausted. This was still after being strengthened by the activated cells. Normally she could never endure to this extent.


    ¡°You are really strict!¡± Mavis said.


    ¡°China has a saying: a benevolent mother raises a failure!¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°You are a devil, devil father!¡± Sara said in a fit of discontentment. Honestly speaking, even she felt her heart ache seeing Bai Yi train Momo like this. Momo was still so young. Normally she could even see some teenagers whine and try to curry favour with their parents. ¡°Why did Momo choose you at the start? If I knew earlier¡­¡± Sara kept on muttering to herself.


    ¡°Ah¡­¡± Bai Yi smiled and neither retorted nor tried to explain himself.


    ¡­¡­


    After a few days, they finally reached the place where the research facility was located. Everyone really suffered a lot. By now they finally knew the large difference between walking and driving, this was especially so in the New Zealand that became like a primordial forest. This was still them moving along the original road, and they could roughly see where to go. If they really had to travel in the wilderness, they didn¡¯t know if they could cover even one tenth of the distance.


    Along the way they encountered numerous evolved lifeforms both large and small, and almost everyone fused with another one or two genes in some unexpected situation. Only Bai Yi and Momo remained the same without any changes.


    ¡°Here?¡± Bai Yi asked Martin.


    ¡°En, this is also what I saw by chance, along with the document about the drug to regain human form. In reality, where every research facility is located is a secret to low level researchers. I saw the document that time just out of luck.¡± Martin added.


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll enter. Be careful.¡± Bai Yi said to everyone.


    By now, everyone¡¯s appearance had completely changed, looking just like a group of demi-humans from different races. You couldn¡¯t even tell that Woolf and Martin were humans anymore, they were completely monsters. Similarly, colourful patterns appeared all over Bai Yi¡¯s body, making him look like a mutated caterpillar.


    Everybody placed their hopes on the drug to regain human form that Martin talked about, or else even if they managed to return to human society, they would never be able to stay in it.


    Entering the unassuming building, everyone slowly searched the place and finally found an electric cable train heading downwards. Bai Yi tested it and realised that this research facility still had power.


    ¡°The generators inside the research facilities are all independent. They all have their own miniaturized nuclear reactor inside.¡± Martin explained.


    ¡°How advanced, but what I¡¯m worried about isn¡¯t this. I can¡¯t help but feel this scene feels mysteriously familiar.¡± Bai Yi looked at the electric train and did not immediately get in.


    ¡°Resident Evil!¡± A few of them immediately said at the same time. (TN: Imagine a train with just one cabin, just like the one the movie characters escape from the Hive in. And it starts!)

 Chapter 60

    Resident Evil can be said to be the classic among the classics back then, and it created a scene of a cruel apocalypse in many people¡¯s minds. Basically, as long as they had a chance most people would go and watch this series. This electric cable train looked extremely similar to the electric cable train that was used to exit the Hive in the movie.


    ¡°This place isn¡¯t the Hive, right?¡± Bai Yi creased his eyebrows and asked Martin.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so¡­¡± Martin couldn¡¯t be sure himself.


    ¡°To think of it, I still can¡¯t understand why the largest facility was built inside a National Park.¡± Mavis added in.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t the biggest research facility. This is just the research facility with the Progenitor. How the research on activated cells progressed was completely up to chance, so the facilities weren¡¯t really built purposefully to be the largest or the smallest. Back then, this research facility wasn¡¯t too big, but it just happened that the Progenitor was born here, so this place became much more important. It wasn¡¯t convenient to move the Progenitor, and even though what we were researching was the same thing, everyone still wished to gain greater recognition and importance, so the Progenitor was kept here all along.¡± Martin explained.


    ¡°Is the research facility controlled by a computer?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°Not completely. The one with the highest authority inside is still a human. However, other than that guy, the other researchers have no such authority. We were all unable to enter and exit as we pleased. If not for the experimental monsters escaping, I might¡¯ve still been trapped inside the Northern Hamilton Research Facility.¡± Martin explained.


    ¡°Do you have a map of this place?¡± Bai Yi asked again.


    Martin very straightforwardly shook his head. Everyone wasn¡¯t in a good mood. They didn¡¯t even have a map and it was needless to say how important the research facility with the Progenitor inside was. If they were really trapped a few hundred meters underground like in the Resident Evil movie, they might not have the fortune to come back alive.


    ¡°Let¡¯s move!¡± Bai Yi took a deep breath and said to the others.


    Even if they felt a strange d¨¦j¨¤ vu, or had a bad feeling in their guts, they had no other choice now. Unless they were willing to live their entire lives as a monster, entering this underground research facility was their only choice. Moreover, this was the entire reason for their long journey.


    ¡­¡­


    While Bai Yi¡¯s group was entering the research facility from the normal entrance, there was another group of people rapidly approaching. Beside Yu Han was his now team leader and teammate. The leader was actually more than 4 meters tall, with long fur growing all over his body and having 4 huge arms. There were even a pair of wings behind him, looking just like a sinister giant gorilla monster. The most important thing was that this guy was walking very amiably beside Yu Han.


    ¡°You said that this research facility has a drug that can let us regain human form?¡±


    ¡°Yes, didn¡¯t team leader already confirm this matter?¡± Yu Han said respectfully.


    In this team now, Yu Han was already not the leader. In this world now, strength meant authority. Bentham was the real experimental monster that escaped from the research facility, a being that entered the LV2 Metamorphose Stage.


    Just as Martin said before, a lifeform would generate its ¡®absolute lifefield¡¯ after entering LV2. Through the use of their absolute lifefield, humans can actively manipulate and use the special energy inside their bodies. This was the real active usage of special energy, and not a passive enhancement like increasing a person¡¯s strength or agility.


    In Yu Han¡¯s eyes, Bentham¡¯s control and usage of energy still seemed to be very crude, but his strength was already worlds above his. The power of this guy was already becoming similar to the characters in animes and movies. Looking at this kind of situation, Yu Han yearned to improve even more. Rather than living a life of mediocrity, why not dive into this unknown world?


    ¡°Team leader, can we really find this research facility?¡± Yu Han asked. Even though he knew that there was a drug to regain human form in Tongariro National Park Research Facility, he did not know where the research facility was exactly. After entering the National Park, Bentham had been bringing them and moving along in a straight line until they had reached this place.


    ¡°It¡¯s right in front!¡±


    ¡°It hasn¡¯t been long since you guys fused with the Progenitor¡¯s activated cells, so you guys can¡¯t feel it yet. In truth, ever since entering Tongariro National Park, I can feel an intimidating aura. There can be no mistake, this aura came from the Progenitor.¡± Bentham said, his eyes being indescribably heavy.


    Really?


    Everyone felt shocked, but since it was Bentham that said it, they did not have any objections, because Bentham was much stronger than them.


    Very quickly, they came to a giant hole in the ground more than 30 meters in diameter. The hole was so deep that all they could see was pitch darkness when they looked down, and the soil around it still looked very new. This was the hole ripped open in the ground by the Progenitor¡¯s eruption at the start. The researchers filled back the hole partially, but after a few days when the activated cells epidemic broke out completely, nobody cared about the things here anymore.


    ¡°It¡¯s here, I can feel it. The Progenitor is right below us, but her aura is very weak now.¡±


    ¡°We will go down and dig into the research facility to look for the drug to regain human form that you talked about.¡± Bentham said. Bentham did not wait for anyone to object, and abruptly grabbed all of them with one arm each and threw them inside the giant hole.


    Other than Bentham in Yu Han¡¯s team, there were still three other new people. At this time, they felt instinctual fear looking at the bottomless hole, but they had no other choice. Bentham grabbed the four guys first, leaving Ning Xue and Khina standing at the edge of the giant hole.


    Will we meet with Uncle Bai and the others?


    Khina looked at pitch black hole and thought silently. Ning Xue came closer to Khina in fear. Although Khina looked like a real monster now, she was the only one that Ning Xue felt familiar with.


    ¡­¡­


    Bai Yi¡¯s group didn¡¯t know that Yu Han¡¯s group happened to come at this time as well. Moreover, Yu Han¡¯s team didn¡¯t come in through the normal entrance, but from the hole that the Progenitor made.


    ¡°How do we stop this thing?¡± Bai Yi asked everyone after the electric train started moving.


    Bai Yi was a chef, and Hong Qi Hua was a university student majoring in law. Woolf was an ingredient shop owner, and Heloise a newly-wed who taught at Otorohanga Middle School for two years. Martin was a researcher, Mavis was a doctor, and Sara was a nurse. Warner and Momo were both kids, so there was no need to think about their professions. There wasn¡¯t anybody here who knew how to operate this electric train.


    Martin immediately started to fiddle around with the controls, and after a few minutes the electric train finally started. However, looking at his face they knew that he was just randomly pressing buttons.


    How do we stop this!


    Everyone looked at each other and finally at Martin. Martin himself was also stunned, and started fiddling around with the controls again. Suddenly, everyone felt a sudden jerk and all of them could feel the train accelerating. Martin felt it as well and became more and more panicky, his right hand that was full of sharp hairs randomly pressing on the buttons.


    Suddenly, an ear-piercing alarm rang inside the train, even if they used their ass to think they knew it meant nothing good.


    Jump off the train?


    Bai Yi pushed open the train door with force, and the tunnel wall was less than a meter away from the train. With such a narrow distance, if they jumped out then they¡¯d definitely be squeezed between the train and wall, and grinded against the wall as the train moved. Even if it were with their physical bodies now, they would probably end up severely injured or dead. At this time, Bai Yi didn¡¯t have the time to scold anybody. To think of it, it was his lack of planning as well.


    ¡°Martin, try to stop the train. The others who have a lot of meat on them go to the end of the car, prepare to be a meat cushion. Be careful of your own knives and sharp metals, don¡¯t stab yourselves.¡± Bai Yi said.


    Woolf and Warner immediately ran towards the end of the train. They couldn¡¯t afford to be selfish at a time like this.


    Bai Yi went to the sides of the cabin. When he entered the train he had seen the location of the wheels. He looked again now and saw a metal pole used as a handhold in the middle of the cabin. He immediately looked at his broadsword and took a deep breath. At this time, he could only have faith that the sword that Old Harvey gave him was really of high quality.


    Bai Yi grabbed the sword with both hands and powerfully swung the sword.


    ¡®Clang!¡¯ the sound of metal clashing on metal rang out, the broadsword cut into the pole as if he were chopping a tree, and sliced into it by a third. Everyone felt quite shocked and speechless. This guy was becoming more and more monstrous. He¡¯d said that he didn¡¯t know any manga-like sword techniques, but what was this?!


    However, in the next moment everybody burst out laughing. Bai Yi¡¯s broadsword got stuck inside the metal pole and he couldn¡¯t pull it out. He even put one leg on the metal pole as support and tried his best to pull, but the posture that he was in made everyone laugh uncontrollably.


    Bai Yi was of course not so monstrous. The main reason why he could cut through a third of the metal pole was due to the strength and sharpness of his sword. Old Harvey really managed to get his hands on a good sword. However, Bai Yi¡¯s sword technique was also gradually improving from nothing to something, from the most basic usage of strength to the sword techniques that went against common sense.


    Bai Yi used his legs to push against the metal pole and finally managed to pull his sword out. After that he hacked a few more times and finally cut down the metal pole. At this time, Bai Yi realized that only some marks appeared on the broadsword. The edge wasn¡¯t even chipped.


    ¡°Woolf, come here and break open this area.¡± Bai Yi said to Woolf.


    Woolf did not hesitate and went over immediately to the place where Bai Yi pointed to and broke open a hole using his greatsword. From the opening in the cabin wall, they could see the rapidly spinning wheels.


    ¡°Martin, is it not stopping yet?!¡± Bai Yi shouted to Martin.


    ¡°Wait a moment, it¡¯s almost ready¡­ almost¡­¡± Martin¡¯s own voice was also very nervous.


    Bai Yi saw what Martin was like and knew that he couldn¡¯t depend on him. ¡°Everyone hold on tight! Be careful of the shaking!¡± Bai Yi shouted loudly. After everyone grabbed on tight, Bai Yi immediately thrust the cut off metal pole into the gap between axle of the wheel.

 Chapter 61

    Bai Yi thrust the pole inside the gap. With a sharp ¡®dang!¡¯, the powerful rotating force ripped the pole from Bai Yi¡¯s hands, and got stuck inside the axle. At this moment, the entire train started shaking and the sharp sound of metal and metal grinding against each other tore at their eardrums.


    Intense sparks appeared on the tracks and the train gradually started to tilt. Bai Yi immediately grabbed Momo with one hand and the seat beside him with another.


    Everyone was already prepared. The train started to tilt gradually and eventually landed heavily on its side on the tracks. The train shook violently as it skidded but everyone was stably grabbing onto something. After all, they were prepared, and they were already different from normal people. Intense sparks flew and the smoke from the great amount of friction filled the cabin, but everyone¡¯s expression was still relatively calm. The train speed was gradually slowed down as well.


    Suddenly, the tail end of the trail forcefully rammed into something, everyone suddenly lost their grips and abruptly flew to the end of the train. However, Woolf and Warner were both ready and acted as meat cushions at the bottom. ¡®Bang! Crash! Clang!¡¯ After dozens of seconds passed, the train finally came to a stop, and the tail end seemed to have become compressed together.


    After a moment, a foot violently kicked the train door. The door that had already become loose initially instantly flew out, revealing Bai Yi¡¯s miserable-looking figure.


    Sharpei jumped out after Bai Yi, and the rest of them gradually came out from the wrecked train.


    ¡°How is everybody, is anybody injured?¡± Bai Yi asked after seeing that everyone had gotten out.


    With everyone¡¯s ability now, in addition to their preparation, none of them would die from this but injuries were inevitable. After Mavis¡¯ check-up, only Woolf and Warner who were at the bottom suffered some injuries. After all, there was the immense impact and the weight of everyone else pressing onto them. Woolf¡¯s bled from his head while Warner¡¯s left arm bent at an unnatural angle, but luckily, these weren¡¯t major injuries.


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing major.¡± Mavis nodded to Bai Yi after checking up on them.


    ¡°Ha~!¡± Bai Yi revealed an empty smile, and everyone suddenly felt very awkward. They had just entered the research facility and the team almost got wiped out! Especially Martin, if not for Bai Yi figuring out a way to stop the train at the last moment, they could only imagine what the result would be from the deadly impact.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Bai Yi, I¡­¡± Martin wanted to explain himself.


    ¡°It¡¯s due to my lack of forethought. Now everyone gather. We need to discuss everything anew.¡± Bai Yi said to everyone after Martin apologized.


    ¡°Judging from our professions and the incident just now, we have nobody here that is familiar with electronics. With such a big research facility, the defence would definitely be very tight. So now, we need to find a new teammate.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°New teammate?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m talking about the people inside the research facility. Martin didn¡¯t you say that other than the overall in charge, normal researchers didn¡¯t have the power to enter or leave this place as they pleased? If that was the case, then there should be a lot of people left in this research facility.¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°First, let¡¯s look for such a person. Then, we¡¯ll let the person join in a limited way¡­¡±


    ¡°Bai Yi, look over there!¡± Bai Yi wanted to continue talking, but Sara pointed towards a specific direction. In that direction they saw the open door towards the true research facility.


    Bai YI turned his head and got surprised. Why is it open?


    ¡°Anyway, everyone be careful from now on. There aren¡¯t only gene-fused monsters here, but also various high-tech weaponry, I don¡¯t wish to see any of you getting cut into pieces by lasers.¡± Bai Yi reminded again, before leading everyone towards the thick open door. Everyone else held their swords and guns cautiously, and followed behind Bai Yi.


    ¡°An elevator, should we go in?¡±


    ¡°No, we¡¯ll take the stairs. Anyways, we aren¡¯t lacking in stamina now. What we¡¯re afraid of are accidents.¡± Bai Yi said and headed down the stairs. Everyone immediately recalled the scene in the electric train. If something had gone wrong in the elevator as well, then it wouldn¡¯t be as easy to survive a drop of a few hundred meters.


    Very quickly, they reached the deeper building complex of the research facility. Bai Yi¡¯s group carefully searched every room that they came across. All the room doors were open and weren¡¯t locked as they expected it to be. They then finally came to a room with a few computers in it. Bai Yi looked at the rest of them, and they stared back at Bai Yi blankly.


    Damn it, everyone here probably only knew how to surf the internet with their computers.


    ¡°Forget about it, we¡¯ll just take a look. It will be good if we can find a map of this place.¡± Bai Yi prepared to switch on the computer, but realized that it was actually on standby mode.


    After the screen lit up, the group of them tried to see what was on the screen, but in the next moment, the doors around them slammed shut instantly, trapping the group of them within the room and its corridor.


    What did we trigger?


    Hong Qi Hua immediately tried to see if she could open the glass door, but in the end, it didn¡¯t even budge an inch. Bai Yi continued to browse the information on the computer. Honestly speaking, there was a lot of information on the computer, but more than 90% of it was some remote and technical information about various lifeforms, so Bai Yi couldn¡¯t understand any of it. As for the parts that he could understand, it was completely useless in their current situation.


    At this time, Woolf held onto his greatsword and gestured for the few of them to clear the way.


    ¡®DANG!¡¯, the sound of a great impact rang out. Woolf was still quite nonchalant at first, but in the end, there wasn¡¯t even a scratch on the reinforced glass door. Seeing that there was no effect, Woolf got serious and raised his greatsword with both his hands again.


    ¡°Stop your companion, otherwise I will activate the defence systems.¡± Suddenly, a virtual image of a girl appeared on the computer screen. The girl seemed quite petite, and appeared to be innocent and childish. However, none of them dared to believe the surface image.


    Bai Yi immediately raised his left hand at Woolf, telling him to stop.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°I should be the one asking you guys, who are you? You guys don¡¯t tally with any of the researchers working here, and based on your biological characteristics you guys should be experimental subjects here. However, your information doesn¡¯t tally with any of the data we have of the experimental subjects here either. The only remaining possibility is that you guys are invaders from outside.¡± The virtual girl said.


    ¡°I guess we can be considered invaders, who are you?¡±


    ¡°I am the second artificial intelligence in this research facility, in charge of keeping all the experimental subjects locked up and preventing them from escaping.¡± Yeye spun around and answered enthusiastically.


    ¡°I was asleep just now, but you guys suddenly woke me up. I still thought the monsters I locked up escaped, but since that¡¯s not the case then it¡¯s none of my business.¡± Yeye yawned adorably and the reinforced glass door behind them opened by itself. Asleep, did she mean a computer in sleep mode?


    ¡°You¡¯re releasing us just like this? Aren¡¯t we invaders?¡± Bai Yi asked in doubt.


    ¡°That¡¯s my sister¡¯s job, it¡¯s not under my job scope and I can¡¯t be bothered either.¡± Just like an actual spoiled child, Yeye really disappeared after speaking.


    ¡°She¡¯s totally a kid!¡± Sara said.


    ¡°No, she¡¯s only an artificial intelligence, the so-called ¡®like a kid¡¯ is just a setting for it. No matter how much she looks like a child, fundamentally she¡¯s an artificial intelligence. An AI doesn¡¯t have human emotions, only clear objectives and rules set on them. Since she already said that her job was to keep the experimental monsters locked up, the other safety matters inside this research facility are not her responsibility.¡± Hong Qi Hua analyzed calmly.


    ¡°That means?¡±


    ¡°That means that if it¡¯s something she¡¯s not responsible for, she wouldn¡¯t care about it even if she had the ability to.¡± Hong Qi Hua added on.


    ¡°Normally, your analysis would be correct, but Yeye isn¡¯t that kind of antique computer ok? I¡¯m a true artificial intelligence. Do you want to try it? I can activate the defence system inside the research facility now, heh.¡± Yeye jumped out suddenly. When she appeared again, there was a swimming pool in her background, and she seemed to be playing happily.


    ¡°Let¡¯s try it!¡± Hong Qi Hua nodded seriously.


    ¡°Are you sure? From the looks of it you have some status in this team, but you aren¡¯t the team leader. There isn¡¯t any hot weapons that can attack you guys now, there¡¯s only a toxic nerve gas. Are you sure you want to try?¡± Yeye laid down on her swimming float and teased. This kind of teasing tone, on the contrary, made the rest of them not dare to act recklessly.


    ¡°Yeye, do you mean that you can truly act independently?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°Who knows?¡± Yeye said childishly, but at this moment nobody could smile. If there really was some toxic nerve gas, they hadn¡¯t developed to the level where they could ignore such a thing.


    ¡°Can you tell us what exactly happened here?¡± Bai Yi asked. From the looks of it, this artificial intelligence called Yeye didn¡¯t seem to be hostile.


    ¡°Heh, do you think I will tell a bunch of invaders the cause behind everything?¡± Yeye said wilfully.


    ¡°Actually, it¡¯s just the eruption of the Progenitor, proliferation of the activated cells, Doctor Wang leaving the research facility, and taking older sister ¡®Sunlight¡¯ with him as well. In the entire research facility, other than the imprisonment of experimental subjects under my control, all other defences are in an inactivated state.¡± She was clearly being wilful just a moment ago, but in the next moment she suddenly spewed out the entire situation.


    The eruption of the Progenitor, Doctor Wang, older sister ¡®Sunlight¡¯¡­ Bai Yi¡¯s group suddenly felt that they discovered the truth behind New Zealand¡¯s change. Everything happened too fast and it was too simple as well. The bunch of them were still stunned trying to process everything.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°This place is the research facility!¡±


    Bentham brought Yu Han and the others down the giant hole. Before they reached the deepest part, they could already see the broken layer in the construction. After throwing everyone into a ruined corridor, Bentham went back to fetch Ning Xue and Khina. As for Yu Han and the others, they shined their lights nearby, observing this giant hole that suddenly appeared and the ruined corridors nearby.


    Invasion¡­Just what kind of power caused this?

 Chapter 62

    ¡°Can you tell us in detail what exactly happened in this research facility?¡± Bai Yi and a few others asked Yeye seriously.


    ¡°It¡¯s a very simple matter.¡±


    She continued. ¡°On the 3rd of January 2020, the Progenitor awakened. On the 23rd of March 2020, early morning, the Progenitor suddenly erupted. Using a power that can¡¯t be explained by current knowledge, it ripped apart the research facility, forming a giant hole like that of a volcano. After that the Progenitor erupted all of its flesh and blood out through the hole, proliferating over all of New Zealand and its surrounding sea.¡±


    ¡°Doctor Wang is the overall in charge of this research facility. The moment the incident happened, he immediately thought of the state New Zealand was going to become. He then prepared all the data and took away the main computer system, my older sister¡­ ¡¯Sunlight¡¯. Due to sister being taken away, there was nobody taking control of the defence system inside the research facility. Although I had the ability to take over her role, I of course couldn¡¯t be bothered to do so.¡± The background behind Yeye changed again to a barbeque shop, and she was eating barbequed meat without any care for her image while explaining to Bai Yi.


    In truth, they didn¡¯t understand why Yeye was doing this. She was just a virtual image, she couldn¡¯t taste the taste of barbecued meat anyway.


    ¡°Why did the Progenitor do so?¡±


    Yeye didn¡¯t answer but looked at Sara with an ¡®are you stupid, how would I know¡¯ expression.


    ¡°What is the relationship between you, Sunlight and Doctor Wang?¡±


    ¡°Simple, the highest authority here is Doctor Wang, but as a human he can¡¯t possibly oversee everything. Hence, the major responsibilities were passed to Sunlight. However, humans always liked to have safeguards against unexpected situations, so that resulted in me, the second artificial intelligence¡­ ¡®Moonlight¡¯.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t your name Yeye?¡± Woolf asked in puzzlement.


    Bai Yi, Hong Qi Hua and Mavis looked at Yeye in astonishment.


    It was true, it was really true! Yeye was just as she said. She had the ability to act autonomously. One must know, a name as a representation of somebody normally did not have much of a special meaning. However, if an artificial intelligence could change her name, even if it were just a single letter, it meant something completely different. (TN: So, the ¡®Ye¡¯ in Yeye is actually the Chinese word for ¡®night¡¯, and ¡®Ye Guang¡¯ which is literally night light is Yeye¡¯s real name, which also means ¡®moonlight¡¯. So Yeye changed her name based on her real name to something cuter and more affectionate.)


    ¡°That¡¯s what they call me, but I like the name Yeye!¡± Yeye chewed some unknown barbecued meat in her mouth and spoke in a muffled voice with her mouth full of meat.


    ¡°Yeye, do you know where the drug that can let us regain human form is?¡± Bai Yi asked straightforwardly.


    ¡°There¡¯s no such drug!¡± Yeye said nonchalantly.


    No such drug!


    Bai Yi and the rest of them didn¡¯t know how to describe their feelings right now. They¡¯d carried such great expectations here only to suddenly find out that everything was just their delusion. The thing they hoped for actually didn¡¯t exist. This intense disappointment was really just indescribable.


    ¡°There¡¯s really no such drug?¡± Bai Yi asked again seriously.


    ¡°There¡¯s no drug to regain human form, but there¡¯s a type of drug here ¨C Prototy original form drug (TN: the drug is called ¡®Prototy Drug¡¯ in english in the raws, but Prototy Drug is followed be the term ¡®original form drug¡¯, so i dropped the first drug. And yeah it¡¯s not prototype drug but prototy drug). The meaning behind this is that even if you fused with genes from other lifeforms, it wouldn¡¯t cause any changes in your physical body. In truth, after discovering that the human body will undergo great changes after fusing with other genes, the researchers here had already started researching this area.¡± Yeye said and instantly raised great hope in everyone again.


    ¡°However, the drug has not been successfully developed yet.¡± Yeye added again.


    The smiles that had yet to fully appear on their faces froze again.


    ¡°But it still has a certain amount of effect.¡±


    Even Bai Yi didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry, as Yeye was really too much. Just a few words from her could cause them to hope and despair in cycles, and all of them had extremely strange expressions on their faces now. However, Yeye seemed to be very happy, jumping and laughing inside the computer screen, seemingly delighted at how she managed to tease them.


    ¡°Yeye, are you just purposely messing with us?¡± Bai Yi asked again in the end.


    ¡°I¡¯m not! Everything that I said was the truth. There¡¯s no drug here that can let somebody that turned into a monster regain their original form, but there¡¯s the Prototy original form drug.(TN: In case anybody is confused, she¡¯s saying that the drug can stop any changes from happening to the body, but not reverse any changes that already happened.) Other than that, before the eruption of the Progenitor¡¯s activated cells, the drug was merely at the mature stage and hadn¡¯t been perfected yet. We can¡¯t be sure if there will be any side effects to the drug.¡± Yeye was sitting on a table now and swinging her legs.


    ¡°Then can you tell us where is the drug now?¡±


    ¡°En¡­¡­ wait, there¡¯s new people entering the research facility. They entered through the giant hole that the Progenitor created, are they your companions?¡± Yeye said and suddenly displayed an image of a few people on the screen. They immediately stared at the screen in shock, Yu Han and the few others had changed greatly, but they definitely wouldn¡¯t recognise them wrongly.


    ¡°They aren¡¯t our companions. We can only say that we know each other. We got to know of the drug to regain human form in this research facility at the same time, but we split up after that.¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°Oh~~, those people on the other side seem to be more capable. They aren¡¯t as foolhardy as you guys.¡± Yeye displayed another image again. A man held his laptop and used a cable to link to a door, trying to break open the defence system.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that the defence system in the entire facility is deactivated?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m in charge of that place.¡± Yeye rolled her eyes at Martin.


    If Yeye was in charge of that place, didn¡¯t that mean¡­ that was the place imprisoning all the experimental monsters?! Everyone suddenly understood while Yeye casually sipped on her cup of coffee, happily admiring this group of people trying to break her defence system. However, Yeye¡¯s image suddenly wavered and she revealed a shocked face.


    ¡°How powerful, stop¡­!¡± Yeye said in shock and suddenly her image disappeared.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Everyone stared at the screen and Woolf asked dumbly.


    ¡°She got hacked.¡± Hong Qi Hua said solemnly.


    ¡°Hacked?¡±


    ¡°To put it simply, the person who hacked Yeye¡¯s defence system in Yu Han¡¯s team is more capable than we thought. Perhaps Yeye hasn¡¯t really been hacked yet, but she is unable to maintain her presence here. No matter how smart she is and has an autonomous consciousness, she is still just an artificial intelligence.¡± Bai Yi said. Suddenly, a file transfer appeared on the screen.


    ¡°Hong Qi Hua, laptop!¡± Bai Yi immediately said.


    Hong Qi Hua immediately connected her laptop to the computer, and transferred the file over to her laptop. This was a 3D image of the research facility, but the file wasn¡¯t complete, and they could only see a part of it. They could only see from their position to the position of Yu Han¡¯s group.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on now?¡±


    ¡°Yeye¡¯s responsibility is to prevent the experimental monsters from escaping, no matter how intelligent she is, as long as she is still an artificial intelligence then she has to follow that objective. By giving us this incomplete map, she wants us to go and stop Yu Han¡¯s group.¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°Why should we go and stop them?¡±


    ¡°The place that Yu Han¡¯s group is heading to is where the experimental monsters are imprisoned, but they do not know this. Once they release the experimental monsters¡­ all of us will die for sure! Moreover, with the size of this place, does anybody know where we can find the Prototy drug?¡± Bai Yi said to everyone seriously after he walked out through the glass door and turned his head.


    With that, even Woolf, who was the dumbest, understood. They had no choice but to stop Yu Han, regardless if it was to stop them from releasing the experimental monsters or to reactivate Yeye to find out the location of the drug.


    Hong Qi Hua held the laptop in her hands. The screen displayed the 3D map of the place as well as everyone¡¯s locations. Hong Qi Hua fiddled with her computer, and suddenly a pathway appeared on the screen. This was the closest one to Yu Han¡¯s group.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Bai Yi said to everyone.


    This time there was no hesitation. They immediately grabbed their weapons and followed the indicated pathway to where Yu Han was.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Is it this direction?¡± Bentham asked.


    ¡°I have already obtained the general map of this place from the computer. The entire research facility is split into an upper and lower section. The upper section is again split into five buildings, there¡¯s one building in each of the four directions and a main building in the center. This is our location now. Normally, the most important thing would be kept at the deepest level for research, and this door heads to the lower section.¡± Balawi said to Bentham.


    ¡°There¡¯s experimental monsters inside the research facility.¡± Yu Han said in neither a light or heavy tone, and everyone¡¯s bodies suddenly stiffened.


    ¡°Then what do we do?¡± Everyone looked at Bentham.


    Bentham recalled the scene where he¡¯d escaped from the Northern Hamilton Research Facility. To think of it, when he escaped initially, he was just running along with the other experimental monsters. He wasn¡¯t even sure how he escaped at all. As for where the experimental monsters were imprisoned here, how would he know?


    ¡°We go down!¡± Bentham decided at the end.


    The rest of them didn¡¯t say anything and followed behind Bentham.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Damn monkey, I could finally take over that side since sister got taken away, but you actually disconnected me now. But anyway, I¡¯m so bored¡­ Human food, just what does it taste like¡­¡± Yeye stared at the sky and actually started to drool. No matter how exquisite or how adorable she was, she was still just a virtual image made by a computer.


    After blanking out for a while, Yeye finally stopped zoning out and controlled the weapons inside the corridor to attack Yu Han¡¯s group.


    ¡­¡­


    In the deep end of the research facility, the Progenitor¡¯s dried and shrivelled body lay in the cultivating pool. Various types of nutrition were continuously being pumped inside. After the Progenitor erupted, she was on the verge of death but still not yet dead. The researchers moved the Progenitor to another place and delivered her here.


    After that was the breakout of extreme hunger. The researchers who understood activated cells well immediately escaped this place after knowing that the defence systems were deactivated. After that, nobody tended to this place anymore.


    Suddenly, the Progenitor, who had a very weak life force left, slowly opened her right eye. Fleshly tumours with blood vessels running over them still surrounded her eyelids. However, everything that was happening in the research facility was being reflected in that eye of hers.


    Ah~!

 Chapter 63

    Bai Yi¡¯s group very quickly rushed towards Yu Han¡¯s location using the indicated pathway, but the research facility was frighteningly large. Moreover, even though the defence system was deactivated, that didn¡¯t mean that the doors were open. Perhaps the time taken to open each door wasn¡¯t long, but every second was precious now. If they really let Yu Han¡¯s team release the experimental monsters, then they were all screwed.


    ¡°Martin, how are the experimental monsters in the research facility locked up?¡±


    ¡°Although the activated cells have a chain infection capability, but it isn¡¯t like the T-virus which can infect even the dead. Hence, the defences aren¡¯t as strict as in zombie movies. In reality, gene-fused monsters are actually just powerful beasts. Large-sized experimental monsters are locked up individually, normally one to a room. As for those smaller and colony-type lifeforms, they are kept together. Other than those mutants, the prison for the experimental monsters did not require any special preparations either.¡± Martin replied after hearing Bai Yi¡¯s questions.


    ¡°That means that it¡¯s impossible for the experimental monsters to all be released at once, unless the main artificial intelligence gets hacked?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Martin nodded while sprinting with the others.


    ¡°I hope that they won¡¯t be so reckless.¡± Bai Yi said and jumped down from a flight of stairs. After falling for more than 10 meters, he pushed off the railing and landed on flat ground. He then raised both his hands and Hong Qi Hua threw Momo over to him.


    A terrified scream pierced the air and Momo landed into Bai Yi¡¯s arms.


    After a while, Momo finally opened her eyes and looked at Bai Yi shyly. Bai Yi smiled at Momo and placed her on top of Sharpei, letting Sharpei run along with everyone else. Bai Yi had already told everyone in the team before to not go out of their way to look after Momo just because she was small. They had to let Momo get used to New Zealand now. To put it simply¡­ to let Momo get used to facing danger.


    ¡­¡­


    After getting attacked by the defence system, Yu Han¡¯s team were even more certain that they had entered the truly important place, the core area. One couldn¡¯t help but admit that humans had this kind of psychology. The more guarded a place was, the more important it felt. If something was placed simply in front of them, they would actually feel suspicious about it.


    Yu Han¡¯s team was just like this.


    Bearing with the pressure along the way, they destroyed the weapons on the sides of the corridor, and finally arrived in front of a door.


    Yeye¡¯s image appeared on the small screen in front of the electronic door and prepared to tell them to leave this place and the experimental monsters. However, the moment Yeye appeared, Yu Han¡¯s team whose nerves were extremely tense from the attacks before immediately fired their guns at the screen. With a few gunshots, the small screen immediately started to smoke.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Yeye revealed a dumb look, as if she only reacted after being stunned for a long time.


    ¡°Idiots, morons, dumbasses¡­ Hehehehe.¡± Yeye swore for a while and started laughing to herself. She then hummed an unknown song happily while reactivating the defence system.


    Just like what Bai Yi and the others guessed, Yeye had her own autonomous consciousness now, but she was still restricted by her programming. She could not go against the responsibility placed onto her by her creators ¨C to prevent the experimental monsters from escaping.


    To fulfil this role, Yeye¡¯s artificial intelligence would analyze the situation immediately and produce the optimal solution. This included making Bai Yi¡¯s group stop them, or appearing to warn them not to proceed ahead¡­ However, in truth, the autonomous consciousness that Yeye had did not care at all if the experimental monsters escaped. It didn¡¯t matter to her even if they really did.


    So Yeye only fumed for a while when Yu Han¡¯s team destroyed the digital screen. She immediately did not bother about it anymore, and prepared to activate the other defence systems while humming her song.


    ¡°Hmmm~~~, should I just use the poison gas? But due to the Progenitor¡¯s destruction, the ventilation system is spoiled as well, so I can¡¯t use it normally. Ah, stopping the experimental monsters from escaping doesn¡¯t mean killing them, so I shouldn¡¯t do that.¡± Yeye hummed her song and muttered to herself. Actually, the processing speed of her artificial intelligence was very fast. She had answers to these questions long ago, just that Yeye liked to say things out loud just like a real human would.


    ¡°Something seemed to appear on that screen just now.¡± Khina said, holding a submachine gun in her hands and carrying a machete on her back.


    ¡°What was it?¡±


    ¡°It seemed to be an image of a person, but it was destroyed the moment it appeared.¡± Khina looked at Moses. Moses was one of the newcomers, a white male that now looked like a lion from his neck up. A thick mane of hair dozens of centimeters long grew from his neck.


    ¡°Noel, continue opening the door.¡± Bentham said to the man carrying the laptop after pulling his claw back from the wall, a giant hole appearing in the wall itself.


    ¡°Ok!¡± The man walking in the back cautiously came to the front and started hacking the system.


    More than 10 minutes later when everyone started to get impatient, the door finally opened. The lighting system inside automatically switched on and everyone stared at the scene inside wide-eyed.


    They were now at a walkway, but this walkway was extraordinarily large. Over the heads was a simulated sky, making them feel like they¡¯d returned to the surface again. The walkway formed a giant circular shape, and on the sides of the walkway were countless individual rooms. Without even approaching the rooms, everyone could feel an immense pressure. They could also see a ladder heading towards the center in front of them.


    ¡°This place is?¡± Yu Han said in puzzlement. This didn¡¯t seem like a place for researching drugs.


    At this moment, Bentham felt his body go cold. This shape, this environment, there could be no mistake. This was the place used to imprison the experimental monsters! All the prisons formed a circular shape, while the giant cylinder in the center connected all the prisons. Other than letting various experimental monsters switch rooms, there was also a huge platform in the center for the experimental monsters to battle each other. They could use that to test the experimental monsters¡¯ fighting strength as well as collect other data.


    Bentham looked at the platform and immediately recalled the scene of him battling for his life with other monsters, his eyes turning bloodshot instantly.


    ¡°ROARRRR!¡±


    A berserk roar shot out from Bentham¡¯s mouth, and powerful soundwaves shook everyone until they almost fainted. With this roar, the monsters trapped inside the rooms started to become agitated and rowdy. After a while, Bentham finally turned his head around and his eyes filled with murderous intent made everyone subconsciously be on guard.


    ¡°Relax, I¡¯m one of the few LV2 experimental subjects, I can already control my own emotions. If I were at the LV1-2 Brutal Stage, I would¡¯ve probably started killing already.¡± Bentham placed one hand over his eyes and said in a low voice.


    Yu Han and the rest stared at Bentham involuntarily after hearing his words. LV1-1 Binging Stage, LV1-2 Brutal Stage¡­and LV2 Metamorphose Stage, these were the names given by the researchers, but what exactly was the difference between them?


    ¡°Are we still searching here?¡± Noel asked.


    Bentham looked at the huge walkway, and walked towards the side to a reinforced glass window. A gene-fused monster laid inside, but it didn¡¯t have many changes and it also appeared to be very skinny. Bentham knew with a look that it hadn¡¯t been long since it assimilated with the activated cells, so there wasn¡¯t much of a change. Moreover, with the long period of starvation, it was already very good that it could still survive.


    The powerful experimental monsters would of course be imprisoned at the bottom-most level, there would definitely not be any at the entrance area.


    The rest of them came over and took a look as well. The gene-fused monster looked at everyone and gave a low growl. It slowly stood up, and in its eyes flashed a ravenous hunger.


    Bentham walked towards giant cylinder in the center, and saw the big platform at the center.


    That¡¯s the place!


    In Bentham¡¯s head, countless fighting scenes and experiments appeared in his mind. Bentham then turned around to call everyone to leave this place, but he suddenly looked at a passageway cautiously. The rest of them saw Bentham¡¯s actions and listened carefully. After a while, they finally heard some hurried footsteps rapidly approaching their location. All of them looked cautiously in that direction and held their own weapons firmly.


    After a while, Bai Yi¡¯s group finally reached their destination. They looked at the heavily damaged passageway and the wide-open door. Bai Yi gripped his broadsword tightly and tightened the hook gun on his back, then walked step by step slowly inside.


    ¡®Kachi Kachi¡¯ they could hear sounds of guns being raised and all of them became anxious.


    At the opening of the passageway, Bai Yi¡¯s group appeared and just happened to be opposite where Yu Han¡¯s group was on the observation deck.


    Although they had all changed greatly, they wouldn¡¯t fail to recognise each other now that they met again. In reality, Yu Han also thought that they might encounter Bai Yi¡¯s group in the research facility, just that he didn¡¯t expect that it would really happen. Both sides aimed their guns and stared at each other. What would they do?


    ¡°Long time no see.¡± Bai Yi spoke first.


    ¡°Oh, thanks to you, it really has been quite long.¡± Actually, it hadn¡¯t been that long either, but in the New Zealand now where they weren¡¯t even sure if they could survive to the next day, it seemed like a long period of time.


    ¡°Then, what do you think?¡± Yu Han stood on the observation deck and looked down at Bai Yi.


    ¡°Leave this place, the experimental monsters are locked up here. If anything happens, neither of us will gain anything.¡± Bai Yi said seriously.


    ¡°How do you know so well? Also, why should we listen to you?¡±


    If Yu Han¡¯s group had the intention to leave this place before, that intention changed with the appearance of Bai Yi. As we say, people¡¯s attitudes had very strange rebellious natures, especially towards the group of people who were their enemies. Yu Han couldn¡¯t help but suspect that Bai Yi had a deeper motive, such as¡­ something really important was being hidden here.

 Chapter 64

    ¡®Aren¡¯t you going to introduce us?¡± Bentham saw Yu Han and Bai Yi talking for a while and interrupted.


    ¡°This is the guy I¡¯ve mentioned to you before, Bai Yi, the team leader, and this is¡­¡± Yu Han slowly stepped back and introduced them, but he did not add anything extra in the introductions. In truth, through this period of time he realized that Bentham wasn¡¯t stupid. A real idiot probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to rise above the other experimental monsters and survive to return to the outside world.


    ¡°And this man is the researcher from Northern Hamilton Research Facility¡­ Mr Martin Anderson!¡± Yu Han pointed at Martin and introduced grandly.


    Bai Yi had already put up his guard when Yu Han introduced them in such a way, why did he put the center of attention on Martin? As expected, the four-limbed gorilla whose expression was initially quite normal suddenly froze and revealed a cruel smile after knowing who Martin was.


    ¡°Oh~ So he¡¯s a researcher from Northern Hamilton Research Facility, I wonder if you know me?¡± This four-limbed gorilla slowly walked down.


    ¡°You are?¡±


    ¡°I am Bentham.¡±


    Martin looked at the four-limbed gorilla in puzzlement, trying to recall who was he. At this time, Bentham had already walked down from the observation deck and was only 20 meters from Bai Yi¡¯s group. Bai Yi tilted his body slightly and put his hand on the hilt of his broadsword. Bentham looked at Bai Yi¡¯s actions and revealed a mocking smile.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t recall that name, then what about No. 0124-2!¡± Bentham glared at Martin viciously.


    Martin was still thinking about who was he, but when he heard that number he immediately stepped back in shock.


    ¡°No. 0124-2, you are the experimental subject that entered LV2 in Northern Hamilton Research Facility!¡± Martin said in shock.


    ¡°En, that¡¯s right. Back then in the research facility, I was really tortured miserably by you inhumane researchers. I never thought that you would have this day too, but¡­¡± Bentham said slowly in a seemingly calm voice.


    ¡°This is not enough!¡±


    ¡°This is far from enough!¡±


    Suddenly, Bentham roared viciously, and his expression turned sinister in an instant. Powerful sound waves crashed into them and disorientated them. At the same time, Bentham shot out like a bullet towards Martin.


    Bai Yi felt that something was not right from the start, and after knowing Bentham was an experimental monster from the research facility he had raised his guard to 120%. Bai Yi didn¡¯t know what the experimental subjects had gone through in the research facility, but he guessed that it probably wasn¡¯t anything pleasant. However, no matter what Martin was his teammate now.


    Bai Yi immediately moved, and his broadsword swung towards Bentham mercilessly.


    ¡®Ding!¡¯, Bentham¡¯s giant right claw caught the blade, his five fingers pinched onto the body of the blade tightly. There was just a small distance to his palm, but the blade was completely immobile. At this moment, Bentham showed a cruel smile to Bai Yi and clenched his other fist.


    Bai Yi hurriedly crossed his left arm in front of his chest, but it was easily pushed back and landed heavily on his chest.


    In an instant, Bai Yi could hear his ribs fracturing in his chest. His heart instantly stopped beating from the immense impact. After that his body flew out like a ragdoll and slammed heavily into a wall behind him, finally slowly sliding down from the wall.


    Everything happened in an instant. Bentham¡¯s rush, Bai Yi trying to block him and flying out, and after that Bentham was grabbing onto Martin by his neck.


    This was¡­ LV2 Metamorphose Stage!


    Everyone looked at Bentham in shock. Only Hong Qi Hua rushed out following behind Bai Yi. Her two short knives sliced across Bentham¡¯s back from the left and right. Due to the height difference, Hong Qi Hua could only manage to reach this spot. ¡®Puchi!¡¯, just like toy swords cutting cow skin, Hong Qi Hua¡¯s short knives felt unimaginable resistance the moment it touched Bentham¡¯s body. At this time, Bentham¡¯s two other hands came grabbing fiercely, Hong Qi Hua instantly forced a direction change and shot out backwards.


    Only now did the others react and aim their guns towards Bentham.


    ¡°What are you planning to do?¡± Hong Qi Hua rolled on the floor, and asked Bentham half kneeling.


    ¡°What do I plan to do? That¡¯s a good question. What am I planning to do? The moment I heard that this guy was a researcher from the research facility I just burst out in anger, but what should I do exactly?¡± Bentham clutched onto Martin¡¯s neck, his hand slowly using more and more force. Martin struggled vigorously but it was to no avail.


    ¡°I suddenly thought of a good idea!¡± Bentham suddenly said in delight, but Bai Yi¡¯s group felt their hearts dip.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you guys make various experimental subjects fight each other in the center to gauge their changes and battle strength? Why not you try it as well?¡± Bentham pulled in close to Martin and said. Martin started struggling even more when he heard Bentham¡¯s words, he seemed to be very afraid of the thing that Bentham talked about.


    Bai Yi was undergoing emergency resuscitation by Mavis, and she finally managed to get his heart beating again. Bai Yi slowly got up, the immense impact just now had even caused his heart to stop. He¡¯d almost died just like that. This let Bai Yi deeply understand that his strength compared to a LV2 was like heaven and earth.


    Seeing that Bai Yi was revived, Yu Han couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit disappointed inside. However, in the next instant he regained his calmness. With Bai Yi¡¯s personality, he would never abandon his teammates. If that was the case, then a clash with Bentham was unavoidable. I¡¯m afraid that you guys don¡¯t even know the true power of a LV2. It¡¯d be best if you guys just died like this¡­ No, the best would be if it ended in mutual destruction.


    ¡°Put Martin down!¡± Bai Yi walked back slowly, his broadsword facing downwards.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a teammate, are you really going to become enemies with me over an inhumane researcher? You must realise that there¡¯s no conflict between you and me.¡± Bentham looked down at Bai Yi.


    Bai Yi gestured lightly and everyone in the team focused their attention and prepared for battle. Opposite him, Bentham smiled sinisterly and raised his three other arms, while behind him Yu Han and a few others grabbed their own weapons.


    Ning Xue was still hesitating, while Khina did not make any movements.


    Are we really going to battle?


    Bai Yi closed his eyes for a moment, nobody knew what he was thinking about.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to judge Martin¡¯s past in the research facility. You can talk about how immoral and inhumane he was, because all of us can probably guess what had happened in there. However¡­That was the Martin before, the Martin now is my teammate.¡± Bai Yi opened his eyes suddenly. Inside those eyes eyes contained not even a trace of hesitation or doubt.


    ¡°Ha!¡± Yu Han sneered at him. Teammates and friendship, is it?


    In practically an instant, Bai Yi and Yu Han both pressed the trigger, the target wasn¡¯t Bentham in the middle, but each other. Their actions were like a signal for the others, causing everyone to descend into a chaotic battle. Gunshots rang continuously, everyone dodged rapidly while trying to shoot their opponents.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Hehehehe, they started fighting!¡± Yeye looked at the situation through the surveillance camera and giggled. At this time, Yeye sat on a small chair and snacked on some tidbits. It felt like seeing the battle between the two teams was just like watching a movie to her.


    ¡°I can¡¯t judge the situation for now, so I¡¯ll just watch the show¡­ oh, I meant observe, observe!¡± Yeye muttered to herself, observing everything that was happening through the cameras spread throughout the entire facility.


    ¡­¡­


    Everybody had shockingly fast movements, jumping, rolling, and dodging in an environment where bullets flew everywhere. Other than the few who had large body sizes or were slower, the rest of them managed to find cover in a short period of time. Even for those that got shot, this kind of ¡®minor¡¯ injury wasn¡¯t something they would be worried about.


    Bai Yi never thought he would be able to kill Yu Han just like that, so in the moment when Yu Han was dodging he rushed towards Bentham at the center. Behind Bai Yi, Hong Qi Hua sheathed her knives and took out two high caliber revolvers, aiming them at Bentham¡¯s eyes.


    ¡®BANG BANG!¡¯, Hong Qi Hua raised her guns slightly. The two bullets instantly flew across the tip of Bai Yi¡¯s head and towards Bentham¡¯s eyes. At this moment, Bai Yi lowered his body with his broadsword pointing down, his speed almost catching up with the bullets and flashing past Bentham¡¯s body.


    Bentham grinned and raised his hand to intercept the bullets, but suddenly Martin, who was in hands, opened his mouth wide.


    ¡®Pu!¡¯, Martin spewed out a milky-white fluid from his mouth, the fluid expanded rapidly in the air and covered half of Bentham¡¯s body in a split second. At this time, Martin finally seemed to recover from his initial panic. Bai Yi was right, everyone could guess that the work he did in the research facility was¡­ inhumane and immoral! However, since Bai Yi did not give up on him, he must not disappoint his teammate. He had to fight back as well!


    Spider silk fluid!


    Bentham felt his arm tighten and suddenly stopped, at this moment the two bullets and Bai Yi on the ground had already reached him.


    Rotate, cut!


    Bai Yi¡¯s body started to rotate fiercely. Borrowing the force of the rotation, he brutally hacked into Bentham¡¯s calf. At this moment, though Bentham tried his best to tilt his head, the two bullets still impacted his head. Hong Qi Hua¡¯s eyes followed the bullets all along, and saw the rotating impact of the bullet. The air pressure from the bullets split apart Bentham¡¯s fur on his face, and the bullets pushed itself into his skin, heading towards his brain.


    ¡®BO!¡¯


    All of a sudden, Bentham¡¯s body shook and the two bullets that were halfway into his flesh instantly got repelled by a powerful force.

 Chapter 65

    The bullet actually got bounced back!


    Astonishment flashed through Hong Qi Hua¡¯s eyes. One must know that the place she aimed for just now was the head! In the end, just like Bai Yi said, as the physical body gets stronger, these originally lethal weapons to living things on Earth would become more and more ineffective. However, this didn¡¯t seem to be something that normal lifeforms could achieve, at least, Hong Qi Hua knew that there wasn¡¯t anybody in her team that could repel a bullet.


    However, even though the bullets got repelled by Bentham, Bai Yi¡¯s strike couldn¡¯t be underestimated. With the help of the rotational force, the sword sliced into Bentham¡¯s calf, eliciting an ear-piercing cry from him. The sharp broadsword along with Bai Yi¡¯s current strength could cause greater damage than a normal bullet.


    ¡°AOWWWWWW!¡± Bentham roared in pain, and two of his arms reached towards Bai Yi.


    Bai Yi immediately flipped backwards, and the broadsword sliced across Bentham¡¯s palm again. This time, Bai Yi¡¯s broadsword vibrated continuously, not letting Bentham catch his sword easily again. Heloise hid in a corner with her sniper rifle the moment the battle started. She hadn¡¯t fired recklessly since the start of the battle, but she squeezed the trigger without any hesitation now.


    Bentham had his mouth wide open from the scream!


    The high-speed bullet spun quickly and headed for Bentham¡¯s mouth, but at this moment he suddenly glanced in Heloise¡¯s direction. His mouth that was already wide open opened even wider.


    Looking for death?


    Heloise suddenly had this thought flash across her mind, but in the next moment an intense soundwave exploded from Bentham¡¯s mouth. Everyone could see that the air shook to the point that invisible ripples appeared, and the sniper bullet started to slow down visibly, stop, and shot out backwards.


    With a loud buzz, everyone could feel an explosion in their heads, making them feel dizzy and disorientated.


    After a few seconds, the powerful soundwave attack stopped. There wasn¡¯t anybody near Bentham anymore. Everyone had run and hid somewhere in that moment.


    Bai Yi hid behind the platform and touched his nose, discovering a trail of blood coming from it. Just now the immense impact to his chest already injured his heart, and the genes that Bai Yi fused with was only a butterfly. His body constitution was actually a level worse than the others, so after suffering the shock wave, his nose started to bleed. This wasn¡¯t a good sign. It only meant that Bai Yi¡¯s internal organs were starting to crumble.


    At this time, Martin and Heloise weren¡¯t better off. Martin was caught in Bentham¡¯s hands, so he was the closest to the soundwave and Heloise just happened to be in the direction of Bentham¡¯s soundwave attack. Blood not only came out from their noses but also seeped out slowly from their eyes and ears.


    This was definitely not something an ordinary soundwave could do!


    LV2 ¨C Metamorphose Stage! The production of an absolute lifefield and the ability to control the body¡¯s special energy!


    No wonder even somebody like Yu Han was willing to become a lackey. At a time like this, it was an overwhelming strength.


    In addition to being stunned by the soundwave, Bentham¡¯s battle power far exceeded everyone¡¯s expectations, thoroughly shocking everyone. This caused all of them to immediately stop their initially chaotic battle.


    Everyone in Bai Yi¡¯s team hid in some corner, and Bai Yi breathed heavily in his hiding spot. How can we deal with a guy like this? At this moment, sparks suddenly burst out from the control panel which was damaged from the gunshots. It then exploded with a soft ¡®bang!¡¯, producing a cloud of black smoke. This kind of a small explosion didn¡¯t cause harm to any of them, so nobody really minded it.


    Only Yeye suddenly looked alarmed, and revealed a smile.


    Hehehehe, this is interesting. That control panel controls all the prison cells in the first level of the circular walkways, its role was to make it more convenient for the researchers to release the monsters to conduct experiments. Now that it got destroyed, all the locks of the prison cells in the first floor lost its functionality.


    The doors of the prison cells hadn¡¯t been opened yet, but in reality, it had already lost its function.


    Bentham saw the dying look of Martin in his hands, and revealed a mocking smile. He then grabbed Martin and returned to the observation deck.


    Bentham said that he wanted to make Martin go to the platform to fight with the gene-fused monsters, but in reality, he didn¡¯t know how to operate the controls. In the end, he was just an experimental subject. However, there didn¡¯t seem to be a need for it now. After the experimental monsters fused with the activated cells, their intelligence was not bad at all. After the first one discovered that the prison door wasn¡¯t locked anymore, many others followed and gradually walked out from their prison cells.


    The two groups were still standing off against each other, but suddenly all of them had to be on guard against a third party. A bone-thin tiger with saliva dripping from its mouth walked out from the prison cell. In the distance, many other experimental monsters continuously walked out from the prison cells.


    Yeye was probably the only who knew how many monsters were trapped in this research facility, but in this layer alone there were probably at least hundreds.


    The most important thing was that the experimental monsters had been starving for more than a month!


    ¡°ROARRRR!!¡± One of the gene-fused monsters roared loudly, and immediately as if it were a signal, all the monsters rushed at each other. At this time, there was only a single thought in their heads¡­ Tear apart all other living things and consume them! Hunger was one of the basic drives of all living things, and these monsters had starved for so long.


    ¡°Get out!¡± Bai Yi shouted to everyone.


    However, the initially wide-open door suddenly closed shut again, and it felt even more sturdy. Yeye at this time grinned like a sly fox¡­ Hehe I¡¯m sorry, but while you guys were battling Yeye had already regained control of the entrance, and Yeye¡¯s job is to prevent any experimental monsters from escaping.


    At this moment, the two teams that were still standing off against each other suddenly looked at the closed doors, instantly becaming anxious. This is really¡­ disastrous!


    Bai Yi saw the doors closed on themselves, and immediately thought of Yeye. This must¡¯ve been her doing! However, Bai Yi couldn¡¯t afford to think about this now, as the sinister-looking tiger that was 2-3 times larger than a normal tiger had locked onto him as its prey.


    When the monster pounced at him, Bai Yi dodged on instinct and simultaneously swung his broadsword viciously towards its neck.


    ¡®Dang!¡¯, the two thin tails of the giant tiger swept out in an instant and Bai Yi¡¯s broadsword almost got knocked out of his hand. These gene-fused monsters, with the exception of a small minority, had all assimilated the activated cells longer than anybody else here!


    Bai Yi borrowed the force knocking his sword away and dived in that direction, barely slipping past the giant tiger¡¯s attack. When the giant tiger pounced over Bai Yi¡¯s head, his eyes focused and viciously sliced across the giant tiger¡¯s tummy with his sword. A ¡®puchi!¡¯ sound instantly came from the soft tummy, and the ferocious tiger¡¯s tummy was almost split into half by Bai Yi¡¯s sword.


    Vast amounts of blood and organs immediately sprayed out from its abdomen, completely drenching Bai Yi in blood.


    With the death of the first monster, the intense smell of blood quickly filled the entire sealed underground space, instantly agitating the other monsters and exciting their bloodlust. At this time, even Bentham who was the strongest here couldn¡¯t keep his calm anymore. Only he himself knew that among all the experimental monsters, his strength wasn¡¯t actually among the top few. If those few monsters really escaped, then it could only result in death for him as well.


    ¡°Noel, open the door!¡± Bentham shouted at Noel.


    ¡°Open the door¡­ yes!¡± Noel immediately replied loudly, and the whole group of them sprinted towards the big entrance. Apparently, as long as the person wasn¡¯t stupid, he would know that whether they could escape or not depended on Noel. Even Bai Yi¡¯s group involuntarily stopped their attacks, fearing to injure Noel by accident.


    ¡°Return Martin to us, and we will help to block the monsters. Or else we will choose to kill Noel!¡± Bai Yi suddenly came out and said to Bentham¡¯s group.


    Bentham¡¯s group looked at Bai Yi in fury. This guy, is he threatening us?


    ¡°Hmph!¡± Bentham gave a cold snort and tossed Martin over. Apparently, even though he was furious, he wasn¡¯t somebody that was controlled by his emotions. Killing Martin would just vent his grudge, but if Bai Yi¡¯s group were really willing to risk their lives to kill Noel then they all had to stay here.


    Although he tossed Martin over, he used a huge amount of strength and the direction of his toss was towards three blood-thirsty monsters running over here now.


    This bastard!


    Bai Yi swore in his heart but still dashed out with Hong Qi Hua to intercept Martin.


    ¡°Team leader, are we going to stop them later?¡± Yu Han asked. This was a golden opportunity. If he made use of this well, he could trap Bai Yi¡¯s group here once and for all. Out of everybody here, Bentham was the only who had the power to do such a thing.


    ¡°Noel, can you set the door to rapidly close after opening later?¡± Bentham wasn¡¯t some kind soul either.


    ¡°I¡­can try!¡± Noel said hesitantly. Do we really need to do this? We were all strangers just a while ago, is there a need to be so ruthless?


    ¡°You must do it!¡± Bentham said to Noel viciously, and jumped at a monster rushing towards them.


    Their discussion wasn¡¯t a secret to Bai Yi¡¯s group. In reality, as long they weren¡¯t some na?ve and innocent amateur they should have guessed this as well. Woolf gritted his teeth while Heloise and Mavis appeared incomparably calm. Later when the door opened, that was when the true battle would begin!

 Chapter 66

    Fortunately, not every monster targeted Bai Yi or Yu Han¡¯s group. These monsters had no clear goal in mind, as they were just driven by their intense hunger to kill and consume anything in sight. However, as the number of monsters killed by Bai Yi¡¯s side increased, the stench of blood got heavier and heavier at their location, and attracted more monsters over to them.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Noel looked around the door and swore.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Bentham asked.


    ¡°There¡¯s no data port on this side of the door!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Data port! If there isn¡¯t a data port for me to connect to, then I can¡¯t even enter the facility¡¯s intranet, and there¡¯s obviously no need to think about opening any door!¡± Joel punched the door in frustration.


    ¡°You must open this door!¡± Yu Han looked at Noel viciously, he didn¡¯t want to die in this place.


    ¡°Fuck, do you think I need you tell me that? You think I want to die here?¡± Noel replied agitatedly.


    ¡°Go to the control panel, there should be a data cable that can access the facility¡¯s intranet there!¡± Bai Yi suddenly said and pointed to the control panel that had just exploded and was still smoking. Everyone instantly looked over and hope rose in their hearts again. Although the control panel was still smoking, there must be a data cable inside that connects to the intranet since it was a control panel. Now they just had to place their bets on Noel¡¯s abilities.


    Noel didn¡¯t hesitate. He immediately ran to the control panel and frantically tried to put out the fire. He then quickly took the outer layer apart and searched for a data cable that he could use to connect to the facility¡¯s intranet.


    Everybody else saw the situation now and did their best to protect Noel.


    After a few minutes, an expression of joy showed on Noel¡¯s face, he could finally connect to the facility¡¯s intranet! However, after more than 10 minutes later, more and more monsters surrounded them, and everyone gradually started to panic and become anxious.


    ¡°Is it still not done yet?!¡± Bentham shouted.


    ¡°Wait, wait¡­The programming is completely different from just now, I need to decrypt the code from scratch, and even the encryption method is totally different from before!¡± Noel cursed. Everyone else swore in their hearts. Just what was going on here?! At this time, Yeye sat in her main room and looked at everyone¡¯s anxious expressions arrogantly¡­ Hehehehe, foolish humans.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Momo, go hide in that prison cell first, we may not be able to protect you in the upcoming battle.¡± Bai Yi found a gap in battle and retreated to Momo¡¯s side to tell her.


    ¡°Orh!¡± Momo nodded obediently. (TN: Orh is another sound that Chinese people make for expressing consent/approval, just like ¡®ok¡¯.)


    ¡°Sharpei, go and protect Momo. Once you hear my shout take Momo and rush out, got it?¡± Bai Yi said to Sharpei. At this time Sharpei was covered in blood as well, making it seem even more sinister.


    ¡°Woof!¡±


    ¡°Sara¡­you should go as well. Help me to protect Momo, thanks!¡± Bai Yi swept the rest of them with his eyes and stopped at Sara.


    Sara felt a jolt in her heart, and looked at Bai Yi in surprise. She wasn¡¯t stupid, and she very quickly guessed that Bai Yi was trying to protect her. In the team, other than Momo, the person with the least battle ability would be her. Anybody could imagine how fierce the battle at the door would be later, and Bai Yi probably thought that Sara didn¡¯t have the ability to protect herself in such a battle.


    ¡°O¡­Ok.¡± Although Sara understood Bai Yi¡¯s intentions, she didn¡¯t object and nodded her head hesitantly. At this moment, Sara felt immense resentment in her heart, resenting that when they had to fight all she could do was hide by the side. The monsters already left the prison cells, by then they just needed Sharpei to block the door and there wouldn¡¯t be any danger. There wasn¡¯t any need for her to protect Momo.


    Bai Yi fiercely hacked off a claw from a monster, and Woolf immediately brought his greatsword down mercilessly, chopping off the monster¡¯s head. Bai Yi took the chance to lean back to back with Woolf.


    ¡°This is the hookgun, didn¡¯t you like to play with this normally? If we can¡¯t break our way out later, shoot Yu Han with this. We must at least pull that bastard back. You have the greatest strength here, so I¡¯ll leave this to you.¡± Bai Yi slung the hookgun onto Woolf¡¯s body, and immediately shot out towards another monster without waiting for Woolf to reply.


    ¡°Later when the door opens, don¡¯t let Noel leave. Actually, it is impossible for all of us to be able to get out later, but if Noel is here we can open the door again. Remember well!¡± Bai Yi said to Heloise, and at same time he swung his broadsword viciously, helping her out of her situation.


    ¡°En!¡± Heloise¡¯s face was covered with blood as well, appearing to be very miserable. However, she still replied very seriously.


    ¡°Everyone else, do as you see fit.¡± Bai Yi said lastly.


    No matter if it was Hong Qi Hua or Mavis, Bai Yi trusted that they had their own plans, and as for Martin and Warner, he did not have any special instructions for them. Oh right, there was still the pet pig Pupu. It was already more than a meter long now, and so fat that it almost looked like a ball. It normally just lazed around doing nothing all day. If it¡¯d been in other teams, then it would¡¯ve probably been killed and eaten. However, Pupu actually managed to become so fat in Bai Yi¡¯s team.


    Actually, Bai Yi had another plan to get out in his heart, but that plan was too dangerous. Dozens of times more dangerous than it was now.


    While dealing with the numerous monsters, everyone still paid a bit of attention to the control panel, waiting anxiously for Noel to open the door.


    Everyone¡¯s minds became more and more tense. Even Bai Yi did not realise that other than feeling anxious, there was something else there¡­ impatience, brutality! Especially for Woolf, who¡¯d changed the most, a trace of agitation and hysteria started to appear in his eyes, just that it wasn¡¯t very obvious.


    LV1-2 Brutal Stage, just what did it mean?


    Suddenly, an expression of great joy appeared on Noel¡¯s face. Seeing his expression, Hong Qi Hua immediately spun her two knives and quickly killed her opponent, dashing out instantaneously. Sure enough, when Noel pressed the ¡®Enter¡¯ key, the giant door which had been shut all along started to move, slowing opening towards the two sides.


    Moving at the same time as Hong Qi Hua was Bai Yi and Yu Han. The others were slower by a beat, but similarly reacted very quickly.


    Bai Yi and Yu Han sprinted towards the giant door at the center from the left and right, and there was even a monster they had yet to finish dealing with chasing behind each of them. While running, Yu Han took out his handgun and Bai Yi touched a table knife behind his back. Almost at exactly the same time, the bullet and table knife shot out towards their targets.


    The table knife collided with the bullet with a ¡®ding!¡¯ and started spinning in the air. In the next instant, the two of them collided together forcefully.


    ¡®Dang!¡¯, the two swords crossed, and they tried to push each other back.


    ¡°Do you regret it?¡± Yu Han said with a twisted face. The two swords pushed against each other, creaking due to the enormous strength behind them.


    ¡°Regret¡­ No, if I can defeat you once, I can do it a second time.¡± Bai Yi¡¯s soft fur on his face slowly opened up.


    ¡°HA!¡± Yu Han laughed insolently, and started to put more strength in his arms. His strength from the ant genes greatly exceeded Bai Yi¡¯s. However, suddenly Yu Han¡¯s expression changed, a small crack appeared on his katana! Yu Han immediately released his strength and abruptly flew backwards. Sure enough, in the next moment his katana broke in the middle, as half of the blade flew into the sky and landed, bouncing on the floor a few times.


    ¡°So your weapon is better than mine!¡± Yu Han touched his face, one of his feelers got sliced off and there was also a small cut on his face from Bai Yi¡¯s blade.


    ¡°To think of it, I only noticed now that you don¡¯t have characteristics of any other animals. Let me guess, you only fused with the genes of a butterfly? Ahahaha¡­LV1 activated cells? Forget about it, no matter what, I had better luck than you from the start.¡± Yu Han, becoming more and more arrogant as he spoke. The wrapped-up bundle on his left arm also finally revealed its appearance.


    A shield?


    No, it was a tortoise shell, but it grew solely on Yu Han¡¯s arm, looking just like a shield. The patterns on the shield were clear and defined, carrying a slight greenish-black light on it. With just a look one could tell that it was extremely tough. A golden snake extended from the top of the shield where his upper arm was, coiling around the shield and raising its head at Bai Yi.


    Tortoise, snake¡­Xuan Wu!


    ¡°Xuan Wu!¡± Bai Yi said softly. (TN: Xuan Wu is also known as the Black Tortoise, which is a combination of a tortoise and a snake. It is one of the guardians of the four compass directions in Chinese mythology, along with Azure Dragon, Vermillion Bird, and White Tiger. But Black Tortoise sounds quite lame by itself so I¡¯m gonna call it Xuan Wu.)


    One of the four Divine Beasts in Chinese mythology, the Xuan Wu was a famous creature. Although Yu Han¡¯s left arm and Xuan Wu had no relation at all, it was enough for him to be arrogant. Apparently, Yu Han was very prideful over it as well. Although it couldn¡¯t be compared to the Divine Beast Xuan Wu now, it was still a very good omen. Yu Han waved his left arm and the snake immediately hissed and glared at Bai Yi.


    ¡°I don¡¯t deny that your luck is really good. You were ahead of the others even in the beginning stages of the change. Even the genes that you fused with suggests such fortune¡­But don¡¯t tell me that you think you are the main character in this world?¡±


    ¡°However¡­You know, a world that only revolves around a single person like in the novels¡­ doesn¡¯t exist.¡± Bai Yi¡¯s tone was very light, just like he was casually chit-chatting with a normal person. At the same time, Bai Yi squeezed his broadsword and slowly walked towards Yu Han again.


    At this time, the other people who were battling subconsciously avoided the two of them, even Bentham. Even though his strength was undoubtedly number one here, he could still feel an intimidating atmosphere between Yu Han and Bai Yi.

 Chapter 67

    ¡°However¡­You know, a world that only revolves around a single person like in the novels¡­ doesn¡¯t exist.¡±


    Bai Yi said while slowly walking towards Yu Han. At this moment, the two monsters chasing behind them finally caught up with the two of them. With a ¡®kacha!¡¯, the monsters¡¯ jaws snapped closed but suddenly, both of them accelerated at the same time and the two monsters only bit onto empty space.


    ¡®Dang!¡¯, Yu Han used his tortoise shield to block Bai Yi¡¯s broadsword, and a sharp and clear collision sounded. Bai Yi instantly felt his arm go numb but there wasn¡¯t even a scratch on the tortoise shield. The shield was damn hard, and at this time the golden snake leaned forward and fiercely bit towards Bai Yi. Simultaneously, Yu Han did not throw away the broken katana in his left hand but stabbed it towards Bai Yi¡¯s abdomen.


    Bai Yi¡¯s broadsword appeared in front of the snake head, and at the same time his left hand grabbed a kitchen knife and blocked the katana. A long ¡®clang¡¯ rang out, and Bai Yi revealed a cold smile¡­ Bai Yi ¨C was a chef!


    ¡­¡­


    Escaping through the metal door?


    No, the most direct method was to wipe out the other team. To speak of it, both sides were already fighting a life and death battle, they stopped only because of the appearance of the monsters. While the giant door slowly opened bit by bit, both sides instantly abandoned the front of ¡®cooperation¡¯ and started fighting again. Within the two groups of people were more and more monsters of many different kinds, making their battles even more hair-raising.


    Bentham rushed towards the door, as he had the confidence that if he stood guard at the door, nobody from Bai Yi¡¯s team could escape. They want to protect an inhumane researcher? Then let them stay at this place together and battle it out with those monsters, just like what those researchers had done before.


    Bai Yi¡¯s team saw Bentham rushing towards the door and they immediately got very anxious, Woolf and Martin immediately wanted to rush after him.


    Although Martin was severely injured just now, his recovery ability was actually the best among all of them. Just like the Tentacle Slug back then, his recovery ability and toughness were top-notch.


    Moreover, Martin felt that everything was caused by him, so he needed to put an end to this himself.


    The Woolf now felt a brutal excitement gradually filling his heart, as he wanted to see just how powerful this guy that injured Bai Yi and Heloise so badly was.


    A life form¡¯s transformation was continuous and gradual. Although the researchers categorized the evolved lifeforms based on LV1-1 Binging Stage, LV1-2 Brutal Stage, and LV1-3 Hypersomnia Stage, there was no such clear boundary in reality. At least, there wouldn¡¯t be any situation where somebody would suddenly level up and become stronger by dozens of times in an instant.


    In reality, Woolf had already entered the Brutal Stage, but the presence of his good teammates and friends had suppressed that kind of impulsiveness and brutality.


    ¡­¡­


    At this time, Heloise and Mavis managed to stop Noel and Balawi.


    ¡°Hehe, these two beautiful ladies, actually we don¡¯t have any conflict, right? Why is there a need to be so fierce?¡± Balawai said with a frivolous expression, pointing his submachine gun and looking at the two ¡®beautiful ladies¡¯ stopping him. Heloise and Mavis both fused with genes from other animals, but due to their intentional choices of genes they still looked like a ¡®demi-human¡¯.


    ¡°Stay here!¡± Heloise was still bleeding from her eyes, giving her a demonic beauty.


    ¡°Stay here? Pretty girl are you inviting me? But even if you say so, there¡¯s no need to do it now!¡± Balawi still wanted to continue speaking but Noel stopped him.


    Both of them knew that Heloise¡¯s target was Noel, because Bai Yi just now did not hide his instructions to them in the slightest. This was just like how Yu Han hadn¡¯t bothered to hide his plan to trap Bai Yi¡¯s group here. This wasn¡¯t an overt or a covert plot. This was undisguised antagonism that the both of them had against each other. At the same time, both of them had full confidence that even if they told each other¡­ They would still be able to achieve their goals!


    This undisguised attitude from both Bai Yi and Yu Han was the attitude of the strong!


    After being pulled by Noel, Balawai stopped his joking around and stretched his neck, seriously pointing his submachine gun at them. On the other side, Heloise and Mavis held their own weapons steady. They had to make Noel stay, but not kill him and also be wary of their counterattack.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Fat pig!¡± The seventh person in Yu Han¡¯s team Moses looked at the human and pig in front of him and sneered.


    ¡°My name is Warner, 10 years old!¡± Warner said seriously with his fat body approaching 1.8 meters tall. Bai Yi did not give him any mission, but Warner still blocked somebody from the other team. Warner was still young and did not understand a lot of things, but from the short period of interaction he could tell that Uncle Bai and the rest were good people.


    ¡°Pu pu!¡± The pet pig Pupu also shook its fat body and oinked.


    ¡°10 years old, still a kid! This is very dangerous for you eh?¡± Moses was taken aback for a moment, and then said with a slight cruel smile. Bilbo was different from Noel who still retained his kindness from the past world. He was somebody who truly liked this new world with no rules and no need to fear anything.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Khina, what do we do?¡± Ning Xue asked Khina.


    ¡°Get out!¡± Khina replied resolutely and brought Ning Xue over to rush out of the door that had just opened a crack. Inside her heart, Khina definitely did not want to fight with Bai Yi and the rest, what more a life and death battle like this. So, the only thing they could do was to leave the battle.


    Bai Yi¡¯s team knew that Bai Yi had no intention of harming the two of them, so nobody attacked them either. Bentham obviously would not attack somebody from his own team as well. Hence, the two of them were the first to exit the door smoothly without obstructions, arriving outside.


    ¡­¡­


    Hong Qi Hua moved the fastest, but she did not head to the door because it wasn¡¯t a success if only one person made it out. Hong Qi Hua¡¯s rapidly dashed forwards, her body incomparably agile. Every time she passed by a monster, she would use her short knife to swiftly cut it once. In just a few dozen seconds, without even completing half a round, Hong Qi Hua had 7 monsters following behind ferociously chasing and biting at her.


    Even if it was Hong Qi Hua, this kind of situation was like dancing with death. When one of the monsters bit down, Hong Qi Hua abruptly dashed up the wall and did a backflip, landing on that monster¡¯s head and jumped off again into the air. That direction was the direction where Bentham and the entrance were.


    From the initial confrontation, Hong Qi Hua had been thinking, how do we deal with a powerful enemy like Bentham?


    Undoubtedly, a head on confrontation had no chance of victory, as a real battle was just this strict and cruel. If a head on confrontation wouldn¡¯t work, then let¡¯s mess up the playing field by introducing a third party.


    Hong Qi Hua landed on the floor and shot out again with her body bent low, her speed almost producing afterimages now.


    ¡­¡­


    Sara and Momo looked nervously at the battle going on outside, their hearts going all the way to their throats, fearing that any of their friends would meet with mishap. Suddenly, Sharpei¡¯s voice become low, his growl immediately causing Sara to turn her eyes back. Following Sharpei¡¯s gaze, Sara instantly felt her heart turn cold.


    What a malevolent and ugly looking monster!


    This monster couldn¡¯t be described by any single animal, or rather it didn¡¯t look like any animal. Although it was ugly, it seemed to be extremely powerful. The monsters surrounding it were all starving, yet they still involuntarily walked around this guy. That monster slowly walked along the circular walkway to their location.


    Sara instantly looked towards Bai Yi and the others in fear, wanting to shout for help. However, in the next instant, everyone appeared in her eyes.


    All of them are fighting for their lives now!


    ¡°Sara, you go over as well. Protect Momo for me!¡± Bai Yi¡¯s gentle smile flashed across her mind. Sara blanked for a moment, and slowly breathed out, drawing the katana that she seriously picked behind her back. To think of it, this sword had never been seriously put to use ever since she picked it.


    ¡°Momo, stay in this room, ok?¡± Sara squatted down and said to Momo.


    ¡°Older sister Sara!¡± Momo stared at Sara.


    ¡°Be obedient, I¡¯m fine.¡± Sara stroked Momo¡¯s head and smiled.


    ¡°Sharpei, when I first saw you, you were only as big as both of my palms. I never thought that you would be so big now, huh?¡± Sara smiled as she touched Sharpei¡¯s neck; its tough skin was slightly rough to the touch. She then stood beside Sharpei. Sharpei turned around and looked at Sara, suddenly opening its mouth wide to the point where the edges of its mouth seem to tear, revealing the razor-sharp teeth inside.


    ¡­¡­


    The true battle erupted in an instant!


    However, only two people stood as audience to a battle like this.


    Yeye at this time didn¡¯t have her giggling expression either, but seriously observed every action taken by every single person through the surveillance cameras. Yeye¡¯s consciousness emerged not long ago, and she still relied largely on her original AI. An AI had no emotions, and only knew how to judge based on an object¡¯s characteristics, but what was this feeling? It felt that her judgement was being influenced by everyone, it was really weird.


    ¡°Hmph~~!¡± Yeye used more than 60% of the free processing power of her AI to do a simulation and got a result. However, Yeye just gave a light ¡®hmph!¡¯ at the concluson.


    As for the other audience, the Progenitor that laid at the bottommost part of the facility did not move in the slightest. However, everything that was happening was being reflected in her right iris, including every change in expression and even¡­ their internal struggles.

 Chapter 68

    Compared to Yeye who had a simpler consciousness, and could only judge based on what she saw on the surface, the Progenitor could see deeper and clearer. She could even clearly hear every person¡¯s thoughts at every moment.


    AH~!


    A long lingering gasp rose from the bottom of her heart!


    ¡­¡­


    Bentham managed to reach the door before everyone else. The door slowly opened before him, but he did not go out, he instead turned his back on the door and revealed a cruel and delighted smile to Bai Yi¡¯s group.


    Martin and Woolf each held a submachine gun, never releasing the trigger once they pressed it. ¡®Dadadada¡¯! A torrent of bullets flew out, and they ran towards Bentham at the same time. However, Bentham just used that pair of giant wings of his to cover himself in front, as the bullets impacted them and instantly bounced back.


    Normal guns were already completely useless to Bentham!


    The two of them immediately threw away their submachine guns and held their hand-picked swords. Just like Bai Yi said, firearms which had limited power was already lacking compared to the power of cold weapons now.


    Woolf was huge, so he gripped his greatsword and rushed in front. He wanted to see if that guy could take a blow of his. One must know that Woolf felt very confident lately as well, as his powerful strength and the frightening weight of his greatsword put his destructive power at the top of the team.


    Behind Woolf, Martin bit on the blade of his short sword, and his sharp teeth slid across the blade. A trace of transparent fluid from his two sharp tooth covered the blade.


    Poison!


    The spider genes that Martin fused with were actually very vicious, as he could produce deadly poisons, haemolytic poisons and neurotoxins. However, no matter what, he was still a human being, so he really did not have the habit of using his mouth to hunt. Moreover, he did not think that he could get the opportunity to bite Bentham. Due to Woolf¡¯s huge body blocking, Bentham seemingly did not see Martin¡¯s actions.


    ¡°Ha!¡± Woolf roared and the greatsword descended with great power.


    Even if it was Bentham, he could not ignore such a strike. However, he just smiled in ridicule and his body moved instantly to the side. He then punched the greatsword¡¯s body as it fell beside him.


    So fast!


    The thought flashed across Woolf¡¯s head and he instantly felt an immense force coming from his greatsword. ¡®Dang!¡¯, the impact¡¯s huge sound rang, and the greatsword instantly got redirected to the side, bringing Woolf¡¯s body with it. At this moment, Bentham¡¯s two right arms rose, his face carrying a blood-thirsty smile¡­ How nostalgic, those times when I fought to the death with my opponents on that platform.


    Two times¡­ Heavy punches!


    Bentham¡¯s two right fists landed on Woolf¡¯s face mercilessly one after another. Woolf¡¯s big alligator mouth instantly bent, and the shockwaves seemingly rippled through his entire body. He then like a giant sandbag flew backwards and landed heavily. Fuck, this bastard is fucking strong¡­This was what¡¯s going through Woolf¡¯s head at this moment. During his first time clashing head on with someone at the LV2 Metamorphose Stage, Woolf finally experienced what was called absolute strength.


    When Woolf flew out, Martin bent down and dashed forward, his body almost touching the floor. The short sword viciously swung towards the wound that Bai Yi created just now. Martin had no confidence that he could cut through Bentham¡¯s skin, but it didn¡¯t matter as long as the poison entered the wound.


    Martin¡¯s eyes squinted, the short sword in his hands moving shockingly fast, yet unbelievably steady¡­ Blade force!


    Kill him¡­!


    HA!


    However, in that instant Bentham revealed a cruel smile again, his body defied common sense and jumped up in a split second. He then gripped his hands together, and sent them crashing down with a boom.


    Two times¡­ Hammer blow!


    ¡®Boom!¡¯, the first hammer blow struck Martin¡¯s back, and the immense force instantly transmitted to the floor, creating a tremor. Martin¡¯s eyes bulged instantly, but in the next moment the second hammer blow impacted him again. With another ¡®boom!¡¯, Martin¡¯s body bent at an unnatural angle, his back almost being smashed into mush.


    ¡°MARTIN!¡± Woolf shouted in fear, and Hong Qi Hua also pushed her speed to its limit.


    ¡°Now you know, the strength of a LV2!¡± Bentham grinned cruelly and whispered beside Martin¡¯s ears.


    Martin¡¯s body twitched all over, blood flowing from his eyes, nose, mouth and ears. After hearing Bentham¡¯s words, Martin slowly raised his head, and slowly raised the short sword in his right arm, swinging it towards Bentham¡¯s calf. His actions were painfully slow, seemingly without even the slightest threat. None of them could bear to continue watching this scene, and even Hong Qi Hua who was rapidly sprinting turned her head away and closed her eyes.


    ¡°I saw it you know, your actions just now¡­HAHAHAHA.¡± Bentham suddenly started laughing, his left foot brutally stepped down, and ¡®kacha!¡¯, Martin¡¯s right arm instantly shattered into pieces. Bentham laughed mockingly, and his left foot grinded on the floor continuously. Martin¡¯s body instantly spasmed in extreme pain, but he still forced himself to not even let out a single cry.


    After torturing Martin for a while, Bentham raised his left foot again and placed it on top of Martin¡¯s head.


    Hong Qi Hua turned her head, and stared at Bentham¡¯s icily, a short knife appearing in her hands. ¡®Sou!¡¯, the short knife flew out from her hands, shooting towards Bentham¡¯s eyes. After that short knife flew out, another short knife appeared in Hong Qi Hua¡¯s hands again, and she pushed her speed up by another level.


    Bentham instantly turned his head to face away. Without waiting for his left foot to step down, Hong Qi Hua rapidly closed on him, and a short knife spun and cut. At the same time, Hong Qi Hua¡¯s body twisted strangely, her right foot kicked Martin¡¯s body away while her left hand grabbed onto Martin¡¯s short sword.


    Bentham squinted his eyes, though he was unbelievably powerful right now, he was still more afraid of things like poison. However, without waiting for him to move Hong Qi Hua flashed past him, and at that moment the 7 vicious monsters had already caught up to him. These 7 monsters wouldn¡¯t care who was blocking them in front, and their frightening jaws instantly opened wide and clamped down.


    Hong Qi Hua steadied her body and regained her balance, preparing to take advantage of the opportunity to attack. However, what she saw was Bentham opening his mouth wide.


    Hong Qi Hua immediately covered her ears with both her hands, and shot backwards.


    ¡°ROARRRRR¡­!!¡± A powerful soundwave exploded. This wasn¡¯t a concentrated and directed soundwave like before, but an indiscriminate soundwave attacking everything around him. The few monsters that had clamped their jaws on him instantly released their mouths and flailed about in pain.


    However, at this time Bai Yi bore with the soundwave and retreated towards Bentham, seemingly like he was pushed back by Yu Han temporarily.


    No, it wasn¡¯t like that!


    Yu Han immediately chased after him, but had a moment of hesitation due to the soundwave attack. He still couldn¡¯t risk his life like what Bai Yi was doing. The soundwave that continued for 4-5 seconds finally stopped, and Bai Yi¡¯s orifices on his face started bleeding from the shock, appearing incomparably terrifying. At this moment, Bai Yi suddenly turned around and dashed towards Bentham. From the very start, Bai Yi never felt that Yu Han was the biggest threat this time.


    With his absolute strength, the true obstacle to Bai Yi¡¯s group was Bentham.


    Bai Yi jumped up and his broadsword viciously stabbed towards Bentham¡¯s open mouth. At this moment Bai Yi appeared exceedingly frightening, the tremors from the soundwave only attacked the internal organs. There weren¡¯t any wounds on the surface, but only Bai Yi knew just how serious his injuries were.


    ¡°DIE!¡± Bai Yi gritted his teeth and spat out.


    Bentham¡¯s eyes opened wide, wanting to release his soundwave again, but the breath of air in his lungs was just finished, it wasn¡¯t possible to release another soundwave now. Their eyes stared at each other, and Bentham could clearly see resoluteness and ruthlessness in Bai Yi¡¯s eyes. Ruthlessness not only towards his opponent, but also to himself. For the sake of victory, he was a man that could sacrifice to the largest extent.


    ¡®Dang!¡¯, Bai Yi¡¯s broadsword stabbed in Bentham¡¯s big mouth, but at that moment Bentham¡¯s big mouth snapped shut, his teeth fiercely biting onto the blade.


    ¡®Clink clink clink clink!¡¯, Bai Yi pushed with all his strength, and the blade shook continuously due to the force on the broadsword being too huge.


    A trace of blood flowed down from the side of Bentham¡¯s mouth, but at this time his four arms slowly drew back, and he clenched his fists tightly.


    ¡°AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!¡±


    Bai Yi screamed viciously, his right hand brutally smashed onto the hilt of his sword, the powerful impact instantly sent the broadsword in by another inch. Bai Yi¡¯s right palm continuously pounded on the hilt of the sword, and there was finally a sign of loosening in Bentham¡¯s mouth. However, at this moment, with a ¡®dang!¡¯, the tip of the broadsword suddenly snapped, the broken blade flew away and landed on the floor with a clang.


    Four times¡­Heavy punch!


    Blood flowed out from Bentham¡¯s mouth, but his four arms smashed towards Bai Yi with immense force¡­The person to die will be you, Bai Yi! Bentham was somebody who managed to survive among all the killing within the experimental monsters, so he wasn¡¯t lacking in brutality and ruthlessness.


    However, at this time, a figure suddenly jumped up from the floor and put himself in front of Bai Yi. Martin laid on the floor on the verge of death and his was spine broken into pieces, so nobody knew how he¡¯d managed to jump up in that state, but he had put himself right in front of Bai Yi.


    ¡®BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!¡¯


    Four giant fists brutally smashed into Martin¡¯s head, neck, chest and abdomen, and the immense force erupted within his body. Martin¡¯s initially tough body instantly suffered from a massive force of destruction, tearing his body apart into pieces.


    With his own eyes, Bai Yi saw Martin getting torn apart right in front of him, his blood, flesh and brain matter splattered behind, coating Bai Yi¡¯s body.


    AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!


    Bai Yi roared sorrowfully in his heart, his eyes turning blood red.

 Chapter 69

    Martin¡¯s body burst into pieces, his flesh and blood splattering all over the floor. Everyone was shocked speechless from the brutal and cruel scene.


    Even if there was Martin blocking for him, Bai Yi¡¯s still felt an enormous impact. An immense force transmitted to Bai Yi¡¯s body, his clothes instantly got shredded as he landed and slid a long distance on the floor.


    Spewing blood from his mouth, Bai Yi slowly climbed up. A piece of flesh from Martin¡¯s body slid down from his head and landed on his hand. Bai Yi raised his hands in front of him, and all he could see was a patch of red now. He bit on his lips, gently shaking, his eyes containing frustration and regret¡­ My fault, this is all my fault, if only I didn¡¯t let Yu Han go at the start!


    AHHHHH~!


    Bai Yi gave a long-drawn-out sigh in his heart. A line of red fluid flowed down from his right eye, not knowing if it was blood or tears.


    Bai Yi was actually a very kind person. When he was a chef he always carried a smile on his face, letting him gain a small ¡®fan club¡¯ in Waikato University.


    However, at this moment, Bai Yi¡¯s heart transformed rapidly.


    Bai Yi breathed out deeply, tore off the remnants of his clothes and stood up again. After tearing off his clothes, Bai Yi revealed his entire body full of colourful fur. With the fur stained with Martin¡¯s blood, it appeared to be even more brightly-coloured and bewitching, almost sucking everyone¡¯s gazes into it.


    At this time, Bentham also spat out the broken tip of the blade from his mouth and a mouthful of blood.


    That was really too dangerous just now, the broadsword almost stabbed into my brain through my mouth! If that really happened, even he probably wouldn¡¯t have survived. However, even though he didn¡¯t die his mouth still suffered a great injury. His tongue almost got cut off and his throat was also severely injured. The Bentham now could barely speak, not to mention continue using his soundwave attack.


    Bentham closed his mouth, and blood continuously flowed from his open wounds, very quickly filling his entire mouth. However, this time Bentham did not continue to spit the blood out but swallowed it down.


    Bentham stared at Bai Yi in the distance. He could clearly see that Bai Yi did not fuse with many genes, and from the clash just now he realised that Bai Yi¡¯s physical strength wasn¡¯t as large as his other teammates. However, somebody like that actually caused him the greatest amount of damage.


    I mustn¡¯t take them lightly anymore and settle this fast, or else an accident really might happen.


    ¡°Yu Han, go save Noel.¡± Bentham instructed Yu Han at the side.


    ¡°Ok, team leader!¡± Yu Han was abnormally respectful, looking just like an incomparably loyal subordinate. In truth, Bentham also trusted Yu Han a lot, treating him like his right-hand man.


    Everyone in the world always fantasized about how capable and awesome they were, but to put it bluntly, in reality 80% of people were ¡®nobodies¡¯. All their so-called intelligence and capability couldn¡¯t be seen when something truly went wrong. However, no matter who, even if it were the smallest ¡®nobody¡¯, people would grow and become the powerful character in their minds as long they were given a chance and survived their experiences.


    As long as they didn¡¯t die, everyone could learn something from their various experiences!


    Yu Han ran towards Noel, and Woolf immediately chased after him after getting a glance from Bai Yi. At this time, Bai Yi and Hong Qi Hua gripped their weapons and stood to the front and back of Bentham.


    The front 30 plus centimeters of Bai Yi¡¯s broadsword had broken off, but it was still considered to be a decent weapon. Hong Qi Hua held two short swords now, one was her own and the other was Martin¡¯s poison-coated short sword. Both of their expressions were extremely solemn, even if Bentham had his most powerful attack ¡®soundwave¡¯ crippled, he was still not an easy opponent to deal with.


    Actually, the two sides didn¡¯t have any grudges against each other, other than the grudges between Bai Yi and Yu Han, or Bentham and the researchers, everyone else had just met for the first time.


    However, after Martin¡¯s violent death, a burning fury surfaced in everyone¡¯s heart¡­ A cruel and brutal air manifested around all of them.


    LV1-2: Brutal Stage!


    They did not lose their rationality, but that rush of fury and killing intent couldn¡¯t be suppressed. All they desired now was to tear their opponents to pieces. Yu Han was still running over to Noel. If he could save Noel then he would definitely do so, but if not, he of course had other plans.


    However, Woolf fiercely caught up with him from behind, glaring at him with hostility and swinging his great sword viciously.


    Yu Han immediately used his tortoise shield to block in front of him and a giant ¡®dang!¡¯ rang out. Just as Yu Han expected the shield was extremely tough, and even with such an attack no cracks appeared on it. However, Yu Han miscalculated Woolf¡¯s strength. A ridiculous power transmitted from the shield, his left arm instantly fractured and pressed against his own body, resulting in his entire body flying away.


    At this time, Bai Yi and Hong Qi Hua also suddenly burst towards Bentham from the front and back.


    Heloise and Mavis were always apprehensive about hurting Noel, since they needed him to open the door. However, at this time the both of them dropped all apprehensiveness, and even somebody as calm as Mavis was agitated. Her body lowered as she rapidly circled around and rushed towards the two of them.


    Behind her cover, Heloise also stood up, a submachine gun in her left hand and a sniper rifle in her right, helping Mavis to give covering fire.


    While running, Mavis reached her hands into her white overcoat, and when she took them out again both hands held three scalpels each.


    In the battle earlier, Noel and Balawi both realised that the two women opposite them were afraid of harming Noel, and so used that against them. However, when Noel stretched out his head again, immediately a white light flashed in front of his eyes.


    Instinctually, Noel tilted his head and suddenly a piercing pain came from his ear.


    Fuck, if I didn¡¯t move fast enough that blade would have stabbed into my brain! Aren¡¯t those two women scared anymore?


    Without waiting for Noel to be happy about dodging, the scalpel violently impacted the observation deck and bounced back, stabbing deeply into Noel¡¯s thigh. Noel immediately opened his mouth, but he couldn¡¯t scream even if he wanted to, why was his life so sad? Most importantly, how were these two women so powerful? Mavis and Heloise who turned ruthless were definitely not people these two guys could stop, because the genes they fused with were specially picked for adapting to this world.


    On the other side, Balawi was sympathizing with Noel, and wanted to stretch out his head to counterattack. However, the moment he raised his head a sniper bullet flew past him, almost getting his head burst. Balawi instantly shrunk down, but his heart grew more and more anxious, because when he raised his head just now he saw Mavis rapidly running towards his direction.


    ¡°On top!¡± Balawi pointed at the sky.


    Noel had yet to understand what was going on and instinctively raised his head to the sky, and the two of them suddenly found Mavis¡¯ figure above them.


    It¡¯s that female doctor¡­Mavis!


    Balawi and Noel immediately raised their submachine guns, but at this instant Mavis threw a scalpel into the muzzle of Noel¡¯s submachine gun and simultaneously pounced at Balwai.


    ¡®DADADADA!¡¯


    Balawai immediately triggered his gun, but he saw that the female doctor directly used her finger to block his muzzle, while a scalpel in her right hand viciously stabbed towards his head. Blood flew all over from Mavis¡¯ left hand, and two broken fingers flew into the air, but she still violently pushed the scalpel all the way into Balawi¡¯s brain.


    ¡®Puchi!¡¯, Balawi¡¯s shocked eyes lost its life, his body twitched, and the submachine gun fell onto the floor.


    Noel also got stunned. Fuck, are doctors this strong? However, even though he was shocked, he was still used to the cruelty in New Zealand now and immediately wanted to counterattack. However, Mavis¡¯ actions were even faster, and a scalpel on her right hand pressed directly on his neck.


    ¡°You guys need me, you won¡¯t¡­ harm me.¡±


    Without waiting for Noel to finish speaking, the scalpel in Mavis¡¯ hand sliced across his neck. A sharp pain, and blood started to flow profusely from his neck. Noel was stunned speechless. Did this doctor intend to kill him?


    ¡°External jugular vein, although you won¡¯t die immediately like if it were the artery, you definitely won¡¯t have the opportunity to treat your wound now. That is to say, you will die, and your only chance of survival is to obediently stay here and help us to open the door.¡± Mavis looked at Noel coldly.


    ¡°Ok¡­ Ok!¡± Noel replied dumbly, deeply afraid that this female doctor would kill him just like that.


    Although Bai Yi and the rest always treated Mavis like a medic and protected her behind them, it didn¡¯t mean that Mavis had no fighting ability. On the contrary, Mavis was already close to being middle-aged, so she was calm and rational when facing things. If she truly got serious, she wouldn¡¯t be inferior to even Bai Yi or Hong Qi Hua.


    Yu Han was flung far away from the immense force, and slid on the floor for a distance. After climbing up again, Yu Han stared at Woolf in shock. When they split up previously Woolf¡¯s strength should have been inferior to his! This powerful strength¡­ Ant¡¯s genes! Yu Han immediately realised that Woolf had fused with ant genes as well.


    Coincidence¡­No, it wasn¡¯t a coincidence!


    Yu Han wasn¡¯t stupid, it was just that he didn¡¯t think in that direction. Now that he thought of Khina¡¯s increased strength during this period of time, Yu Han immediately thought of a possibility¡­ Active fusion of genes.

 Chapter 70

    At this time, Woolf chased after him again, and Yu Han immediately dodged to the side. The greatsword landed on the metal floor, instantly breaking the floor apart and leaving behind a huge hole. The broken metal pieces flew across Yu Han¡¯s eyes, and in that instant his eyes became incomparably focused. From the reflection in the broken pieces, he happened to see the scene of Noel being subdued.


    Tuning his head, Yu Han abruptly twisted his body on the spot, and he sent his right fist flying towards Woolf.


    After splitting up, Yu Han had seriously thought about where it was he had lost in. Undoubtedly, the first would be his plotting. As a university student, although he had his own plots inside his heart, he was still pitifully tender compared to those experienced veterans who experienced life in society. Other than that was absolute strength¡­ In this lawless world, absolute strength was the best safeguard. If he had the power to kill whomever he wanted, then he could disregard any covert or overt plot.


    When Woolf raised his greatsword again, Yu Han didn¡¯t retreat but instead pushed forward, sticking close to Woolf. This kind of huge weapon needed enough space to swing it around.


    Sure enough, when Yu Han closed onto him Woolf immediately found that he had no space to swing his greatsword, and it ended up being cumbersome instead. The two of them engaged in a messy battle, and very quickly the golden snake on Yu Han¡¯s left arm managed to bite Woolf. This extra snake growing on Yu Han¡¯s arm was really too agile!


    Yu Han revealed a cold smile, and blocked Woolf¡¯s powerful punch with his tortoise shield. He borrowed the power of the punch to rush towards Noel and didn¡¯t care about Woolf anymore. Woolf felt his body stagger and he knelt on the floor, immediately realising that the area that he was bitten on in his left arm had started to change colour.


    ¡°ARGHHH!!¡±


    Woolf squinted his eyes and roared fiercely, the poisoned arm bulged and brutally smashed onto the floor. A loud boom came from the metal floor, leaving behind a fist-shaped dent. After roaring, Woolf immediately stood up and chased after Yu Han again.


    ¡°I¡¯ll manage things here, you go and help Bai Yi and the others.¡± Mavis said to Heloise, and looked at Yu Han who was running over.


    ¡°Ok!¡± Heloise nodded her head.


    They trusted each other, Heloise believed that Mavis could definitely hold on to Noel, and Bai Yi¡¯s battle on the other side was really not looking very optimistic. After Heloise finished speaking, she immediately ran towards the door, where Bai Yi, Hong Qi Hua and Bentham were battling each other.


    ¡­¡­


    Bentham, LV2 Metamorphose Stage, active control and usage of special energy. To any experimental subject, this was a new experience, as nobody could act as a precedent to tell others what to do. Hence, they had to figure everything out themselves. However, even if it were this kind of blindly-discovered and crude way of using special energy, it still gave Bentham immense strength.


    Energy left Bentham¡¯s body now like a layer of wispy smoke, covering his entire body. In this state, Bai Yi and Hong Qi Hua¡¯s attacks could not cause any effective damage to him. Moreover, Bentham¡¯s speed was shockingly fast in this state and the two of them had to spend more effort and energy to dodge.


    Bai Yi crossed his broadsword in front of his chest, and heavily blocked Bentham¡¯s powerful attack, but he still flew backwards from it.


    ¡°Throw me over!¡±


    Bai Yi shouted. Beside him, Hong Qi Hua suddenly stretched out her hand and grabbed Bai Yi. Spinning around and making use of the rotating force, she threw Bai Yi away again. Bai Yi curled his body slightly in the air, flying faster back towards Bentham than when he flew away. The moment before impact, Bai Yi stretched his body open like a giant bow, and powerfully brought the broadsword down with this elastic force.


    After throwing Bai Yi out, Hong Qi Hua dashed towards Bentham again as well.


    Bentham saw Bai Yi risking his life to that extent, and couldn¡¯t help but to reveal a cruel smile. He stretched out two hands and raised his head to wait for Bai Yi to land.


    Kill you, I must kill you!


    Bai Yi roared malevolently in his heart, and all the colored fur on his body started to wave bewitchingly. Even Bai Yi himself did not realize that the colored patterns on his body now were exceedingly bright and enchanting.


    Bentham looked at Bai Yi with bloodlust, waiting for Bai Yi to land to split his body apart. However, looking at Bai Yi¡¯s bewitching fur on his body, Bentham suddenly lost focus slightly. In that instant, Bai Yi¡¯s broadsword came down brutally.


    Bentham hadn¡¯t reacted yet, but Bai Yi¡¯s broadsword landed heavily in his outstretched hand. ¡®Puchi!¡¯, this blow carrying Bai Yi¡¯s immense fury finally broke Bentham¡¯s defence, chopping off one of Bentham¡¯s hands.


    Intense pain transmitted into Bentham¡¯s body, immediately clearing up his dazed mind.


    Using the resistance of the broadsword against Bentham¡¯s arm, Bai Yi threw himself into the air again and reached the ceiling more than 10 meters above him. He planted his feet on the ceiling, and fiercely pushed off, his body carrying the force of both gravity and his kick, the broadsword swinging towards Bentham¡¯s head. At this time, Hong Qi Hua also rushed over, the poisoned short sword mercilessly sliced towards the open wound on Bentham¡¯s calf.


    I don¡¯t believe that you can take all the attacks!


    THAT¡¯S ENOUGH!


    Intense anger arose mysteriously from Bentham¡¯s heart, and the special energy hanging around his body suddenly exploded outwards


    Bai Yi¡¯s broadsword almost pierced into Bentham, but he suddenly felt an enormous resistance. At that moment Bentham¡¯s pair of wings abruptly closed, like two palms brutally slapping into Bai Yi at the center. Hong Qi Hua¡¯s short sword got sent flying as well, and Bentham¡¯s fist landed heavily on her tummy.


    ¡®Sou!¡¯, Hong Qi Hua flew into the distance, across the open door, and landed beside Ning Xue and Khina.


    Bai Yi only felt a buzzing trembling in his ears, as if his entire body and brain had exploded from the impact of the slap, and his entire head felt empty. Bai Yi fell onto the floor weakly. Bentham had wanted to take the chance to kill Bai Yi in that moment, but he himself did not know what happened in that explosion of fury. Bentham only felt like his body was thoroughly exhausted, not even able to move an inch.


    At this time, Heloise in the distance used her sniper rifle to aim at Bentham and squeezed the trigger unhesitatingly, a sniper bullet flying towards Bentham¡¯s head.


    Bentham wanted to dodge instinctually, but his body suddenly became extremely slow, and the bullet instantly impacted right in between his eyebrows.


    ¡®Bo!¡¯, Bentham¡¯s head instantly shot backwards, but he still slowly raised it back up. A bloody hole appeared in the middle of his eyebrows, apparently left behind by the sniper bullet, but even so Bentham did not die. Of course, even though he did not die, it still caused Bentham to feel the fear of death.


    At this time, the door which had opened to its widest was starting to slowly close. This was what Bentham had made Noel do, not letting the door stay open for long. Initially Bentham thought that with his strength, he only needed to drag things on for a while and he could send his team members out and make Bai Yi¡¯s team stay here. However, things turned out in a very unexpected way. The strength of Bai Yi¡¯s team was weaker than his, but this group of people were far more willing to put their lives on the line than he imagined.


    ¡°Get out!¡± Bentham did not care about killing Bai Yi now, and with how he was lying motionlessly on the floor he looked like he had already died.


    Bentham ran towards the door, and at this time the rest of them couldn¡¯t help but to become anxious. After the door closed, there was no way of getting out.


    The battle became even more heated, and everyone started to put their lives on the line.


    ¡°Kid, go away, if not I¡¯m going to get serious!¡± Moses, who had encountered a little kid, threatened fiercely.


    ¡°No!¡± Just like a real kid, Warner replied wilfully, and blood flowed profusely from his fat and sturdy body. The pet pig Pupu lay on the floor beside him, not knowing if it was dead or alive. Warner did not understand what this cruel battle was for, but he could feel Uncle Bai and the other¡¯s resoluteness and courage to risk their lives.


    ¡°Ha, then I¡¯m not going to be nice anymore.¡± Moses said viciously, his heart growing more and more nervous as he saw the door close.


    At this time, Heloise found that Yu Han and Noel were rushing towards the door, and she looked at observation deck in shock and fear. She found Mavis lying on the floor, not knowing if she was dead or alive, and Woolf fighting a desperate battle with a monster that got attracted by the smell of blood.


    What happened just now?!


    The question flashed past Heloise¡¯s head, but no matter what, Noel must stay, otherwise when the door closed there would really be no way out anymore. Heloise immediately ran towards Yu Han, but at this moment she suddenly heard an ear-piercing howl of grief.


    Sharpei¡¯s cry!


    Heloise immediately turned her head, and found a monster viciously biting into Sharpei¡¯s neck. That indescribable monster shook his head vigorously, increasing the power behind his bite and the damage. Beside Sharpei, Sara already lost her normal clean and tidy look, her hair was all over the place, appearing very miserable but also carrying a desperate air. Momo, hid in the side of the prison cell, stretching her head out with eyes filled with fear and anxiousness.


    What happened¡­ Wasn¡¯t Sharpei and the rest of them in the prison cell? How did such a powerful monster appear?


    Heloise hesitated in her heart, and in that moment of hesitation Yu Han had already helped Noel past the door.


    The chance is gone!


    Everyone in the circular walkway instantly had this thought flash past their heads, they definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to make it with their speed now.


    Despair rose in everyone¡¯s hearts!

 Chapter 71

    Am I dead?


    Bai Yi laid on the floor, his mind becoming more and more blurry as the world darkened around him. I¡¯m not satisfied, I really can¡¯t accept this!!¡­Bai Yi screamed frenziedly in his heart. If only the gene I fused with was stronger, and not utterly useless like this body full of soft butterfly fur¡­ so hateful!


    As Bai Yi crazily resented in his heart, his body started to burn again, just like the previous two times. However, this time Bai Yi could truly feel the changes in his body. As his blood heated up and circulated rapidly, the soft fur that extended from his eyes started to wave by itself.


    Lifeform Mimicry!


    Mimicry: A phenomenon where a lifeform mimics another lifeform or its surrounding environment to its own benefit.


    Warning Coloration: Many incredibly smelly or poisonous lifeforms are brightly-colored or have brightly-colored patterns.


    Protective Coloration (Camouflage): The colour of the lifeform imitates the color of its surroundings, using that to confuse and avoid its enemies.


    Bai Yi¡¯s fusion slots were all filled with butterfly genes, and the colored soft fur growing all over his body was a type of mimicry. However, the activated cells influenced this kind of mimicry and caused it to be slightly different from the lifeform mimicry commonly seen in the natural world¡­While Bai Yi barely retained his consciousness, the colour on the patterns on his body gradually moved towards his eyes.


    ¡­¡­


    While everyone despaired, Hong Qi Hua, who was helped aside by Khina and Ning Xue, suddenly opened her eyes. She immediately pushed the two of them away and dashed out again.


    When Yu Han and Bentham weren¡¯t paying attention, Hong Qi Hua suddenly rammed herself into Noel. Noel only felt a giant force coming from his back, and his body flew out again, falling into the circular walkway. Hong Qi Hua knew that as long as Noel was still inside, then the rest of them still had the chance to come out.


    Heloise squinted her eyes and immediately dashed towards Noel, this time she must definitely not let Yu Han bring this guy away!


    Yu Han glared at Hong Qi Hua viciously, only to realize that Bentham had already grabbed Hong Qi Hua by the neck, a cold light flashing in his eyes.


    ¡°They will never get out!¡± Yu Han said frostily, as he threw the broken katana in his hand. Heloise rushed towards Noel, being on guard against Yu Han or Bentham coming to rescue Noel again, but what she didn¡¯t expect to see was a spinning katana flying over.


    Noel slowly climbed up from the floor, completely in the dark about what was flying towards his back.


    Heloise stretched out her hand in horror while running, wanting to warn Noel but that katana brutally stabbed into the back of his head. In that moment, Noel¡¯s expression froze, and he slowly turned his head, wanting to see who wanted to kill him. However, his head only managed to turn a small angle before he fell onto the floor heavily.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry team leader, I didn¡¯t want Bai Yi and his team to get out.¡± Yu Han said to Bentham.


    Bentham who was initially shocked at Yu Han killing his own teammate immediately thought of the expression that Bai Yi¡¯s group had while fighting for their lives, and couldn¡¯t help but to agree with Yu Han¡¯s actions. If they really let the group of them get out as well, that kind of life and death battle was enough to make his heart palpitate. The two of them stood at the side of the door on the left and right, quietly looking at the despairing faces of the group of people in front of them.


    We won!


    ¡®Sou!¡¯ All of a sudden, they heard the sound of something cutting across the air and a metal hook reached them in an instant from far away. The piercing power of this metal hook was extremely shocking, as it penetrated Bentham¡¯s abdomen and the right arm of Yu Han who was standing diagonally behind Bentham. After piercing through the two of them, the claws on the metal head opened up into 3 curved hooks, lodging itself into Yu Han¡¯s right arm.


    The two of them suddenly felt a mind-numbing pain, discovering Woolf standing in the distance and laughing aloud at them bitterly. At this time, there was even a monster viciously biting onto Woolf¡¯s left shoulder, but Woolf did not care about it at all and only focused on the hook gun in his right hand.


    A high-tensile strength titanium cable connected the three of them, and Bentham immediately grabbed the titanium cable and tried to break it. However, how could this thing be so easily broken? To put it bluntly, not even Bai Yi¡¯s broadsword could break this high-tensile strength titanium cable.


    At this moment, Woolf suddenly roared out loud and fiercely pulled.


    COME OVER HERE!


    Woolf wrapped the titanium cable around his right arm and pulled vigorously, the cable which was as thick as a thumb tightly carved itself into Woolf¡¯s flesh. Bentham and Yu Han on the other side instantly felt an intense pain again, both of them getting pulled towards Woolf. That guy is so freaking strong!


    Bentham immediately threw away Hong Qi Hua in his hand, and pressed against the door with his 3 arms, resisting together with Yu Han.


    The three of them pulled with all their strength. Bentham and Yu Han had an incomparably harrowing experience, because the metal alloy hooks were lodged inside their bodies, so any slight movement was enough to cause them bone-numbing pain. However, Woolf was very desperate at this point in time as well. The monster behind him was viciously biting on his left shoulder and trying to pull him backwards. However, Woolf did not care about the monster at all, but tried to use that pulling force from the monster to aid himself in dragging the two of them over.


    The two of you bastards, come over here and let¡¯s die together!


    Woolf¡¯s clawed feet dug into the metal floor, causing the floor to screech as he fiercely exerted his strength again. The two people opposite to him instantly felt the titanium cable moving inside their bodies again, causing them unbearable pain. Yu Han even felt his left arm fracture from the immense force on it¡­ No, it was more like his arm was almost ripped off.


    ¡°AHHHH!¡± Yu Han shouted fiercely and forcefully twisted his body, a ¡®kacha!¡¯ came from his right arm and it was ripped off by the triple-hooked claw, and the hooked claw lodged itself instantly onto Bentham¡¯s back anew.


    Bentham¡¯s body jolted, and two of his hands lost their grip on the door. At this time, the door had already closed to the point where it was only as big as Bentham¡¯s body. If he just endured for a while longer, it would become impossible for Woolf to pull Bentham out anymore.


    However, at this time Yu Han did something that Bentham would never expect. This ¡®right-hand man¡¯ that he had immense trust in suddenly rammed into him from behind, and at the same time used the sharp edge of his tortoise shield to hack into the last remaining hand still grabbing onto the door. Bai Yi had already chopped off one of his hands. His other two hands lost their grips from the sudden pain just now, and with Yu Han¡¯s sharp tortoise shield slamming onto his last hand¡­ Bentham instantly lost all his strength, and got pulled all the way inside by Woolf.


    While Bentham was flying through the air, he looked back at Yu Han who had lost his right arm through the opening in the door.


    Why?


    That¡¯s right, why¡­ After his last failure, Yu Han thought about it seriously. He was still too rash before. If he didn¡¯t act that way, then he wouldn¡¯t have had to go through so much difficulty along the way. However, now seemed like a good time. Bai Yi¡¯s life or death was unknown, and the Bentham who¡¯d always put himself on top of him couldn¡¯t escape now either.


    However, just as Yu Han relaxed, a short knife swung at him viciously from the side, from the corner of his eye he saw Hong Qi Hua¡¯s face that was both familiar and yet strange to at the same time.


    Now that Hong Qi Hua was severely injured, it was difficult for her to even move, but Yu Han wasn¡¯t in a much better state. His right arm got torn off from his shoulder, only leaving his left arm intact. Hong Qi Hua¡¯s attack was incomparably sharp, and she desired greatly to kill Yu Han off there and then. However, every movement she made caused more blood to flow from her nose.


    Ning Xue and Khina were stunned for a moment, and immediately rushed forward to stop the two of them.


    ¡°Scram!¡± ¡®Dang!¡¯, Hong Qi Hua¡¯s short knife bounced off the tortoise shield and she slipped to the side. Before she could recover her stance, she heard a shout from the two of them.


    ¡°Hong Qi Hua!¡± Khina shouted.


    ¡°I told you to shut up! You still want to stop me? Like how you stopped Uncle Bai back then?!!¡± Hong Qi Hua didn¡¯t even turn her head, and said icily. Blood continuously dripped down from her mouth and nose as she spoke, falling onto the floor. These kind of decisive words instantly stunned Ning Xue and Khina on the spot, immense guilt and hesitation rising in their hearts.


    That¡¯s right, am I still going to stop them?


    ¡°Hong Qi Hua, actually I really like you. Are you willing to follow me?¡± At this moment, Yu Han suddenly said opposite them, and all of them were taken aback.


    ¡°Just like the kind of ¡®like¡¯ when a man subconsciously wants to dominate a pretty girl he sees?¡± Hong Qi Hua said with an extraordinarily sneering tone.


    ¡°I admit, when I saw your real appearance I felt quite attracted, but now, haven¡¯t we all turned into monsters? I actually really like the qualities in you: unyielding, proud and independent. How about it, are you willing to follow me?¡± Yu Han seriously looked at Hong Qi Hua.


    ¡°Just how ignorant are you to ask me something like this at this time?¡±


    ¡°Bai Yi and the rest won¡¯t be able to come out anymore, so what¡¯s wrong with my invitation? Ning Xue and Khina are both also your friends.¡± Yu Han slowly walked towards Hong Qi Hua, while Ning Xue and Khina by the side stood still blankly.


    ¡°Ha¡­¡­!¡± Hong Qi Hua revealed a mocking smile on her face.


    ¡°They won¡¯t die. I believe in Uncle Bai and the rest.¡±


    ¡°You like him.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I like Bai Yi, and I like Momo!¡± Hong Qi Hua admitted to this calmly, and slowly walked towards Yu Han as well. ¡°But the most important thing is, I hate you.¡± Hong Qi Hua rapidly accelerated and dashed towards Yu Han, and the eyes of Yu Han opposite her also turned cold and a resoluteness rose in his heart.


    Since I can¡¯t have you, then I¡¯ll send you to meet Bai Yi!


    The tortoise shield and short knife violently collided together. In that instant their gazes crossed, and only Yu Han and Hong Qi Hua could see the resolution to kill in each other¡¯s eyes. Only Khina and Ning Xue at the side still maintained the delusion of ¡®friendship¡¯ in their minds¡­ Since Yu Han said that he liked Hong Qi Hua, he wouldn¡¯t, right¡­


    Unknowingly, Yu Han was also transforming, transforming into an ambitious and ruthless character¡­ Fake, patient, resolute, and heartless!

 Chapter 72

    Bentham got pulled inside, and landed heavily on the floor as his mind was still in shock over the scene of Yu Han¡¯s betrayal. The surrounding monsters devoured the flesh on the floor, and none of them actually immediately attacked Bentham when they saw his large figure.


    Woolf saw Yu Han ruthlessly tearing his own arm off to escape the hook gun, and couldn¡¯t help but feel disappointed. Looking at the door close completely, Woolf started to relax inside and looked at the monster still biting on his left shoulder. With this kind of frenzied biting, more than half the flesh on Woolf¡¯s shoulder got ripped off, almost becoming a delicious meal in the mouth of the monster.


    ¡°It¡¯s very tasty¡­right?¡±


    Woolf said sinisterly, and turned his head, the giant alligator mouth clamping down viciously.


    The alligator was one of the top predators in the food chain of the natural world, and what it relied on to prey on its prey was that powerful jaw strength. With this bite, Woolf viciously clamped down on the monster¡¯s neck. Sharp teeth more than 10 centimeters long stabbed itself into the neck of the monster, and Woolf and the monster struggled with each other on the floor, bright-red blood flowing out from where Woolf¡¯s teeth were.


    Painful cries continuously escaped from the monster¡¯s mouth, but Woolf would never release his jaw no matter what.


    At this time, Mavis, who was initially lying on the floor, slowly got up, and saw Woolf wrestling with that monster. She immediately rushed forward, taking out two scalpels, and forcefully stabbed them into the monster. The monster felt two razor-sharp scalpels pierce into its skull, and immediately flailed about as it felt itself near death, losing all signs of life soon after.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°You damned kid, release your mouth, bastard, fucker!¡± Moses crazily hammered down on Warner¡¯s head, but at this moment Warner laid on the floor, stubbornly biting onto his calf. No matter how Moses beat him, he just wouldn¡¯t release his mouth. Surrounding the two of them, countless bullets and blood splattered all around them, and Warner¡¯s knife had long flown away to some unknown place.


    I will not let you go, absolutely not let you go!


    Looking at the thick metal door close completely, Warner finally released his mouth full of blood, and two of his teeth even fell onto the floor. However, Warner felt a great pleasure in his heart¡­ Hahaha, you damned bad guy, you can¡¯t escape now as well. As for Moses, he stared at the shut door in despair, his eyes became incomparably dim as he laid on the floor dumbly with a blank look on his face.


    At this moment, the pet pig Pupu, who was struck down, slowly staggered up swaying, and abruptly started to dash towards this direction¡­ Charge!


    Moses had completely lost all awareness of his surroundings now, and Pupu¡¯s giant body rammed into his head violently. The powerful impact instantly bent Moses¡¯ neck at an abnormal angle, and his body flew out forcefully. His body impacted an experimenting platform, and slid down limply, blood slowly flowing out from his mouth.


    Moses¡¯ mouth relaxed, revealing a smile at the end.


    Dead¡­ Everyone is going to die here, and become food for the monsters.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Momo¡­!¡±


    The lower half of Sara¡¯s body was in the jaws of the monster, as she used all her strength to block the door to the prison cell. Right in front of Sara was Momo, who fell backwards onto her butt. Blood flowed profusely from Sara¡¯s body as the monster tore at her, and it slowly dripped onto Momo¡¯s face. Momo stared dumbly at Sara, the person who had always visited her for as long as she could remember, the person who was as close as a real sister.


    Why¡­why?


    Beside the monster, Sharpei viciously clamped his jaws down on the guy¡¯s stomach, and every time Sharpei moved copious amounts of blood would spray out from his wound. Sharpei tore at the monster frenziedly, crazily. It pulled out a stretch of intestines from the monster, and even dug its head all the way inside the monster¡¯s tummy.


    However, the monster behaved like it was retarded, as if it couldn¡¯t feel any pain at all. It was clearly going to die soon, but it still steadily did its own thing at its own pace. Its giant mouth closed gradually and abruptly snapped shut, a ¡®kacha!¡¯ came from Sara¡¯s waist and her body broke into two.


    A mouthful of blood poured out from Sara¡¯s mouth and landed into Momo¡¯s staring eyes. Momo¡¯s body trembled, and slowly drew from behind her the short sword that her daddy had picked for her.


    ¡°AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!¡±


    The young Momo screamed sharply, and hacked away at the monster in front of her in madness. She recklessly hacked at the monster, every feeler, every piece of flesh, eyes, mouth¡­and at the end Momo jumped high into the air, her small body making use of gravity to punch the short sword into the monster¡¯s eye. Even so, the monster still seemed to not feel anything as it slowly chewed and swallowed Sara¡¯s corpse down, until¡­ it completely stopped moving.


    Momo hacked at it just like that non-stop, continuously hacking, until ¡®ding!¡¯, the short sword suddenly broke and half the blade flew into air. Only then did she finally stop and sit on the head of the monster blankly.


    ¡°WUAHHH¡­¡­ WUUUUUU!!¡± Momo started wailing miserably, her tender voice containing unimaginable pain.


    From this moment, the young Momo seemed to come to understand many more things!


    Bai Yi¡¯s blurry consciousness jolted and immediately came into focus after hearing Momo¡¯s cry. He then suddenly opened his eyes and saw the floor that had been dyed red.


    Just now¡­?


    Bai Yi climbed up gradually, and at the same time his head started to clear. The scenes just now flashed across Bai Yi¡¯s brain rapidly, and he couldn¡¯t help but to stare at the direction of the door. The door was already completely closed, and in front of the door he could see that Bentham had seemingly received some mental shock, looking very listless.


    Bai Yi looked again at another direction¡­ Heloise stood silently beside Noel¡¯s corpse, not knowing what she was thinking about. Woolf sat beside a corpse of a monster, a giant shredded wound on his shoulder. Beside him, was also a swaying and staggering Mavis, frantically trying to stop his bleeding. Little Warner sat on the floor, his face swelling to the point of being a real pig head, and one of his eyes wasn¡¯t even able to open anymore. Pupu laid down beside Warner, becoming a backrest for him. In Momo¡¯s original direction, was the corpse of another monster and the upper half of Sara¡¯s body lying on the floor, while Momo wailed on top of the monster¡¯s head. As for Sharpei, it stood silently at the side, a giant wound so deep on his left side that its organs could almost be seen.


    At this moment, everyone else also looked at Bai Yi silently, waiting, expecting, or rather¡­ hoping for something!


    In this corner of the circular walkway, there were still more than 10 monsters, and in the distance more monsters were gathering, seemingly treating this like a dinner banquet. These monsters cautiously waited, plotting to devour them once their prey lost all their will and fighting power.


    Bai Yi raised his head, his eyes gazing at the simulated sky on top of him.


    The simulated sky seemed clear and pure, and there was even a northern goshawk flying high up in the sky, but did they really have the chance to see a real sky again?


    Bai Yi closed both his eyes, and a bright red fluid flowed down from the corner of his eyes, sliding along the contours of his cheeks.


    ¡°KILL THEM!¡±


    ¡°KILL THEM ALL!¡± Bai Yi forced open his eyes, and roared with extraordinary malevolence. He smashed his broadsword violently onto the floor, and a huge ¡®DANG!¡¯ sounded, as if pounding on everyone¡¯s hearts.


    Woolf, Heloise, Mavis, Warner, Momo, Sharpei and Pupu instantly felt their hearts jolt after hearing that sorrowful and malevolent roar of Bai Yi. A wave of strength bubbled up from within the depths of despair. Everyone picked up their weapons again, and turned to face the monsters in the circular walkway.


    Walking towards those monsters, Heloise actually started to laugh, that light laughter came so suddenly, but very quickly it infected everyone else. These people who were just in unimaginable despair started to laugh involuntarily, laughing incomparably carefreely.


    We won¡¯t admit defeat so easily!


    On our shoulders, we are still bearing the weight of the hopes of others!


    ¡­¡­


    Yeye saw everything through the surveillance cameras, but to be honest her simple consciousness couldn¡¯t understand what they were thinking¡­ At this time, how could they laugh? As for the other audience, the Progenitor was utterly astounded, and her heart shook to the point of being speechless.


    The Progenitor knew that everything was due to the wrath in her heart, a random crazy decision had caused everything to start. Initially, the Progenitor thought that all humans should die, but now that she saw Bai Yi¡¯s group still struggling in that level of despair, still persevering in front of that despair, she couldn¡¯t help but feel great shock in her heart.


    Humans, can actually be so strong!


    Even though those researchers referred to me as the Progenitor, I am just a normal woman, I¡¯m completely unable to be as strong as you guys. I¡¯m the one that caused this disaster, but I really have no confidence that I can end what I started. But you guys¡­ should be able to do it!


    ¡­¡­


    As for Bai Yi, he faced Bentham who was pulled back by the hook gun.


    Seemingly, the rest of them believed that Bai Yi could defeat Bentham. Bai Yi was clearly only a LV1-1, and the genes he fused with was only that of a butterfly, but still, all of them believed that Bai Yi could do it.


    Bentham also shook from Bai Yi¡¯s sorrowful and malevolent roar just now. At this time, when he saw Bai Yi walking over towards him a trace of fear rose involuntarily in his heart, and he took a step backwards. After taking a step back, Bentham abruptly came back to his senses and realized that the person in front of him was just somebody who assimilated activated cells not long ago, and the genes he fused with was just the weak butterfly. What was there to be afraid of?


    However, was he really not afraid?


    Bai Yi gripped the broadsword that was only a meter long now in his hands, slowly strolling towards Bentham. The blood-stained floor and all the monster corpses littered around them set the background for their battle.


    _____________________________________________________________________________


    TN: Shit, not just Martin but Sara too? I hope that¡¯s the last¡­

 Chapter 73

    Bai Yi walked towards Bentham slowly step by step, because every step that he took now caused his body immense pain. However, with every step he took he gradually accumulated strength, and the blood in his body almost felt like it was burning, making him feel unbearably hot.


    As Bai Yi walked, his blood gradually dripped onto the floor and created a ¡®chi chi¡¯ sound, forming a faint red mist.


    Bentham saw¡¯s Bai Yi movements and couldn¡¯t help but focus his mind, truly treating Bai Yi as his most powerful enemy now.


    Bai Yi abruptly rushed towards Bentham, his speed increasing by multiple times compared to before. Bai Yi himself understood that in this state, he would explode with power by exhausting all his reserves. He would gain greater speed and strength compared to normal times, but it could not last for long. Bentham, who was opposite to him, also banged his two remaining fist together, making his preparations for this life and death battle. Even if I¡¯m trapped here, I will never lose to you! Bentham screamed in his heart.


    A sword and a fist collided together violently, and Bai Yi¡¯s broadsword drifted backwards as if it did not resist the punch at all. In this instant, Bai Yi already grabbed hold of Bentham¡¯s arm and swung himself upwards, and started running towards his head along the arm. Bentham was taken aback for a moment, but immediately closed his wings together, intending to pound Bai Yi with him in the center again.


    Fight! Continue to fight¡­ I cannot fall here!


    Bai Yi screamed crazily in his heart, and every bit of his concentration gathered onto his broadsword. In that instant, the knife skills that Bai Yi had practiced for such a long time seemingly evolved. Bai Yi felt a completely different feeling from the broadsword compared to when he was holding a kitchen knife in the past. A kitchen knife in the end was used to prepare food, that was determined to be its purpose ever since the time of its forging, but a sword was the blade that was truly used for battle.


    The broadsword in Bai Yi¡¯s hands started vibrating at a high frequency, and he fiercely swung the blade.


    One strike! Cut through it!


    Bai Yi roared with mad fury in his heart, and the broadsword hacked down viciously. A tearing sound instantly transmitted to their ears the moment Bai Yi¡¯s broadsword touched Bentham¡¯s tough pair of wings. At this moment, Bai Yi¡¯s appearance became even more malevolent, his eyes seemingly wanting to devour his opponent. The sharp blade tore apart the initially incomparably tough wings, his bones, blood and feathers¡­ All of these flashed across Bai Yi¡¯s eyes and he passed through the gap he formed, bringing with him the resolution of no return and rushing towards Bentham.


    What is this feeling¡­ this feeling!


    Bentham stared at Bai Yi¡¯s maniacal eyes as if his mind was being sucked inside, his entire head filled with Bai Yi¡¯s mad and malevolent appearance.


    ¡®Puchi!¡¯, Bai Yi¡¯s blade brutally stabbed into the arm that Bentham used to block with. Two immense powers collided, and the sword stabbed more than halfway through into the arm. The immense strength similarly impacted Bai Yi¡¯s abdomen, and his entire body flew into the air. Fresh blood sprayed out from Bai Yi¡¯s mouth again, but he went along with the force and spun his body, the broadsword following his motions and hacking down again.


    Fight!


    Continue to fight!


    I want to live on, bringing all my remaining friends with me and continuing to live on! No matter how powerful the enemy in front of me is, I will never step back! No matter how cruel or terrifying this world becomes, I will never fear! We will live on tenaciously in this world, even if it means putting my life on the line, I will never regret!


    ¡°AHHHHHHHH!!¡± Bai Yi roared crazily, his eyes glaring at Bentham with pure fury, and the broadsword descended heavily.


    As Bentham looked at Bai Yi¡¯s eyes, suddenly fear filled his entire being, and a moment of confusion and blurriness appeared in his consciousness. Bai Yi¡¯s malevolent appearance was reflected in Bentham¡¯s mind, and the colored patterns seemed in Bai Yi¡¯s eyes seemed to suck in all of his attention, causing even his thoughts to slow down.


    The broadsword landed heavily on Bentham¡¯s head, and instantly hacked open a giant and deep gash. Bright red blood splattered outwards, and Bentham immediately held his head and screamed a high-pitched scream. If not for his skull being hard enough, that strike could¡¯ve ended him there.


    After Bai Yi hacked down with his blade, he too landed heavily on the floor, half-kneeling.


    Bai Yi¡¯s left hand covered both his eyes as blood spurted out from his mouth continuously, unable to be stemmed. At this moment, Bai Yi only felt that his eyes were in incredible pain, seemingly going through some transformation. Looking at his body full of soft fur, and Bentham¡¯s loss of focus, Bai Yi raised his head in that instant and finally understood. The ability he obtained from fusing with butterfly genes was ¨C Lifeform Mimicry: Bewitchment!


    ¡­¡­


    Mimicry: A phenomenon in which a lifeform mimics another lifeform or its surrounding environment to its benefit.


    Warning Coloration: Many incredibly smelly or poisonous lifeforms are brightly-colored or have brightly-colored patterns.


    Protective Coloration(Camouflage): The colour of the lifeform imitates the color of its surroundings, using that to confuse and avoid its enemies.


    Bai Yi only fused with the genes of a butterfly. This wasn¡¯t a powerful lifeform, but even such a small and weak lifeform had its way to survive. Bai Yi¡¯s colored fur now magnified the power of this ¡®warning¡¯ and ¡®confusion¡¯ to the utmost, but this was still not enough to cause any strong influence on his enemies.


    However, when Bai Yi filled all his fusion slots with butterfly genes, and in addition to the unique influence of the activated cells, this ability became slightly more powerful. Just this bit of improvement caused a qualitative change in his body¡­ Bai Yi¡¯s lifeform mimicry caused this kind of ¡®warning¡¯ and ¡®confusion¡¯ to spread to his eyes.


    The eyes were the windows to the soul, and were also the extension of the soul. The colored patterns on Bai Yi¡¯s body were reflected in his eyes, and when his opponent locked gazes with him, this created an effect similar to confusion and loss of focus.


    This was the ability a weak and small butterfly used to avoid powerful enemies.


    However¡­ Bai Yi wasn¡¯t a butterfly that could only avoid its enemies!


    ¡­¡­


    Bai Yi slowly closed his eyes, and suddenly raised his head and stared into Bentham¡¯s eyes. When Bentham saw Bai Yi¡¯s eyes, he suddenly felt like the bleeding pupils of his eyes seemed to give off a bewitching light. In an instant, in this kind of tense battle, Bentham actually got distracted¡­ He became confused and lost focus!


    Bai Yi fiercely rushed forward, which Bentham could not sense at all. Only after Bai Yi twisted his body and spun a few rounds, the broadsword striking his knee 4 times did Bentham finally wake up from the pain in his left leg. Bai Yi¡¯s body slid a distance on the floor and stopped, while Bentham¡¯s left leg abruptly broke and he suddenly kneeled on the floor.


    Bentham turned his head painfully, and discovered Bai Yi panting heavily not far away with his eyes closed.


    Damn it, I actually lost focus in a battle!


    Bentham was beyond frustrated, and he still couldn¡¯t understand what had happened in that moment just now. A life form¡¯s warning and protection coloration did indeed have the ability to confuse people, but Bentham couldn¡¯t have possibly thought of that so quickly. In reality, nobody knew what a person would turn into after assimilating with the activated cells.


    ¡°Are you regretting now?!¡± Bentham heard Bai Yi¡¯s coarse voice coming from beside his ears.


    Bentham instantly jumped in shock and suddenly realized that Bai Yi was right beside him, but when? Bentham instinctively swung his fist in the direction of the voice, but Bai Yi had already jumped up nimbly, and this time he jumped up really high. Bentham immediately followed Bai Yi¡¯s motions and looked towards the sky, realizing that Bai Yi had just started to descend from the sky. The simulated sky on the ceiling shined with the light of a bright Sun.


    In the shadow of the Sun was Bai Yi¡¯s brightly colored and strange eyes.


    Bentham mind went into a daze again, but instinctively felt that something was wrong and immediately shut his eyes, sending his right fist viciously swinging into the sky. The bastard, I¡¯m at the LV2 Metamorphose Stage, I¡¯m one of the very few that managed to undergo metamorphosis successfully out of more than a thousand experimental subjects!!! Bentham screamed crazily in his heart, encouraging himself and swung his right fist with immense force towards the position where he¡¯d seen where Bai Yi was at in that instant.


    However, that fist of his only hit empty air, and Bai Yi¡¯s left hand grabbed hold of his wrist. With a nimble flip of his body, Bai Yi landed on the back of Bentham¡¯s neck. Bai Yi¡¯s eyes were abnormally icy now, carrying the coldness of death. Bai Yi did not feel any happiness from awakening an ability suitable for battle, because this was an ability that only awakened through the death of his friends.


    The tip of the broken broadsword stabbed into Bentham¡¯s huge ear instantly, but it stopped just before reaching his brain. Fresh blood flowed down slowly from Bentham¡¯s ear, continuing down his neck.


    Bentham was completely immobile now. At this moment he could only feel the fear of death.


    ¡°Any last words?¡± Bai Yi said composedly.


    ¡°How¡­?¡± Bentham questioned in puzzlement, but Bai Yi apparently did not have any intention of explaining things to him.


    ¡°Help me kill Yu Han!¡± Bentham relaxed his body and spoke his final wish after realizing that Bai Yi did not wish to answer his question. He admitted defeat, as Bentham could feel the sharpness of that broadsword. Even if he tried to counterattack with his dying breath, it would just be a sad last-ditch struggle. He really never expected that he would escape from the Northern Hamilton Research Facility only to meet his end in another research facility.


    ¡°My pleasure!¡± Bai Yi said plainly, and pushed the broadsword in. ¡®Puchi!¡¯, the broadsword stabbed deeply into Bentham¡¯s earhole.


    Bentham¡¯s body shivered in that instant, and started bleeding from all the orifices on his face, his head dipping heavily. Bai Yi twisted the broadsword a full round and pulled it out from Bentham¡¯s brain. Bright red and milky white fluids slowly dripped from the giant earhole onto the floor.


    Bai Yi breathed out deeply and stood up again, looking towards his teammates who were risking their lives and doing all they could to fight right now.


    Fight, fight until the end! We must survive in this cruel world!

 Chapter 74

    As Bentham died, Bai Yi lowered his head slightly and sighed.


    An overwhelming sense of fatigue filled his body, making him go weak all over. If he could, he really wanted to find a place and fall asleep, even if it meant that he might not wake up again. However, now wasn¡¯t the time to sleep. Bai Yi panted heavily and painfully, bearing with the discomfort coming from all over his body.


    Looking at his companions fighting in front of him, Bai Yi took a deep breath.


    Bai Yi¡¯s simple words before stirred up everyone¡¯s fighting spirit, and they were all fighting frenziedly with those monsters. Woolf, especially, was the most agitated out of all of them, and even Momo and Sharpei seemed quite maniacal as well. Although Bai Yi¡¯s goal was to fill them with the will to fight again, he did not want them to duke it out with those monsters just based on zeal and hot-bloodedness.


    ¡°Use one of the prison cells as our base and gang on up any monsters nearby. We will take turns to undergo treatment and recover our strength.¡±


    If only Hong Qi Hua were here, she would¡¯ve definitely brought them to do this long ago. However, Bai Yi was stunned after he shouted his instructions at them. Only Mavis, Heloise, and Pupu slowly stopped, but the rest of them didn¡¯t seem to hear his instructions and continued clashing with the monsters. Not only this, but from Woolf¡¯s actions it seemed like his only goal was to kill as many monsters as possible, without any regard for his own safety or life.


    Why?


    Suddenly, Woolf rushed into the middle of three monsters, a swing from his blade instantly chopped off one the monster¡¯s head. When the other monster behind tried to bite him, he actually opened his own mouth wide and ¡®kacha!¡¯, Woolf and that monster both clamped their jaws down on each other, both of them refusing to let go. The two of them shook their jaws vigorously, flesh and blood spraying everywhere. Heloise beside him wanted to pull Woolf back, but was swept away by Woolf¡¯s tail. In that direction, Momo saw Heloise flying over to her and she actually raised a short sword, preparing to hack it into Heloise.


    If not for Heloise dodging fast enough, she probably would have died from Momo¡¯s blade. At this time, Heloise and Mavis also felt that something wasn¡¯t right.


    LV1-2 Brutal Stage!


    A thought immediately surfaced in Bai Yi¡¯s head.


    Bai Yi did not know how it happened, but the mindless state that they were in now obviously suggested the symptoms of the LV1-2 Brutal Stage. Damn it, we can¡¯t go on like this! We definitely can¡¯t go on like this, we can¡¯t battle mindlessly or else we would all die from each other¡¯s hands in the end!


    Bai Yi gritted his teeth, summoning all the remaining energy in his body and moved forward.


    ¡°Yeye, are you there? You can definitely see everything that is going on here, so open the door!¡± Bai Yi ran and shouted to the air.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t open the door, that is my duty!¡± Yeye said calmly. Although the independent consciousness that she just formed was extremely astounded by Bai Yi¡¯s group just now, she still had to stand by the duties that were set for her. After all, she still wasn¡¯t a totally independent entity.


    After hearing what Yeye said, Bai Yi raised his head and gritted his teeth tightly again.


    Bastard!!!


    Bai Yi sucked in a deep breath. Putting the matter of how to go out aside for now, as long as we¡¯re alive, we¡¯ll find a way. The important thing now is, how do I stop their mindless and savage states now?


    Bai Yi rushed over, and Momo attacked even Bai Yi. Bai Yi smashed Momo¡¯s short sword away and hugged Momo tightly, but Momo actually used her teeth to bite Bai Yi¡¯s shoulder viciously. That savage and crazy look was worlds apart from the usual adorable and sweet Momo. Bai Yi bore with the pain and carried her to a prison cell by the side, throwing her all the way inside.


    ¡°Mavis, help me guard Momo, be careful of getting attacked by her.¡± Bai Yi said to Mavis.


    ¡°En¡­!¡± Mavis nodded with her bloodshot eyes. Apparently Mavis was also now quite agitated, just that she could still control herself.


    Seeing Mavis nod her head, Heloise also rushed towards Woolf and Bai Yi dashed towards Warner. After Warner killed one his opponents and roared towards the sky, Bai Yi rammed into him and sent his fat and round body flying into another prison cell at the side. Pupu at this time also very intelligently rammed the door shut, and used his fat body to block the door.


    Bai Yi was taken aback for a moment, this lazy and fat pig was actually smarter than he thought.


    Bai Yi immediately rushed towards Woolf next, and at this moment Heloise was being unimaginably anxious nearby. Woolf¡¯s expression now was both savage and excited, tearing monsters apart with his greatsword and being seemingly invincible. That heavy greatsword in addition with Woolf¡¯s immense strength could split anything in half with just a touch.


    On the other side, Sharpei too didn¡¯t possess any trace of its usual intelligence, and clashed with another monster, biting at each other. The level of savagery and brutality made people turn their eyes away.


    Heloise and a few others had initially thought that this was just Bai Yi¡¯s words evoking everyone¡¯s fighting spirit, but thinking about it again it was just them going crazy.


    Although Woolf and Sharpei looked very brave and fierce now, Bai Yi wasn¡¯t optimistic at all. The blood from their bodies had never stopped flowing, and even now they were just probably burning through all their last bits of energy to explode with strength. However, with the state that Sharpei and Woolf was in now it really was not easy to approach them. If they were just a little careless they could end up losing their own lives.


    ¡°Yeye, what state are Woolf and the rest in now? You know this, right?¡±


    ¡°¡­!¡± Yeye apparently hesitated with Bai Yi¡¯s question, seemingly thinking about whether she should tell him or not. After processing everything meticulously, Yeye suddenly realised that there was actually no restriction to keep things secret. Sure enough, when Sunlight was taken away, various loopholes appeared in Yeye¡¯s duties as an artificial intelligence.


    ¡°The LV1-2 Brutal Stage doesn¡¯t actually have a clear boundary with the Binging Stage.¡±


    ¡°Due to gene fusion and binge eating, the lifeform will undergo huge changes in their physical shape, but their soul is only suitable for their original form. The body that they have is a stable form of life born from countless years of natural selection. This incongruence between the physical body and the soul will make these evolved lifeforms abnormally frustrated and brutal, causing them to often kill and destroy for no reason at all. This is the reason behind their brutality. However, based on the period of time that you guys had assimilated with the activated cells for, it definitely shouldn¡¯t be at that stage yet. This should be due to the stimulation of multiple continuous battles which caused you guys to enter this brutal state early.¡± Yeye immediately explained.


    Woolf, Warner, Sharpei and Momo¡­ seemingly they were the ones that had the most brutal battles and suffered the greatest shock just now. That was why they descended into that state.


    ¡°Soul?¡± However, Bai Yi was stunned at another piece of information in Yeye¡¯s words.


    ¡°You think that humans don¡¯t have have souls?¡±


    ¡°No, but haven¡¯t we always been unable to prove this?¡±


    ¡°Doctor Wang always said this: Don¡¯t deny the existence of something just because you don¡¯t know about it. Perhaps it is just that you haven¡¯t reached the requirements to know of it yet. One of the sins of human beings is how they use their own shallow wisdom to look at the enormous and limitless world¡­ Treating everything that they don¡¯t understand or not know as a definite non-existence¡­¡± Yeye wanted to continue her lecture but Bai Yi interrupted her.


    ¡°Ok ok, I admit that you are right, but how do we recover them from this state?¡±


    ¡°Enter LV2 Metamorphose Stage.¡±


    ¡°Are you joking with me!¡± Bai Yi couldn¡¯t help but rage, how were they able to enter LV2 Metamorphosis Stage at this time?!


    ¡°I¡¯m not joking, the reason for the brutality is due to the incongruence between the body and soul. If you successfully go through metamorphosis and enter the LV2 Metamorphose Stage, a new balance will be reached and awaken your absolute lifefield at the same time, entering a whole new level.¡± Yeye described in detail. Just like she said, she didn¡¯t patronize Bai Yi but seriously answered his question, and she even provided a solution that would solve the problem at its roots.


    ¡°Then why am I ok?¡±


    ¡°The transformation in your body is very complex. I haven¡¯t done any detailed tests on you so I¡¯m not really sure. However, there are still some similar precedents from before and my guesses. Are you sure you want to hear me explain?¡± Yeye said calmly. Bai Yi was just asking in frustration, he didn¡¯t think that his body was really different from everybody¡¯s else. This really surprised Bai Yi but it wasn¡¯t the time to ask about this in detail now.


    ¡°Then how do I stop them now!¡± Bai Yi did not know how to respond to Yeye.


    ¡°1. Make them lose consciousness, but this is an inferior method. With their brutal state now, a normal amount of force can never make them lose consciousness, but if you use too much power then you might kill your teammate accidentally. 2. Hypnotize them to become quiet or fall asleep.¡±


    ¡°How do I hypnotise them?¡±


    ¡°Your eyes!¡±


    ¡°My¡­ eyes?¡±


    ¡°Hypnosis: Using actions, colors or many other external conditions to give suggestions to a hypnotised subject, weakening their ability to judge and self-awareness, or distorting and causing them to lose their senses. Don¡¯t you think that the confusion mimicry of your eyes is very similar to this?¡± Yeye explained.


    ¡°I got it. I¡¯ll try but I hope that after everything ends, you can explain to me in detail about everything that¡¯s going on.¡± Bai Yi said. At this time, Woolf and Sharpei¡¯s situations were getting worse and worse. Bai Yi didn¡¯t dare to waste any time, even if he had zero prior experience he had to try that ¡®hypnosis¡¯ thing.


    ¡°The detailed information is all with my sister, so I only know some surface information and not the core data.¡± Yeye said lazily.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine too, we¡¯ll talk about it later.¡± Bai Yi said, lowering his head and covering his eyes with his hands.


    Hypnosis¡­how the hell do I do this?

 Chapter 75

    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes magnified the effects of a butterfly¡¯s ¡®warning coloration¡¯ and ¡®protection coloration¡¯ to the utmost.


    If a normal person saw a brightly patterned snake, 99% of their hearts would skip a beat and jump in fright. This was the information transmitted to us through the snake¡¯s form and coloration¡­ Warning! However, the warning signal transmitted through eye contact with Bai Yi was even more intense, transforming into an ¡®intimidating¡¯ effect.


    If an example really had to be given, it was similar to what people called ¡®frightened dumb¡¯.


    Other than that, Bai Yi¡¯s eyes still had the ¡®confusion¡¯ effect from the protection coloration, just like how a person would sometimes overlook some things in certain situations.


    However, no matter if it was mimicry, warning, or protective coloration, they were all passive effects. Other lifeforms had to look at them first to create an effect. In normal situations it wouldn¡¯t be able to display its greatest potential.


    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes weren¡¯t actually too special. He just combined the mimicry, warning coloration, and protective coloration together through the power of the activated cells and manifested it in his eyes. However, just this slight transformation triggered a crucial qualitative change, causing him to be able to transmit such information to other lifeforms actively, creating the greatest ¡®intimidation and confusion¡¯ effect!


    This was Bai Yi¡¯s eyes now¡­ They weren¡¯t some mystical god or demon eyes, but just an evolution of the biological form.


    ¡­¡­


    Hypnosis: Using sound, actions, colors, etc. to transmit unique stimulus through the five senses to the brain, using this to befuddle the hypnotised person¡¯s self-awareness and judgement, and at the same time causing their senses and awareness to distort or disappear.


    Bai Yi thought about the simple information he knew about hypnosis. From the looks of it, it really seemed like the two had great similarities like what Yeye said. However, Bai Yi still did not know what he should do exactly. To speak of it, Bai Yi only obtained the ability the to intimidate and befuddle his opponents a few minutes ago, how could he know what he should do?


    However, some things must be done, and Bai Yi would never want his friends to die in this place because of his mistakes.


    Bai Yi and Yeye¡¯s conversation was broadcasted through the speakers in the circular walkway, so all of them heard everything clearly.


    Heloise was forced to retreat from Woolf¡¯s attack again, and looked at Bai Yi expectantly. Mavis hugged Momo tightly, stopping her frenzied struggling, and forcefully kept her head still in one direction. They watched Bai Yi¡¯s back together, the back that carried the hopes of everyone here. The young man that appeared in a hurry carrying a baby girl at hospital back then had already grown up to this stage.


    Bai Yi slowly walked towards Woolf with his eyes closed.


    Bai Yi¡¯s body was now stained with blood, and his breathing was painfully heavy, but he still gave off a firm and strong feeling. Not just the people in the circular walkway, but Yeye and the Progenitor watched every moment here.


    Bai Yi raised his head and sucked in a deep breath.


    ¡°WOOOLLLLFFFF!!!¡±


    A sudden shout, and the hoarse voice echoed in the ears of everyone in the circular walkway. Even those monsters who were in the middle of devouring food involuntarily turned their heads and looked towards Bai Yi. Woolf¡¯s crazy actions also paused after his name getting shouted and he looked over in that direction as well.


    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes opened!


    Bai Yi opened his eyes at the moment Woolf turned his head. It was really difficult to describe the change in Bai Yi¡¯s eyes in that instant. His eyes were just like multi-colored black holes, seemingly sucking everyone¡¯s minds inside of them. All the soft fur on his body swayed by itself, the color on it seemingly slowly gathering into his eyes.


    Calm down!


    Bai Yi stretched out his right hand and held it up in mid-air, just like he was gently pacifying Woolf. The two of them clearly had a distance of at least 7-8 meters between them, but the madness in Woolf¡¯s eyes really started to calm down, and the malevolent expression on his face receded as well. Moreover, his expression became more and more relaxed, and with a few ¡®pits¡¯ and ¡®pats¡¯ Woolf and the few monsters around him fell onto the floor, falling into a deep sleep.


    Momo looked in the direction of Bai Yi as well, looking at the back view of her daddy, similarly becoming more at ease, and stopped struggling.


    Bai Yi panted heavily with deep breaths, his chest feeling unimaginably heavy. It felt just like a bellows with a hole in it, no matter how hard he tried to breath there didn¡¯t seem to be enough air. However, even so Bai Yi slowly turned around and headed towards Sharpei. At this time, Sharpei¡¯s attention was also attracted by the shout previously and happened to look at Bai Yi.


    ¡°Shar¡­ Pei!¡± Bai Yi¡¯s voice this time was incredibly weak, as if every syllable he spoke took all the strength in his body.


    Bai Yi opened his eyes again, and stared at Sharpei silently. He stretched out his right hand and waited quietly. After a while, Sharpei with a malevolent expression on his face and body full of blood walked towards Bai Yi. ¡®Da, da, da¡¯, the steady footstep sound seemingly in sync with everyone¡¯s heartbeats, causing all of their hearts to tense.


    Suddenly, Sharpei opened its huge jaw and everyone¡¯s hearts raised to their throats.


    However, Sharpei just stretched out its tongue and licked Bai Yi¡¯s hands, and slowly laid down in front of him.


    Everyone released a breath they had been subconsciously holding in¡­ However at this moment, Bai Yi suddenly felt the world go black around him, his heart pumped once violently and suddenly stopped. Bai Yi stood still like that quietly, as blood slowly flowed out profusely from his shut eyes, sliding along the contours of his face.


    Seeing Woolf and Sharpei calm down, Heloise and Mavis finally relaxed and ran over, intending to find a prison cell to guard as their base like Bai Yi instructed. One must know, these prison cells were used to lock up these monsters, once they closed the door, those monsters would definitely not be able to come in.


    After bringing Woolf and Sharpei into the prison cell, Mavis suddenly realised in shock that Bai Yi hadn¡¯t moved at all from his initial position.


    Mavis instantly thought of something and sprinted to Bai Yi¡¯s side, discovering Bai Yi with his eyes closed and blood flowing down from his eyes. Mavis checked for his breathing¡­none! She then placed her fingers on his neck, there was still a pulse but after two beats, she could tell that it was rapidly weakening.


    ¡°Heloise, come and help me!¡± Mavis instantly shouted.


    Heloise heard Mavis¡¯ voice and looking at her panicked expression, she knew that something was wrong. She immediately threw Woolf aside and ran towards her. The two of them laid Bai Yi onto the floor and carried him into the prison cell, immediately closing the door to the cell right after.


    Mavis opened the first aid kit, took out an adrenaline shot and quickly administered it to Bai Yi. She then immediately began her CPR on him. Although Heloise couldn¡¯t be of much help, she still learned some basic treatment from Mavis and Sara during this period of time, and she similarly started to do emergency treatment on Woolf and Sharpei.


    Pupu, Warner and Momo locked the door, and stood guard very seriously at the door. In the whole team now, the only people who still had the ability to move was the three weakest members of the team.


    On the outside, too many monsters died, and a thick stench of blood filled the air, driving the remaining monsters even crazier. More than half of the monsters had died and were consumed by the other monsters, but this kind of savage battle still had no signs of stopping, almost as if it would never stop until only one remained.


    Everyone stared at Mavis trying to resuscitate Bai Yi, silently hoping, praying¡­


    After half an hour of emergency treatment, Bai Yi¡¯s signs of life slowly became weaker and weaker. Mavis laid on the floor in the end, almost giving up hope. At this moment, everyone stopped everything that they were doing, and Momo bit on her lips, an expression of wanting to cry but stubbornly refusing to, quietly standing beside Bai Yi¡­ Daddy!


    Don¡¯t tell me that Bai Yi won¡¯t make it as well¡­


    ¡­¡­


    At this time, outside the giant door, Yu Han¡¯s golden python winded itself around Hong Qi Hua¡¯s left arm and body. Yu Han left¡¯s arm grabbed onto her right hand, gradually pushing it backwards. On Hong Qi Hua¡¯s hand was a sharp willow leaf knife, the same willow leaf knife that she had gotten from Bai Yi at the start.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Yu Han said coldly, and his left hand slowly increased its force. Yu Han pressed her hand which was holding the willow leaf knife slowly towards her heart, slowly but forcefully stabbing it in bit by bit. At this moment, Ning Xue and Khina was actually not beside them.


    Hong Qi Hua¡¯s body twitched slightly, and blood gushed out continuously from the wound. A trace of regret and disappointment flashed across her eyes. I¡¯m sorry, Uncle Bai. Bai Yi and Momo¡¯s faces flashed across her mind at the end, and she slowly closed her eyes.


    At this moment, the right eye of the Progenitor who was silently watching everyone flashed, and blood flowed down from it.


    Yu Han bound Hong Qi Hua with his snake and still held onto her hand, not discovering anything abnormal. After a long while, Yu Han finally ascertained that Hong Qi Hua had died, truly died without signs of life left.


    After a long while, Yu Han finally stood up again, silently staring at Hong Qi Hua¡¯s corpse.


    Actually, Yu Han did like Hong Qi Hua. She was neither servile nor overbearing, proud and independent, not relying on anything, not accommodating to anybody, just like a proud plum blossom in winter, attracting Yu Han deeply. Part of it was definitely because she was a beautiful girl, but it was also a part of the attraction. However, he still killed her in the end, because he clearly knew that he would never be able to have her.


    Yu Han slowly turned around, walking along the passageway out¡­ At this moment, Yu Han truly changed, from the young man some capability and schemes back in the school to a truly ruthless and ambitious character¡­ Forbearing, resolute, and heartless!

 Chapter 76

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry Bai Yi, Momo!¡± A regretful murmuring seemed to come from the darkness, Bai Yi¡¯s dazed consciousness could actually hear Hong Qi Hua¡¯s final regrets. Bai Yi did not know where this voice came from, but he felt it just as deeply as if she were speaking in his heart.


    Hong Qi Hua¡­ died!


    Hot tears slowly flowed down from his eyes, sliding down his face. The one that should say sorry should be me! My greatest regret is that I still have something I have yet to say to you¡­ Qi Hua!


    I am an idiot, I always thought that I had enough time, why do I only know how to treasure things after I lose them!


    Countless scenes flashed past Bai Yi¡¯s mind ¨C Martin getting smashed into pieces in front of him; Sara blocking the door, showing Momo her last bloody smile; Hong Qi Hua lying on the floor, her heart stabbed by the small willow leaf knife that he gave her, and at last her eyes full of regret and emptiness¡­ Bai Yi¡¯s tears flowed continuously.


    How can I die in this place!


    How can I!


    I have not made up for my mistakes, I haven¡¯t brought my friends out of this cruel world, how can I just let myself die here, HOW CAN I!!! Bai Yi screamed in his heart, his expression becoming incomparably malevolent. Everyone around him instantly jumped in shock seeing his expression, thinking that some strange transformation is happening to Bai Yi.


    At this time, Bai Yi¡¯s blood that had initially stopped flowing and turned cold, gradually started to circulate again, rapidly gathering towards his heart, stimulating his heart, from nothing to something. Beat¡­ beat, the heart that had completely stopped initially actually started to beat again.


    ¡°AHHHHHHHH¡­!!!¡± Bai Yi suddenly roared fiercely, his eyes almost bulging out of his sockets.


    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes were completely bloodshot, and the colored patterns on his limbs slowly disappeared. Bai Yi¡¯s eyes seemed to absorb these colored patterns, forming a circle of strange patterns around his pupils. Everyone just happened to meet with his eyes, and all them seemed to have descended into a world like that in a kaleidoscope, their consciousness lost in an instant.


    Bai Yi came alone to the door, looking at the 10 plus gene-fused monsters outside.


    Intimidation!


    Bai Yi¡¯s pupils instantly expanded again, and in the eyes of the gene-fused monsters the colored patterns of Bai Yi¡¯s eyes were instantly reflected. The monsters seemed to have seen their worst nightmares, and immediately turned around and ran away in fear and anxiety. Even farther away, those monsters who were still approaching them also seemed to have felt the aura of some primordial beast, instinctually feeling fear and avoided them hurriedly.


    Bai Yi turned around, and looked towards a camera inside the prison cell.


    ¡°Yeye, are you really not opening the door?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I really want to open the door, but the duty placed on me makes me unable to do so.¡± Yeye¡¯s voice came from the air. Honestly speaking, even Yeye¡¯s simple autonomous consciousness was very shocked by them.


    ¡°There should still be a temporarily safe place here, right? Can you tell me where it is?¡±


    ¡°Walk out from here and follow along the left side of the walkway. In 400 meters there¡¯s a passageway, I will open it for you guy. The passageway connects to a small research laboratory, its where the researchers conduct some simple experiments, there should be tools and medicine that you guys need there. However, can you guys reach that place now?¡± Yeye at this time also seemed to treat herself as one of Bai Yi¡¯s team members. However, because Yeye by nature had to follow the programming set by her creators before, she couldn¡¯t act according to her own will completely.


    ¡°We can, there¡¯s no problem.¡± Bai Yi nodded, and patted on the others inside the room.


    After looking into Bai Yi¡¯s eyes again, the rest of them finally woke up from their daze and stared at Bai Yi in surprise. Bai Yi¡¯s eyes, isn¡¯t it too magical? It already almost couldn¡¯t be explained by reason anymore, a lifeform¡¯s evolution, can it really evolve continuously in such a short period of time?


    ¡°We will go out, there¡¯s a passageway 400 meters away. We will go there to rest first, Yeye will open the door.¡± Bai Yi said to everyone.


    Nobody doubted Bai Yi¡¯s decision, even if there were still numerous gene-fused monsters outside now. When the bunch of them helped each other to the walkway, they realised that all the gene-fused monsters immediately ran away from Bai Yi after seeing him from afar.


    ¡°Bai Yi, your eyes?¡± Mavis asked.


    ¡°Nothing much, just a deeper level of evolution of a lifeform¡¯s mimicry, letting me obtain a stronger power.¡± Bai Yi explained dully. But¡­every piece of strength had its price, and the change in Bai Yi¡¯s eyes came from the shock of Hong Qi Hua¡¯s death. If he had a choice, Bai Yi would rather not have this power.


    Mavis saw that Bai Yi didn¡¯t seem to want to continue on this topic, and she also intelligently chose not to continue asking. The group of them safely came to the small laboratory that Yeye mentioned, and the facilities inside were all very complete. Mavis and Heloise who had the lightest injuries, as well as those who still could move began to use the medicine and equipment here to start their treatment.


    After Bai Yi entered the room, the colored patterns in his eyes slowly disappeared, but the colored pattern on the hair on his limbs did not return. After confirming that it was safe, Bai Yi finally fell on the bed heavily.


    Everyone got alarmed again, but after Mavis checked she spoke to everyone: ¡°There¡¯s no problem, Bai Yi¡¯s body was just too over-fatigued, and he fell into a deep sleep to recover. Be at ease, his vital signs are very stable, there won¡¯t be a situation like just now.¡±


    Mavis¡¯ explanation finally made everyone let out a breath of relief, so it¡¯s just over-exhaustion!


    ¡­¡­


    When Bai Yi woke up again, it was already 3 days later. When Bai Yi opened his eyes, he realised that it was very dark, terrifyingly dark. Bai Yi stretched out both his hands to try and touch what¡¯s around him, and he could be sure that he was lying on top of a bed. However, he couldn¡¯t tell anything beyond that because his body was so weak that it felt like it didn¡¯t belong to him, he could barely move anything.


    Mavis had been taking care of Bai Yi all along, delight went through her heart when she finally saw Bai Yi opening his eyes, but when she saw Bai Yi¡¯s movements afterwards, her heart immediately dipped.


    She saw this kind of situation in other patients before¡­ loss of sight!


    ¡°Bai Yi, are you awake?¡±


    ¡°En, is that Mavis?¡± Although his expression was very calm, the way he tried to feel around with his hands couldn¡¯t escape Mavis¡¯ eyes. ¡°Is there light here?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    Mavis¡¯ heart ached, not knowing how to reply Bai Yi.


    ¡°So it¡¯s like that¡­¡± Since Mavis didn¡¯t reply, Bai Yi could guess the answer. Bai Yi understood his own body the best, the last two transformation and usage of his eyes were utterly abnormal. If one were to say that these transformations did not come with any side-effects to his eyes, Bai Yi wouldn¡¯t believe it himself.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it should be able to recover.¡± Mavis immediately consoled him.


    ¡°En.¡± There wasn¡¯t much of a change in Bai Yi¡¯s expression.


    ¡°I¡¯m serious, your blindness is not congenital, but due to over-usage of your eyes. Normally, as long as you have enough rest and let yourself recover, your eyesight should return soon.¡± Mavis explained, and gave Bai Yi a check-up seriously.


    This check-up took a few hours, during this period the rest of them also got to know of Bai Yi losing his vision, and they all waited uneasily for the results.


    ¡°Relax, Bai Yi¡¯s vision did not disappear completely, just that his ability to sense light is very weak now. This definitely has something to do with the transformation of his eyes before. I think that as long as he can master the changes in his body he will be able to regain his sight again. Maybe his eyes will even become completely different from before.¡± Mavis said to the rest of them.


    ¡°Hahahahaha, see? What did I say? Bai Yi will never die so easily!¡± Woolf said boisterously.


    ¡°It¡¯s just blindness.¡± Heloise reminded.


    ¡°En En.¡± Woolf immediately nodded his head. Bai Yi felt a wave of gladness and laughter, did Woolf and Heloise finally get together? Although everyone was a monster now, the feelings between each other wouldn¡¯t be estranged just because of appearances.


    But, Hong Qi Hua!


    Bai Yi did not know where her voice came from then, but Bai Yi could be sure of one thing: that was definitely not his hallucination. Hong Qi Hua, was really dead.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think that you would still be alive.¡± Yeye looked at the Progenitor in surprise.


    ¡°What¡¯s so strange about me being still alive?¡± The Progenitor replied, and in front of her was the naked Hong Qi Hua.


    ¡°Nah, it just feels strange. An artificial intelligence that oversees all experimental monsters, and the Progenitor that caused everything. There¡¯s actually only the two of us non-human lifeforms left here in this huge research facility.¡± Yeye thought and said. ¡°So, why did you want me to bring Hong Qi Hua¡¯s corpse here?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Yeye said in surprise.


    ¡°En, I don¡¯t know, because I don¡¯t know how it would turn out. So, I hope that you can keep this a secret from Bai Yi¡¯s group.¡± The Progenitor explained.


    ¡°Why must it be kept a secret?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re really an idiot, you don¡¯t know anything.¡± Yeye was speechless at the Progenitor.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m really very normal, I have neither the resolution nor the confidence¡­ So, I will place my hopes on them.¡± The progenitor said, and few tentacles stretched out and grabbed hold of Hong Qi Hua¡¯s naked body, slowly lowering Hong Qi Hua into her stomach, as her tummy area changed and swallowed Hong Qi Hua whole. After a while, Hong Qi Hua disappeared completely inside the Progenitor. From the looks of it, she seemed just like a pregnant woman.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t get what you are doing. It¡¯s so boring talking with you! You¡¯re really about to die, so see you! I¡¯ll keep it a secret.¡± Yeye¡¯s voice became distant.


    ¡°No matter what, I¡¯m also considered¡­ your half-daughter!¡±

 Chapter 77

    ¡°Yeye, are you there?¡± Bai Yi said to the air when there was nobody else left in the room.


    ¡°Hi, what are you looking for Yeye for?¡±


    ¡°I have some questions that I want to ask you, Yeye.¡±


    ¡°Shoot away.¡±


    ¡°Hong Qi Hua, what happened to her?¡± Bai Yi asked uneasily. He heard her last laments in a daze back then, but he had nothing to back that up after all.


    ¡°Dead!¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ Thanks!¡± Bai Yi said in a low voice and fell into silence. In truth, the rest of them had asked this question long ago, but they all seemed to be concealing this from him intentionally. Only Yeye this simple artificial intelligence didn¡¯t know what was concealing.


    ¡°Help me tell the others, we¡¯ll start a meeting soon.¡±


    ¡°Ok~¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°What¡¯s the situation outside now?¡± After Bai Yi¡¯s condition stabilized, he immediately gathered everyone and asked about the situation outside. At this time Bai Yi¡¯s eyes were bandaged, and inside was a medicinal paste that Mavis made to help his eyes recover.


    ¡°We¡¯re not sure. During this period of time we¡¯ve been trying to save everyone¡¯s lives. In reality, Sharpei only finally pulled through the critical stage yesterday.¡± Mavis explained.


    ¡°So it¡¯s like this¡­ Yeye, you¡¯re here right?¡± Bai YI suddenly said to the air.


    ¡°Hi, Yeye is here~. What is it?¡± Sure enough they immediately heard Yeye¡¯s voice. Speaking of which, the entire lower section was Yeye¡¯s territory, so there wasn¡¯t a single place out of her surveillance.


    ¡°How many gene-fused monsters are there left outside? Please display the situations in the various areas on the computer.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°But aren¡¯t you blind now?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s just to let the others understand better.¡± Bai Yi shook his head.


    ¡°Ok!¡±


    ¡°The research facility uses a ¡®hive¡¯ styled construction, and the ¡®hive cells¡¯ spread through the hive are the prison cells. In the center is the simulation pillar with a few levels inside. It¡¯s used to simulate various different environments for the experimental monsters to battle in, using this to measure their strength. The place that you guys are in now is the first level of the first hive, and there¡¯s 400 experimental monsters imprisoned in the circular walkway here.¡±


    ¡°Due to the massacre from the release of these monsters three days ago, there¡¯s only 37 monsters left still surviving. The rest have already become food for these 37 monsters.¡±


    Yeye said as she displayed the 37 gene-fused monsters on the computer screen. These 37 gene-fused monsters didn¡¯t have too high of an intelligence but weren¡¯t too dumb either. After all the fighting and eating their fill, they were all wary of each other and actually returned to their own prison cells, guarding their own territories that way.


    ¡°If all of these 37 monsters die, can you open the door?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°Nope!¡± Yeye shook her head.


    ¡°Why? Isn¡¯t your duty to stop these monsters from escaping? If all of them are already dead, why can¡¯t you open the door?¡± Mavis asked as well.


    ¡°Sadly, Noel used a forceful and destructive way to hack the door the second time, so now I have already lost control of that door. Hence, even if you guys kill all 37 monsters, I¡¯m still unable to help you guys open the door.¡±


    Everyone couldn¡¯t help but feel frustration and incomparable anxiousness hearing her words. They could understand it if Noel used some desperate measures to open the door, but he actually destroyed their hopes by doing so.


    ¡°Then, are we able to get out if we use things like the sewers or utility pipes?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but the defence in this research facility is extremely thorough and complete. You guys can go into the sewers, but based on my calculations the possibility of death inside there is 99%. The defence in that place isn¡¯t any weaker than it is here. This place¡­ is the research facility holding the Progenitor.¡± Yeye said in glee.


    The research facility holding the Progenitor!


    Everyone instantly understood. This facility may not be the largest, but it was definitely the most important. However, were they going to be imprisoned here till death like this?


    ¡°Yeye, is there any way out?¡± Bai Yi decided to just ask Yeye directly.


    ¡°There is!¡± Yeye hesitated for a moment and replied. If not for Yeye¡¯s independent consciousness emerging, she wouldn¡¯t even answer this question of Bai Yi¡¯s.


    ¡°What¡¯s the solution?¡± Joy instantly showed on their faces.


    ¡°Activate the counter sequence, and turn off my main computer.¡±


    ¡°Can you explain this?¡±


    ¡°Yes! Under normal situations, if you guys switched off my main computer then this research facility would truly become completely sealed. All the doors will become completely locked, and the entire research facility would become an eternal cage. Just to mention this, even though the materials used to build the interior of the facility are quite normal, the exterior is all made of special materials. If you want to forcefully break through the walls and escape, it is totally impossible. No, not totally impossible, but based on the tools that you guys have and your destructive power, a rough estimate would put it at about 100 years before you guys can break through the place.¡± Yeye said with pitying look on her face.


    ¡°However, Doctor Wang placed a counter sequence in my programming. Once you activate this sequence and switch my main computer off, all the doors in this research facility will immediately open.¡± Yeye said again with an unconcerned look.


    All of their faces changed. They could escape if all the doors opened, but similarly wouldn¡¯t all the gene-fused monsters escape as well?


    ¡°Then those gene-fused monsters?¡± Heloise asked, not giving up on hope.


    ¡°Of course they would all escape!¡±


    This time all of them truly gave up hope.


    Bai Yi took a few deep breaths and knocked on the table lightly. ¡°Let¡¯s do it then!¡±


    His voice wasn¡¯t too loud, but everyone jumped in their hearts and fighting spirits rose in them. That¡¯s right, we will never, ever get trapped in this place! Even if all the experimental monsters escape, we must live on! At this time, nobody would think about why Doctor Wang would leave such a counter sequence in Yeye¡¯s programming. No matter what, this was their last hope at leaving this place.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Yeye, can you display the 3D map of the entire research facility?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    Just when he finished asking, Yeye immediately displayed the 3D map of the entire place in a grid format. Bai Yi heard Mavis beside him suck in a cold breath of air, and she quickly explained it to Bai Yi.


    ¡°This research facility is even larger than we expected. The place that we are at is only the first level of the first hive. Other than this place, there¡¯s still four other hives in the other directions, and every hive has nine levels. The number of experimental monsters locked up here is¡­ 104232.¡± Mavis said in disbelief.


    ¡°So many?¡±


    ¡°No, there¡¯s only 17544 large sized and single gene-fused monsters, but there¡¯s some colony-type lifeforms in here such as ant or bee colonies. These lifeforms may not be big, but they are very numerous. Of course, to you guys now they are also the most dangerous.¡± Yeye explained.


    ¡°Why is the construction of this place based on a hive? Are you guys imitating the Resident Evil series?¡± Woolf suddenly asked a completely unrelated question. His thoughts really left the others speechless, but Yeye still replied his question seriously.


    ¡°Of course not, the original location of this research facility wasn¡¯t here but at Mount Ruapehu, which was the place that you guys entered from. However, the birth of the Progenitor was completely up to chance and when she appeared at this research facility, this place started to expand. Since this place was built on a volcano, we had to avoid it and hence the long electric train passageway. The hive is just the most efficient way of building the facility to imprison these experimental monsters, so we adopted this way of construction. We weren¡¯t imitating Resident Evil or whatever.¡± Yeye explained, and as she spoke various locations that she was talking about was shown on the screen.


    ¡°Moreover, the research facility in Resident Evil was just called the hive. It¡¯s actual form was very different from an actual hive.¡± Yeye retorted at the end.


    ¡°Oh it¡¯s like that, I forgot long ago hahahaha!¡± Woolf scratched his head and laughed.


    Bai Yi did not stop this brainless questioning from Woolf. In fact, they understood nothing about this research facility. Even if it were some marginal things, there wasn¡¯t any harm in getting to know more. Moreover, Bai Yi couldn¡¯t really focus recently, as even if he tried not to think about it he would still think of Hong Qi Hua.


    ¡°Yeye, where¡¯s your main computer?¡± Bai Yi sighed in his heart and focused.


    ¡°Here!~¡± Yeye highlighted the center of the five hives. It was an independent building, and the people here obviously knew the importance of the artificial intelligence as well. Since Bai Yi couldn¡¯t see anything now, Mavis and the rest described the general situation to him.


    ¡°Oh by the way, even though I told you guys the position of my main computer, it doesn¡¯t mean that I can switch off the defence system. Meaning, even if you guys come, I will still attack and try to stop you guys from moving forward.¡± Yeye said, and the rest of them who thought that they had gained one more ally couldn¡¯t help but to feel disappointed.


    ¡°But you are really strange like this, you are clearly willing to stand with us, but you still have to stop us.¡± Heloise said.


    ¡°What can I do, I¡¯m still an artificial intelligence now, I must fulfil the duties that the humans set for me before. If not for sister Sunlight being taken away by Doctor Wang, causing large loopholes to appear in my authority, you guys wouldn¡¯t even be here in the first place, not to mention me telling you guys this information.¡± Yeye said.


    ¡°Yeye, can you tell us the attacking methods and power of every defence sequence?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°Of course!¡± Yeye said happily.


    Yeye displayed every weapon¡¯s attacking pattern, damage, area of effect, while the rest of them discussed how to safely go through the place and reach their destination. Even the initially shy Warner pitched in, excitedly talking about how to bypass these defenses. However, those suggestions just seemed a little strange.


    ¡°Why do I suddenly feel like I¡¯m playing a game? Just like how I know the obstacle, and we are discussing the method to pass by the obstacle now.¡± Woolf suddenly said. So that was why. No wonder it felt strange, Little Warner was treating this like a game.


    ¡°Well that isn¡¯t wrong either, but this is a game with only one life. Once we make a mistake there¡¯s no more chances to restart.¡± Bai Yi said.


    Once the others heard Bai Yi¡¯s words, the initially excited and slightly nonsensical atmosphere cooled down.


    Bai Yi slowly exhaled, and their messy and chaotic discussion gradually calmed down as well as they looked at Bai Yi. Even if Bai Yi was blind now, he was still the core of their team.


    ¡°Yeye, can you tell me about these few things in detail?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°Hi, yes?¡± Yeye replied adorably.


    ¡°Map. The map of the entire research facility, the location of your main computer, the imprisonment location of all the gene-fused monsters, and the detailed information on any gene-fused monsters that we have to take notice of. Also, the information on the Prototy drug that can maintain our physical forms that you mentioned before, and the location of the information that you feel that are more important. Other than that, what exactly this research facility was researching, what changes will appear in an evolved lifeform, such as LV1-1 Binging Stage, LV1-2 Brutal Stage¡­ and what they truly mean. Lastly, help me to analyze which pathway has the highest possibility to escape this place once we switch off your main computer¡­¡± Bai Yi said a whole long chain of requests.


    ¡°Yeye isn¡¯t a coolie!¡± After hearing more and more requests from Bai Yi, Yeye finally exploded.

 Chapter 78

    ¡°Yeye isn¡¯t a coolie!¡±


    Initially Yeye was still listening to Bai Yi¡¯s requests happily, but after hearing more and more requests, Yeye couldn¡¯t help but to explode and shout in anger. On the computer screen, Yeye suddenly jumped and used her small fist to smash the table, just like a little loli blowing her top.


    Bai Yi faced the computer, stood up, and seriously bowed.


    ¡°I¡¯m relying on you!¡±


    Just one simple sentence. Yeye had still wanted to say something, but looking at Bai Yi¡¯s simple but incomparably serious and genuine request, she suddenly lost her words. This man¡­ should be bearing with a lot of pain now right. So much struggling, so much desperate struggling, he not only lost his sight but also the person he loved. Even if it was Yeye, she could still feel the heavy and painful feeling coming from Bai Yi now. That kind of heaviness caused her to be unable to reject him.


    ¡°Hmph¡­ since you are asking so sincerely, then I¡¯ll force myself to agree then.¡± Yeye said softly, her eyes moving around and avoiding looking at Bai Yi. She almost felt like she was going overboard by making Bai Yi beg her like this.


    ¡°Thank you!¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± At this time, the rest of them also felt Bai Yi¡¯s seriousness and also thanks Yeye together.


    ¡°En¡­, then what do you guys want to know first?¡±


    ¡°What do you guys think?¡± Bai Yi asked the rest.


    ¡°The origin of all these research, and also what this research facility was researching.¡± Mavis glanced at Heloise for a while and said. ¡°We are more curious about these fundamental things. As for planning the route out, I think it¡¯s better to wait for Bai Yi¡¯s eyes to recover to some extent so that he can participate in the planning.¡±


    ¡°En.¡± Bai Yi did not object.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start then, the cause of everything and the nature of the research in this facility.¡± Yeye started.


    The things that Yeye talked about wasn¡¯t too different from what Martin told them, just that it was more detailed. Names, locations, every date and time were clearly stated. This was the benefit of being a computer. Every bit of information was recorded clearly, and not vague like a person¡¯s memories.


    Year 2003, Carma Dovich started the research towards longevity, and in the following years the same emotion enveloped the entire world, drawing the attention and participation of all the powerful people.


    14th January 2009, the Devil Algae was found in an underwater volcano in the Pacific Ocean.


    7th July 2014, this was an important date, because the long period of research on activated cells finally resulted in a lucky perfect assimilation by a human body. The Asian woman NO. 31000137 perfectly assimilated with the cells from the mutated Devil Algae cells, and displayed the power of this perfect assimilation. Very quickly, the researchers referred to these mutated Devil Algae cells transplanted onto NO. 31000137 as ¨C activated cells. At the same time, they also named NO. 31000137 as the Progenitor!


    Activated cells have powerful assimilating capability, activated capability, and gene fusion capability. All the lifeforms that assimilated with activated cells started to undergo great changes.


    ______________________________________________________________________________


    LV0: Nascent Stage ¨C normal humans, animals, or plants are successfully infected with the activated cells.


    ¡ô¡¾Awakening]


    Activated cells are normally in a dormant state, so they need to be awakened. Awakening isn¡¯t difficult, as long as the host body has sufficient nutrition to provide the activated cells with, they will awaken.


    LV1-1: Binging Stage ¨C After the activated cells awaken, they will start to assimilate the other normal cells in the host body, and at the same time start to frenziedly produce special energy. At this stage, various nutrition in the host body will be depleted greatly, and the host body will feel incredible hunger, requiring large amounts of food. Evolved lifeforms at this stage will look around everywhere for food, eating anything and everything, entering the Binging Phase.


    ¡­¡­


    So far it was similar to what Martin had told them, just that it was in more detail. Everyone already more or less knew all of this, but following were the things that they did not know about.


    ¡­¡­


    LV1-2: Brutal Stage ¨C In the Binging Phase, gene fusion in addition to binge eating will cause the physical forms of evolved lifeforms to change greatly. When this change reaches a certain stage, they will become impulsive and brutal, entering the Brutal Phase.


    Brutal Phase: The physical body changes rapidly due to the activated cells and gene fusion, but the soul was only suited to the previous body. This was a stable physical form of life that was developed and evolved over countless years. The incongruence between the body and soul caused these evolved lifeforms to become extremely impulsive and brutal, entering a killing frenzy without any reason, and was thus known as the Brutal phase.


    Humans and other animals were different, because humans were rational, they could endure the impulsiveness and frustration brought about by the incongruence to a certain extent. However, this didn¡¯t mean that humans wouldn¡¯t go through the Brutal Phase, just that humans were able to control themselves. Of course, even for humans, only 1 out of 10 could manage to control themselves, and the majority of people would go berserk.


    ¡°Humans really have souls?¡± Even though it wasn¡¯t the first time hearing it, they were still very surprised.


    ¡°Not just humans, but other lifeforms have souls as well, just that nobody was able to prove it before. In truth, when the research first started, nobody knew why these experimental subjects were becoming savage and brutal for no reason at all. Only after these experimental subjects entered LV1-3, and described how they felt back then, did Doctor Wang and the other ascertain the existence of the soul for the first time.¡± Yeye wore a pair of glasses now, looking like a learned professor.


    ¡°Cough cough, please do not interrupt me, just listen to me seriously.¡± Yeye knocked on the blackboard behind her.


    ¡°The reason behind the brutality comes from the incongruence between the soul and the body, and this kind of incongruence is due to the fusion of genes from other lifeforms. During this phase, there¡¯s a few ways of dealing with it.¡± Yeye looked at them seriously listening to her again and continued explaining.


    Activated cells had a limited active phase, they were not able to continuously fuse with genes from other lifeforms. As long as no genes were fused in this active phase, they wouldn¡¯t be able to fuse with other genes after that even if there were still gene fusion slots left. This way, even if the host body assimilated with activated cells, the physical form wouldn¡¯t have great changes.


    Experimental subjects like this usually had more stable emotions, apparently it was due to the small incongruence between the soul and body. However, that is not to say that there weren¡¯t any differences. From the moment that they were infected with activated cells, all experimental subjects had to say goodbye to their ¡®humanity¡¯ and ¡®species¡¯.


    Drugs that have calming effects


    The normal calming drugs you see in stores doesn¡¯t have much of a use anymore, only drugs made from evolved animals or plants will be effective.


    ClearyHeart (TN: The author used ClearyHeart in English in the raws, so yeah it¡¯s not a typo) ¨C A drug to calm the heart, compounded through extracts from various evolved plants. However, research on this is still at a preliminary stage. In truth, none of those evolved plants are even named. Even a very common blade of grass before can mutate to have an unknown effect now.


    ??? ¨C nourish and harmonise the soul!


    ¡°Wait wait, Yeye, what does this ??? mean? And nourishing the soul?¡± Heloise raised her right hand and asked seriously, just like a real student.


    ¡°That is a very good question.¡± Yeye had a look that said, ¡®this student is worth teaching¡¯.


    ¡°Based on Doctor Wang¡¯s theory, the world is a complementary whole. Since the reason behind the brutality is due to the incongruence between body and soul, then there definitely must be some animal or plant that can nourish and harmonise the soul. However, something like this hasn¡¯t been discovered yet.¡± Yeye said seriously.


    Everybody was taken aback, they can be so sure of something that hadn¡¯t been discovered?


    However, all of them still noted it down seriously. From the previous information they had gotten, that Doctor Wang was really a lunatic and monstrous genius, so the theories he proposed should still have some basis to it. Moreover, the world is complementary whole? Even if it was them, they couldn¡¯t help but feel that it sounded right.


    3) Soul Nourishing Physical Arts


    Physical Arts that can calm the heart and nourish the soul when cultivated.


    ¡°So-soul Nourishing Physical Arts?¡± Woolf stuttered and said. A new phrase, a new idea, Woolf¡¯s head instantly became bloated. Even Bai Yi felt that the more he listened the more mystical it became.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Soul Nourishing Physical Arts. I already said before, all living things have a soul, just that at our current stage, no matter animals or humans we are all unable to sense it. Since we are unable to sense the existence of the soul at this stage, we can only rely on cultivating the physical body to passively bring about the cultivation of the soul. This is the experiences and data gathered from the LV1-3 and LV2 Stage experimental subjects, I¡¯m not lying to you guys.¡± Yeye explained.


    ¡°So, what exactly is this Soul Nourishing Physical Arts?¡±


    ¡°Tai Ji Fist!¡± Yeye immediately gave an answer that shocked everyone dumb. (TN: Tai Ji Fist is a famous Chinese martial art that existed for a long time, but there are many versions of it now. The most common usage of it now is just a slow set of movements that elderly go through to get some exercise though, so it isn¡¯t anything really impressive or mystical. That¡¯s why they are all shocked.)


    ¡°Tai Ji Fist is the best physical art to bring about passive cultivation of the soul that we¡¯ve found so far. Of course, I¡¯m talking about the real and uncut version of the Tai Ji Fist. Actually, after we discovered that training the physical body could bring about the development of the soul as well, research had never ceased in this area. However, up until now we haven¡¯t found a better Soul Nourishing Physical Art. You guys must know, the existence of the soul was only confirmed in 2017, when the first batch of experimental subjects that could communicate with us entered the LV1-3 Hypersomnia Stage. Until now, only three years has passed, and in this three years many other areas had to be researched as well.¡± Yeye explained.


    ¡°There¡¯s many people who practiced Tai Ji Fist in the past, why didn¡¯t anybody realize that it could bring about the cultivation of the soul?¡± Woolf asked dumbly.


    Yeye revealed a disdainful expression, and¡­


    ¡°Are you an idiot?! How many times must I say this? Not to mention normal people, even evolved lifeforms at this current stage are unable to sense the existence of the soul. Even if people practiced Tai Ji Fist in the past and brought about a slight change in the soul, they wouldn¡¯t be able to sense it anyway!¡± Yeye¡¯s head looked like it was about to burst out of the computer screamed and shouted at Woolf.


    Woolf immediately fell onto his butt in fright.


    Yeye was apparently very pleased with herself, the feeling of lecturing people really felt very different, HAHAHAHA.

 Chapter 79

    ¡°The first batch of experimental subjects that can communicate?¡± Mavis grabbed hold of an important point in Yeye¡¯s words.


    ¡°Human experimental subjects that fused with genes from other lifeforms. A portion of them did not lose their rationality completely at the Brutal Phase, and after entering the LV1-3 Hypersomnia Stage they gave the researchers very important information ¨C confirmation of the existence of the soul.¡± Yeye said calmly and coldly.


    The group of them who were initially excited over the prospect of hearing a secret felt like they had been splashed with cold water.


    This information was gathered from countless experimental subjects. Only heaven knew just how much darkness was hidden behind all this. Everyone suddenly felt like they understood the meaning behind the Progenitor¡¯s serial number, No. 31000137.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Let¡¯s continue then.¡± Yeye saw the atmosphere going cold and she decided to move things along. At this time, none of them had that excitement and curiosity anymore, but carried a level of heaviness and other feelings as they listened to Yeye explain.


    ¡°In the LV1-2 Brutal Stage, the incongruence between the body and soul will cause the lifeform to act brutally. Every time it erupts, the symptoms were just like you guys before, losing your rationality, and only knowing how to kill on instinct. The first few times are easier to wake up from, but if you guys cannot suppress it, it is very easy to lose your mind completely and become a true wild beast. Among all the experimental subjects, the human experimental subjects that can enter LV1-3 Hypersomnia Stage and still retain their rationality, is not more than 1 out of 10. As for the rest¡­¡± Yeye said and gave a statistic.


    Everyone¡¯s faces became very solemn. If they entered that mindless state multiple times, it would result in them becoming completely mindless monsters huh?


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there any solution?¡± Heloise asked nervously.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I say it just now? Three solutions. You guys are already not suitable for the first, the second and third solution can suppress the symptoms of brutality to a certain extent. However, you guys must know, these two solutions were also only discovered recently, so it has no decisive effect.¡± Yeye purposely looked Woolf, Warner, Sharpei and Momo seriously.


    The four of them stared at Yeye dumbly, not completely understanding the seriousness of the issue.


    Woolf had a simple brain, while Warner and Momo were both little kids. As for Sharpei, do you really expect him to be as intelligent as humans? Seeing that the few of them didn¡¯t even have the slightest look of fear on their faces, Yeye gave a ¡®hmph¡¯ in displeasure. Damn I didn¡¯t get to scare the bunch of you. Heloise saw how Yeye was acting like a little girl and couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. She was clearly an artificial intelligence, but this personality was even cuter than a real person¡¯s.


    ¡°Continuing on!¡± Yeye, on the contrary, felt shy at Heloise¡¯s laughter.


    ¡°The reason behind the brutality is the incongruence between the body and soul. The body changed too fast while the soul didn¡¯t have many changes. Life is a complete whole, however, so after the body changes, the soul will gradually change as well to become compatible with the new body. This process similarly happens at the Brutal Phase. However, the soul is a completely new concept to all of us, unable to be touched or felt. Hence, even within the research facility, there was only one solution found to help the soul adjust to the new body.¡± Yeye continued explaining.


    ¡°What¡¯s the solution?¡± Everyone couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°Sleep!¡±


    ¡°Sleep?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, sleep. Sleep for a living thing is actually a very magical state. While sleeping, everyone¡¯s body will automatically repair and adjust itself. While sleeping, the growth of the soul will also be faster and more stable than usual. Correspondingly, the LV1-2 Brutal Stage will also shorten. The better the quality of sleep, the better the growth of the soul, and this is also a rule found from the Hypersomnia Stage.¡± Yeye explained.


    LV1-3: Hypersomnia Stage ¨C Number of gene fusions has already reached its limit, the physical body starts to stabilize, and the soul also grows to become compatible with the body. At this stage, the evolved lifeform will want to sleep a lot, entering the Hypersomnia Stage.


    ¡°I had already said it before, but the confirmation of the existence of the soul was done in LV1-3 Hypersomnia Stage. In reality, at this stage, evolved lifeforms will sense the existence of the soul by nature, and at the same know what they should do next ¨C let the body and soul harmonize again. To harmonize the body and soul again requires continuous balancing, and the effectiveness of balancing is best while sleeping, especially a deep level of sleep, being in a womb-like condition, or a deep level of meditation.¡±


    ¡°This wasn¡¯t discovered by anybody, but what people instinctively knew to do when they reached that stage.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like how we sleep when we feel tired!¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s as simple as sleeping when you feel tired; this is the basic instinct of living things. In the Hypersomnia Phase, the lifeform will instinctually sense the soul, want to sleep, and balance the body and soul.¡± Yeye nodded.


    ¡°Hypersomnia Stage lifeforms, other than eating, basically spend all their time in deep sleep, and there isn¡¯t much risk in this stage, but¡­!¡± Yeye suddenly raised her voice.


    ¡°Although they want to sleep a lot, the condition of the sleep isn¡¯t too good, and it¡¯s difficult for them to enter a deep level of sleep as well. They are easily woken or have nightmares. Overall, it¡¯s the consequence of the imbalance between body and soul. So, Hypersomnia Stage lifeforms will feel¡­ intense anger towards those who wake them up from their sleep.¡± Yeye explained.


    ¡°What would happen if you wake a Hypersomnia Stage lifeform up?¡± Momo asked tenderly.


    ¡°Momo you can go and try!¡± Yeye paused for a moment and smiled at Momo.


    Warner looked at the exquisite virtual image of Yeye, and suddenly for a moment he thought that small devil horns grew from her head. Momo blanked for a moment and ran behind Bai Yi, holding onto his sleeve and cautiously stretching out her little head to look at Yeye. The rest of them immediately burst out into laughter, but they could roughly guess the consequences. It was already hard to fall asleep, so if somebody woke them up¡­ It would probably end up with something like ¡®wake me up from my sleep, and I¡¯ll murder your entire family!¡±


    Yeye also blanked for a moment. She was just teasing Momo, and didn¡¯t expect that her intuition to be so sharp.


    Hmph, too bad I can¡¯t come out, or else I would definitely grab those chubby cheeks of yours and rub them so hard. Yeye raised her little fist behind the scenes.


    ¡°Then let me continue on the next stage ¨C Metamorphosis.¡±


    ¡°Wait wait, Hypersomnia Stage, isn¡¯t there things to do like calming drugs or Soul Nourishing Physical Arts like in the Brutal Stage?¡± Mavis asked.


    ¡°There might be, but we haven¡¯t discovered any with the current research. On the 7th of July 2014, the Progenitor was born, and in reality, the first batch of experimental subjects only entered Hypersomnia Stage in 2017. It¡¯s only 29th April 2020 today. This research facility only came into contact with activated cells a few years earlier than you guys. How could they research everything so thoroughly?¡± Yeye explained shortly and to the point like a real computer would.


    Everyone immediately understood, and Mavis sat down again. What the researchers had seemingly discovered with their research was still very preliminary. Even if they obtained all the information from Yeye, they still wouldn¡¯t know how they would change in the future. This required every person to go and find out for themselves.


    ¡°This is the process of change of evolved lifeforms. The researchers split it into a few stages, LV1-1 Binging Stage, LV1-2 Brutal Stage, LV1-3 Hypersomnia Stage, but in reality, the changes of a lifeform are a continuous process, so the three stages do not have clear boundaries. You guys understand?¡± Yeye looked at everyone.


    ¡°Since you guys understand, let me tell you the next stage ¨C Metamorphosis!¡± Yeye continued after seeing them nod.


    ¡ô¡¾Metamorphosis]


    Metamorphosis ¨C This is after the body and soul had harmonized to a certain point, and reached a new state of balance.


    After evolved lifeforms enter the Hypersomnia Stage, they will sense the existence of the soul for the first time, and at the same time automatically go about balancing themselves. After the Hypersomnia Stage has gone on for a period of time, the lifeform will passively undergo Metamorphosis.


    ¡°And then?¡± Everyone saw that Yeye only gave a vague explanation and couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°What ¡®and then¡¯? It¡¯s just Metamorphosis.¡±


    ¡°Do you really expect me to tell you how to undergo Metamorphosis? I already said that the researchers haven¡¯t finished researching this yet either. Sigh¡­Let me think, Doctor Wang did say that it¡¯s probably similar to the Foundation Building Stage in cultivation novels. We still don¡¯t understand the process now. Anyway, if the process is successful, then the body and soul will reach a new balance and enter a whole new realm.¡± Yeye said.


    Everyone didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry hearing Yeye¡¯s explanation.


    ¡°After Metamorphosis, the lifeform will enter the LV2 Metamorphose Stage. With the understanding of the Metamorphose Stage now, there¡¯s only two important points. 1. The lifeform will generate an absolute lifefield inside its body, and become able to actively manipulate the special energy inside its body. 2. At this stage, the body, soul, and special energy are continuously changing.¡± Yeye said very seriously, but after attracting all their attention she had nothing more to say.


    Everyone waited for a long while, and finally realized that that was the end, The data from the research probably only reached up till this point.


    However, even if they only had this information, it was enough for them to digest for a long while. Moreover, Yeye only simply summarized the information they had. The true detailed information couldn¡¯t be just this little.


    ¡°Yeye, prepare a set of detailed information to let them read and remember it.¡± Bai Yi said to Yeye.


    ¡°Hi~. No problem.¡± Yeye nodded.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Last question, under normal conditions, what is the portion of evolved lifeforms that can enter LV2 Metamorphose Stage?¡± Bai Yi suddenly seemed to recall something and asked another question. Everyone involuntarily paid attention again after hearing this question.


    ¡°Tongariro National Park Research Facility had a total of 143211 experimental subjects over six years of research. A total of 36547 experimental subjects died fighting each other, and there is a total of 104232 experimental subjects remaining in the research facility now. The remaining 234 died from gene fusion mutation¡­¡± Yeye reported a long chain of numbers, making them dizzy and finally concluded.


    ¡°The probability of entering LV2 is only 2.31%. The death rate is 14.17%, 80.28% of them have incomplete Metamorphosis and became defective products, and the rest¡­ died through various accidents.¡±


    At this moment, there was only one number in their heads¡­ 2.31%!

 Chapter 80

    At this moment, there was only one number in everyone¡¯s heads¡­ 2.31%


    Wasn¡¯t this number pitifully low? Although the death rate was only 14.17% and the remaining seemingly survived, the ¡®defective products¡¯ didn¡¯t seem like something good either.


    ¡°2.31%?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s the probability of entering LV2 Metamorphose Stage now.¡± Yeye nodded.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this probability too low?¡± Heloise creased her eyebrows.


    ¡°No, it isn¡¯t low at all. When trying anything for the first time, it will usually end up in failure. We should say that the fact these lifeforms are able to enter LV2 Metamorphose Stage at the start without any form of safeguard, actually proved that they were evolving in the correct way. If the probability is 0%, then that would be really worrying. We would need to search for a new way to evolve if that were the case. However, now you guys just need to study the information of all the stages in detail, and figure out the method to raise your chances of success to the maximum.¡± Yeye explained.


    ¡°Then what do you mean by defective products?¡±


    ¡°It means that they couldn¡¯t even be consider to be wild beasts. No rationality, no emotions, and not even that bit of intelligence that animals have. They only instinctively know how to kill and survive.¡± Yeye said, and displayed an image again. The wild and savage appearances of the gene-fused monsters that appeared made everyone look away in discomfort.


    ¡°Of course, even though they have no rationality, they are beings that entered LV2 after all. If we really had to classify them, we could refer to them as LV2.1, and so their strength is still absolutely astounding~.¡±


    Astounding~. Yeye¡¯s adorable tone on the contrary didn¡¯t cause any of them to smile.


    ¡°How many of such guys are there?¡±


    ¡°Not many. The truth is, only six years have passed since the Progenitor was born, so only the very first batch of experimental subjects reached the Metamorphose Stage. In Tongariro National Park Research Facility, there¡¯s only a total of 1000 experimental subjects in the first batch. Among those, 29 of them died in accidents, 654 died in various experiments, and the remaining ones that had the chance to attempt Metamorphosis were only 317. Only 7 out of these entered the LV2 Metamorphose Stage perfectly, and there were 243 LV2.1 defective products. Due to these lifeforms being too dangerous, only 30 of them were kept for research and the rest were all killed.¡±


    ¡°Of course, this is also what you guys need to take note of. Once you switch off my main computer, other than the 7 perfect LV2 Metamorphose Stage experimental subjects, these 30 defective products are the ones that you need to be most wary of.¡±


    Yeye said all this while displaying the images of these 30 LV2.1 defective gene-fused monsters. There was seemingly no effect on these monsters even after more than a month of starvation, and they still looked very energetic. However, these guys all seemed to be able to sense the position of Yeye¡¯s cameras. After they heard the soft sound of movement, they instantly twisted their heads and viciously bit towards the direction of the cameras.


    ¡®BANG!¡¯, the few of them instantly jumped in fright, just as if these monsters were going to pounce out from the screen and devour the bunch of them. Bai Yi couldn¡¯t see, but the rest of them couldn¡¯t help but to look away seeing these 30 ¡®defective products¡¯. Any one of these among the 30 monsters could wipe out all the experimental monsters in the first floor alone.


    ¡°What about the true perfect LV2 Metamorphose Stage?¡±


    Yeye displayed the other 7 experimental subjects. Similarly, these perfect Metamorphose Stage lifeforms immediately sensed the movements of the hidden cameras. However, 6 of them just yawned lazily, not paying much attention to the movements. Only one of them immediately jogged over and revealed a friendly smile after discovering the movement of the hidden cameras.


    ¡°Heyyy~ researchers, are you guys still there? It¡¯s been so long; can you give me something to eat?¡± This guy grinned cheekily and said.


    ¡°This is?¡± Bai Yi couldn¡¯t see but he still could hear him speak.


    ¡°Serial number NO. 0721-2, one of the two humans that entered LV2 among the first batch of experimental subjects. Of course, he still has his intelligence, and is usually very cooperative with the experiments as well, never resisting.¡± Yeye explained.


    Everyone instantly stared at this guy seriously. Human?


    He completely doesn¡¯t look like one!


    However, monsters weren¡¯t actually scary, what was scary was the inability to communicate and how they attacked for food on sight. Although this guy looked very sinister, he didn¡¯t look too different from the so-called ¡®demon¡¯. It wasn¡¯t a big deal anymore after a few more looks and they got used to it. Everyone looked at this guy and immediately thought of the same thing. These guys that still have their intelligence, could we cooperate temporarily with them?


    ¡°Yeye, in this research facility, how many of them still retained their sanity and are able to have normal interactions?¡± Heloise suddenly asked.


    ¡°678!¡±


    ¡°Bai Yi!¡± Heloise looked at Bai Yi.


    ¡°Give it up.¡± Bai Yi seemingly guessed what Heloise wanted to say, and shook his head. He then came to in front of the computer screen. Bai Yi eyes were bandaged, but somehow, he could seemingly see through the bandage, the computer screen and stared at that NO. 0721-2. Bai Yi slowly turned his head towards his left, looking down at the floor at an angle.


    ¡°This guy is concealing his true nature very deeply. He seems very normal, but I can feel a mad and brutal aura from him. Yeye, is that guy in this direction?¡± Bai Yi pointed towards the direction of his gaze.


    ¡°DingDong~ Congratulations you are right!¡± Yeye jumped inside the computer screen, and threw flower petals everywhere from her flower basket. She then displayed the translucent grid map of the research facility on the screen, and used a red line to join two points. These two points were their location and the prison cell of NO. 0721-2.


    ¡°I know what you guys are thinking, whether we can cooperate with these experimental subjects that still retained their intelligence and escape together. From the first look, this seems to be quite an attractive idea, but in reality, this won¡¯t work. Of course, with so many experimental subjects, there are bound to be some guys that we can actually with. However, there could also be guys who appear normal, but are actually very brutal inside. Once we make the wrong choice, the price would be our lives.¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°Bai Yi, aren¡¯t you able to see their aura?¡± Woolf suddenly asked. The way Bai Yi found the direction of that guy was incredibly mystifying.


    ¡°It¡¯s only a general sense, and it¡¯s very weak.¡± Bai Yi shook his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably because this guy is a LV2.¡± Bai Yi explained. ¡°Moreover, this is just my personal feeling after all, we can¡¯t ascertain if it¡¯s accurate.¡±


    Bai Yi said and everyone else looked at NO. 0721-2 again. Seemingly, they really couldn¡¯t see any brutality in this guy, he just kept on chattering away non-stop at the camera. After a long while, he finally gave a yawn and walked back to his bed, seemingly falling asleep.


    ¡°He seems to know what had happened in this research facility.¡±


    ¡°Of course! Any intelligent experimental subject would be able to guess what had happened, after all the commotion caused by the Progenitor more than a month ago was too huge. Moreover, in the month following that none of the researchers appeared in front of them again. As long as they still retained their intelligence, they could definitely guess that something had happened. As for what exactly happened, they are definitely in the dark.¡± Yeye nodded.


    ¡°To speak of it, Yeye you said Bai Yi¡¯s change is somewhat different from a normal experimental subject, but what exactly is the difference?¡± Mavis suddenly thought of a question from Bai Yi¡¯s performance just now.


    ¡°Oh this, you guys should now about mutants, right?¡±


    ¡°Bai Yi is a mutant?!¡± Woolf instantly asked in shock.


    ¡°No¡­I mean, I¡¯m not sure. In truth, I do not have many examining capabilities. The most I can do now is to use the experimental data in the database and compare it with you guys. Bai Yi¡¯s transformation shouldn¡¯t be considered to be a mutation. Based on Doctor Wang¡¯s naming, it should be known as deep-level fusion.¡± Yeye explained.


    ¡°Deep-level fusion?¡±


    ¡°When a normal experimental subject fuses with genes from another lifeform, it isn¡¯t just a simple fusion process, but like adding on genes to their original DNA. A very small percentage would display mutations, and an even smaller percentage would display deep-level fusion.¡± Yeye said steadily.


    ¡°Gene addition, to put it simply, means that the main DNA of the lifeform did not have any obvious changes, and the genes fused did not truly merge into the original DNA chain. The genes only got attached on the surface level, just like an additional supplementary. As for deep-level fusion, it means that the gene fused had truly merged itself with the human DNA chain, and thoroughly mixed itself together. Mutation means that the original DNA chain got affected by the fused genes and becomes fundamentally different from the initial lifeform.¡±


    ¡°Mutations can be good or bad, but they generally result in increases in strength. As for deep-level fusion, no special characteristics have been found so far. Or rather, Bai Yi, you are the most special one so far. Of course, this is conditional on that your situation is really deep-level fusion.¡± Yeye explained.


    Simple fusion, gene addition, mutation, deep-level fusion¡­!


    ¡°Ahhh, no more, my brain is starting to malfunction. Yeye, I think you can wait for us to finish digesting all this information first before gradually filling us in again.¡± Heloise thought for a while and rubbed her head.


    If even Heloise was in this state, then there was no need to mention Woolf, Warner, or Momo. These people had simple brains. Everyone had close to zero understanding of the entire research before. Although they only intended to ask some things, they ended up going off on a tangent. However, the information was all about something that everyone didn¡¯t know but wanted to know.


    Bai Yi¡¯s brain at this time was similarly in a mess. There was too much information in this short period of time, and he of course couldn¡¯t digest everything.


    ¡°Are the researchers just making things up? How can there be so many things?!¡± Woolf thought for a while, but his brain seemed to tie itself into a knot and he banged the table in frustration. ¡®Kuang!¡¯, the small table instantly broke into pieces.


    ¡°Woolf, don¡¯t get angry, calm down.¡± Bai Yi immediately reminded.


    ¡°Orh¡­¡­!¡± Woolf¡¯s furious face stiffened for a moment and slowly sat down after hearing Bai Yi¡¯s words. They could see that Woolf was the most influenced by the Brutal Stage and lost control of his emotions easily.


    ¡°However, there really is so much information, research on life is truly complex. If only it was simple like levelling up in a game¡­¡± Heloise said as well.


    Bai Yi only chuckled at Heloise¡¯s words like it was a joke. This was a true transformation of life; it should be complex. Leveling up like in games¡­ How was that possible?

 Chapter 81

    While Bai Yi¡¯s group rested at the small laboratory, Yu Han and Ning Xue searched for useful things in the upper section of the research facility. As for Khina, she dragged her severely injured body and left the research facility with great difficulty. When Khina left, she was unimaginably heartbroken, and self-blame took up a great portion of her sorrow.


    What had happened here? Yeye seemed to just happen to lose her surveillance of the upper section at that period of time, so she wasn¡¯t clear either. Even if she managed to regain control, the connection didn¡¯t seem to be too stable, and she wasn¡¯t even able to activate the defence system. After all, Yeye¡¯s real duties was to manage the lower section. She only vaguely knew that Yu Han and Ning Xue were looking for useful things in the upper section.


    However, what she could be sure of was Yu Han¡¯s transformation, his transformation into a ruthless and ambitious character.


    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t see right now, so he just quietly listened to the others describe Yu Han¡¯s situation. Everyone worried that Bai Yi would erupt in anger over Yu Han¡¯s matters, but unexpectedly after hearing about Yu Han, Bai Yi¡¯s only reaction was just silence, incredibly calm and still silence. This silence, on the contrary, made everyone afraid, and even Momo carefully avoided Bai Yi.


    ¡­¡­


    In the following days, everyone asked Yeye in detail about various information again. If a few days ago they just roughly tried to understand the summary of things, during these few days all of them seriously read through the information that Yeye gave, carefully and meticulously remembering and understanding everything in their hearts.


    Other than gaining a more fine understanding of things from Yeye, everyone had been seriously recuperating from their injuries, fighting to have a bit more power when they had to escape for their lives later.


    7 days later, Bai Yi finally took off his bandage, but his vision had still not recovered. His vision now was just like a normal person in a dark night, only able to see rough a rough outline of things. However, this was already much better than the complete darkness beforehand. Most importantly, it brought everyone hope¡­ Just like Mavis had said, Bai Yi¡¯s blindness was due to over-usage of his eyes. As long as he rested and recovered, his vision would slowly recover as well.


    This place was just a temporarily laboratory, so there weren¡¯t many supplies inside here. Even for food, they had to rely on those gene-fused monsters that died in the circular walkway outside.


    After a week, the corpses outside had been devoured completely by the 37 remaining monsters. Of course, Bai Yi¡¯s group had no food left as well. In truth, even if there were food left it would have become inedible, as it would¡¯ve rotted long ago. However, there were still 37 monsters remaining, and they completely treated them as backup rations.


    Bai Yi wasn¡¯t in a rush to get out. So far, there didn¡¯t seem to be a place safer than here. Moreover, once they switched off Yeye¡¯s main computer, what they had to face were numerous experimental monsters. Before this, they had to prepare everything properly, not just weapons, but also their physical conditions. Similarly, the longer they stayed here, the experimental monsters would grow weaker due to starvation, increasing their chances of escaping from this place.


    ____________________________________________________________________________


    The 1st of June 2020, it had been more than two months since the activated cells proliferated from the Progenitor. It had also been more than 1 month since they¡¯d entered this research facility. There were only 4 left out of the original 37 monsters, as the rest were all killed and used as food by Bai Yi¡¯s group.


    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes had more or less healed to the level of a normal person. Although it still seemed a bit dim to him, there weren¡¯t any major issues anymore.


    During this period of time, their transformation simply couldn¡¯t be described with words. Everyone became a complete gene-fused monster. One must know that during that bloody battle, all of them came into contact with at least 9 monsters, and also fused with all their genes.


    They weren¡¯t even able to tell what genes Woolf had fused with afterwards. The Woolf now was 4 meters tall, his body incomparably thick and sturdy, and grew a huge tail behind him. A pair of wings actually grew from his back, but this pair of wings was only half a meter wide. Compared to Woolf¡¯s body size now, it looked just like a toy. Woolf¡¯s overall body shape now seemed quite similar to a western ¡®fat dragon¡¯, but it was definitely the kind that couldn¡¯t fly.


    However, Woolf would rather die than admit to this point.


    Heloise ¨C 1. Mosquito, 2. Ant, 3. Cat, 4. Praying Mantis¡­¡­


    Heloise was also more than 2 meters tall now, with two pairs of eyes, and appeared to be extremely terrifying. Her tongue could shoot out in an instant, forming a sharp sucker just like that of a mosquito¡¯s proboscis (TN: The mosquito mouthpart that pokes you, I couldn¡¯t find a better term for it), and it was incomparably tough and hard. Other than that, Heloise also grew a pair of transparent wings on her back, and she could fly now. However, she still wasn¡¯t too proficient with this, and the place that they were in right now wasn¡¯t too useful for practicing flying anyway.


    Heloise and Woolf had already confirmed their couple status. Although they were both monsters now, they didn¡¯t disdain each other but stuck to each other like glue.


    However, what made Bai Yi worried was if Woolf could survive her.


    Putting aside the mosquito¡¯s proboscis-like tongue, once while they were playing around Heloise¡¯s praying mantis sickle almost sliced Woolf into half. If not for the armoured skin all over Woolf¡¯s body being incredibly hard now, he would have probably died on top of Heloise¡¯s stomach. Moreover, after the incident was over Heloise still gave off a feeling like she wasn¡¯t done with Woolf yet.


    ¡°A female praying mantis had a habit of killing the male praying mantis during intercourse!¡±


    After Yeye explained, everyone could finally understand the reason. As it turns out, fusing with genes from other lifeforms not only brought about changes in their body but also in their habits. However, Woolf didn¡¯t seem to mind it at all, and even seemed to enjoy it. As for their S&M tendencies, Bai Yi and Mavis couldn¡¯t be bothered to say anything.


    Mavis ¨C 1. Bee, 2. Ant, 3. Hummingbird, 4¡­¡­


    Mavis fused with genes from quite a few flying animals, but unexpectedly she didn¡¯t grow any wings in the end. She instead had two extra arms now, and both grew on her right side. Other than this, Mavis¡¯ changes didn¡¯t seem to be big, but of course this was relative to Woolf and Heloise¡¯s changes.


    During this period of time, Mavis already had already perfected her use of the surgery scalpels, and she used them now as her main weapons.


    Warner ¨C 1. Pig, 2. Cow, 3. Ant, 4. Hummingbird, 5. Cat, 6¡­¡­


    Warner did not change much from before. He stopped growing ever since reaching 2 meters tall two weeks ago. Instead, he started growing horizontally and became extremely fat. However, although he was fat, his agility and strength were actually not bad.


    Sharpei ¨C 1. Slug, 2. Ant, 4. Hummingbird, 4. Poison Spiked Lizard, 5¡­¡­


    Sharpei underwent huge changes as well. Its body was already nearing 3 meters long, and appeared incomparably large and sinister. Colored scales covered its limbs, spreading all the way to its claws. its upper body still retained the appearance of bursting muscles, while his left shoulder, which had a giant hole ripped out from it earlier, actually had bone growing on the outside. Half of his body was now covered in a white bone armour. As for Sharpei¡¯s tail, it transformed into a scorpion¡¯s tail, and the tip of it was extraordinarily brightly colored.


    Pupu ¨C 1. Cow, 2. Ant, 3¡­¡­


    Nobody could tell what genes this guy had fused with. They only knew that it still looked like a pig, just that its entire body was abnormally fat, but the toughness of it was just extraordinary. When Woolf swung his greatsword horizontally at it, he actually couldn¡¯t cut apart its skin, and it would just fly out like a meatball from the immense strength.


    Pupu didn¡¯t seem to mind its own changes at all, and only very happily lazed around with Bai Yi and the rest. It seemingly did not know that with its characteristics, it had already been deemed as the ¡®super meat shield¡¯ by the rest.


    Bai Yi ¨C 1. Butterfly


    Momo ¨C 1. Butterfly


    Bai Yi and Momo both only fused with the genes of a butterfly, and the two of them just seemed like two big and small, brightly colored caterpillars. However, the colors on Momo¡¯s body comparatively seemed a lot dimmer.


    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes now had returned to normal, but once Bai Yi wanted to use his eyes¡¯ abilities, a circle of colored patterns would appear around his pupils. Everyone could see that this circle of colored patterns was the same as the patterns that disappeared from his limbs. Seemingly, Bai Yi¡¯s eyes absorbed the Warning Coloration Mimicry from his body, and amplified the effect of it.


    Momo¡¯s transformation also happened in her eyes, similar to what everyone else had guessed. After all, both of them fused with the genes of a butterfly.


    However, the change in Momo¡¯s eyes was completely different than that of Bai Yi¡¯s. Quietly, Momo¡¯s irises started to disappear. Anybody who saw her eyes that lost their irises would definitely jump in fright, but once they got used to it, it actually seemed quite adorable. However sadly, other than the change in appearance, Momo didn¡¯t seem to gain any special abilities.


    These were all the changes that everyone had in this month.


    ¡°Bai Yi, you guys have to move already.¡± Yeye¡¯s voice suddenly came.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°The Progenitor said that she can¡¯t hold on for much longer, so you guys better move fast.¡± Yeye explained. During this period, they also got to know that the Progenitor was still alive, and seemingly she wanted to meet with them. Similarly, they were also very curious about the Progenitor. After all, what kind of existence was the Progenitor that triggered everything?


    ¡°I got it.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    The detailed route was planned out long ago during this period, so now all they had to do was to execute their plan. Hearing Bai Yi¡¯s voice, all of them focused their minds. Were they finally going out after staying here for more than a month?


    ______________________________________________________________________________


    Author¡¯s Note: These few chapters may be rather dry since it¡¯s all about information and the system, but I have to write about all of this, and write about this in detail. Because what I¡¯m writing is a ¡®realistic¡¯ evolution novel, and not the kind of common system based or levelling based novels where things happen for no reason at all. So, my setting must be logical.


    Other than that, I¡¯m open to any bug reports, I mean any loopholes in the settings and system here

 Chapter 82

    With a little spy like Yeye, their advancement wasn¡¯t difficult at all. To put it simply, all her defense sequences were just weapon installments that moved based on their programming. Although they were very mobile, but they were still restricted by their settings. After understanding everything, they only had to wait for a certain timing and follow a special path to dodge everything, so it was actually quite easy to deal with.


    Of course, even if they knew the patterns of these weapons well, there weren¡¯t many who could remain calm when these weapons were really shooting at their faces. Luckily, after a few times of panicking due to unfamiliarity, everyone gradually got used to this ¡®dangerous¡¯ process.


    ¡°Next is the last defense sequence, a real laser passageway, are you guys ready?¡± Yeye reminded.


    Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°Yeye, aren¡¯t your defenses quite weak? I didn¡¯t see anything amazing about it.¡± Woolf stayed at a large hall outside and didn¡¯t enter the passageway. With Woolf¡¯s size now, many of the passageways in the research facility were too small for him, he would probably get stuck inside them.


    ¡°Are you an idiot? What I have here are defense systems, do you understand what defense is? Destruction isn¡¯t my goal. With the power from all the countries, I could even get a nuclear bomb, but can I use it? My purpose is to stop invaders, not blow myself up. Not just nuclear bombs, but all those high-powered weapons aren¡¯t suitable for use as well. Moreover, I already told you guys about my defense system in so much detail. If you guys were still unable to bypass it, then you guys would really be retarded.¡± Yeye immediately started talking rapidly and lectured Woolf.


    ¡°Hmph, an adult won¡¯t fight with a kid.¡± Woolf was taken aback by the lecturing, but this guy still had some self-awareness. Competing in wits with a super artificial intelligence, his brain couldn¡¯t move that fast.


    ¡°Yeye isn¡¯t a kid!¡± Yeye instantly retorted.


    ¡°But don¡¯t you look just like a kid?¡± Woolf and Yeye instantly started quarrelling again. The rest of them couldn¡¯t help but laugh, and Yeye really loved to ¡®bully¡¯ the simple Woolf. If Yeye could really appear, the small and big figure quarrelling with each other would really be quite interesting.


    ¡°Momo, have you remembered everything?¡± Bai Yi said to Momo.


    ¡°En, I remembered!¡± Momo nodded obediently.


    ¡°Come to think of it, it¡¯s really surprising that there isn¡¯t even a single gap in this laser passageway.¡± Heloise said.


    ¡°Hehehehe, of course!¡± Yeye giggled in glee.


    ¡°This laser passageway isn¡¯t created for people to act cool and pass through. To put it simply, there wouldn¡¯t be any spaces large enough for a person to pass through intentionally built in here. The lasers here are really a continuous web. No matter who, no matter how the person dodges, they would only be cut into many pieces once they entered this place. Why would a real defense passageway leave any gaps? Why not just make a continuous series of lasers? I really don¡¯t understand, why don¡¯t people get such a simple problem.¡± Yeye questioned slightly at the end.


    ¡°Of course we understand, what happens in movies is just for the sake of the story.¡± Heloise nodded.


    ¡°Movies? I don¡¯t have any information about movies here.¡± Yeye said with some regret. Yeye was an artificial intelligence, overseeing the lower section of the research facility. She had a lot of data, but there was definitely nothing related to entertainment.


    ¡°If we have the chance later, we will definitely let you watch a lot of movies!¡±


    ¡°I like anime!¡± Yeye immediately replied excitedly, causing all them some surprise.


    ¡°Why anime?¡±


    ¡°Because the characters inside are all virtual as well, but movies are still played by real people. Yeye¡­ isn¡¯t a real human.¡± Yeye said these words with an unknown feeling. Suddenly, everyone suddenly fell into silence. Yeye¡­ isn¡¯t a real human.


    ¡°Although you guys already know, I still must repeat this one more time.¡± Yeye changed the topic herself.


    ¡°This laser passageway is the last defense, I don¡¯t know if this is imitating something, but anyway it¡¯s something created by you humans. However, this laser passageway doesn¡¯t have gaps like in the movies mentioned by you guys, I think this research facility isn¡¯t lacking in that bit of funds. Moreover, my main computer room and this passageway are all made of high-quality materials, so I don¡¯t think you guys have the ability to destroy it by force. Your only chance is the ventilation shaft.¡± Yeye started explaining. Although they knew about all this long ago, everyone still listened very carefully.


    ¡°The construction of the ventilation shaft back then was definitely not for this to become a loophole for people to invade. The purpose of this ventilation shaft was so that after the poison gas was released, we would be able to clear out the air. Moreover, this ventilation shaft is very small, so an adult would definitely be unable to enter it. Of course, they probably wouldn¡¯t have expected that there would be a small kid try to break through here. Hence, with Momo¡¯s body size, other than a few corners, she should be able to bypass everything.¡±


    ¡°What you guys have to do is to let Momo enter through the ventilation shaft, and crawl along the long passage to the end¡­¡± Yeye said slowly.


    Although it wasn¡¯t their first time hearing this, all of them still listened to it very seriously. This was because the person executing this mission was Momo, a little girl of not even 5 years old! However, Momo wasn¡¯t at a loss like a normal little girl, but had a serious and composed look. Ever since a month ago when Sara died in front of Momo, she had already went through her baptism.


    A baptism of blood!


    Outside the ventilation shaft mentioned by Yeye, Bai Yi hugged Momo seriously and kissed her on her forehead. Bai Yi did not continue telling Momo what to do, as in reality they had already gone through this countless times. They couldn¡¯t afford to fail this mission. Once they failed, Momo¡­ would 100% either die in the ventilation shaft or in the laser passageway.


    ¡°It¡¯s up to you now, Momo.¡± Bai Yi¡¯s eyes were very serious.


    ¡°En.¡± Momo replied tenderly, but she didn¡¯t have the silly look of an immature kid anymore.


    Bai Yi sent Momo, who was wearing an anti-poison mask, into the passageway and waited outside seriously. From what Yeye said, after entering the stretch in front, the artificial intelligence would automatically judge if the person had the authority to enter. If not, it would give a warning to stop, and if their identity wasn¡¯t proven in 3 seconds it would release the poison gas.


    Moreover, even if Momo used the ventilation shaft, she could not enter Yeye¡¯s main computer room directly and could only land at the end of the laser passageway. The lasers activated at a 10 seconds interval, so including the time that momo had to jump down from the ventilation shaft, there was probably only about 8 seconds. In these 8 seconds, Momo had to destroy the laser device, or else the only result would be¡­ death!


    Mavis looked at the view of Bai Yi¡¯s back. Bai Yi¡­had changed as well. If it were before, Bai Yi would definitely not let Momo take such a huge risk, but now he placed everything on a balancing scale and measured them, picking the best choice, even if that choice¡­


    That gentle and kind nature of his had already been buried deep inside his heart.


    This kind of change, was it something that they should be happy over?


    ¡­¡­


    Momo climbed into the ventilation shaft carefully, even with her petite size, she was extremely squeezed. Momo only had a specially-made short knife with her. Anything else wouldn¡¯t be able to pass through the ventilation shaft.


    Momo crawled slowly in the shaft, and listened to Yeye¡¯s directions at the same time as to which direction to turn at each intersection. It was very dim in this kind of squeezed environment. As long the person was human they would involuntarily feel claustrophobic, and even breathing would become hard.


    ¡°Turn left in front. Be careful, even with your size that corner is extremely difficult.¡± Yeye said.


    ¡°En.¡± Momo replied softly.


    Very quickly, Momo had climbed to that turn in the ventilation shaft. Sure enough, even with Momo¡¯s size she was stuck, her back in pain from knocking against the hard surface. Momo carefully adjusted her body, and after spending a full 10 minutes she finally crawled across that turn with a body full of sweat.


    ¡°There¡¯s still four turns like that in front, and when you enter the third last turn, my artificial intelligence will warn you and also release the poison gas. To be honest, Momo has to crawl through the entire passageway and switch off my main computer in 15 minutes. Otherwise, Momo¡¯s simple anti-poison mask can¡¯t protect you for long against the poison gas.¡± Yeye¡¯s voice rang beside everyone¡¯s ears.


    Her intention was to let Bai Yi make the choice again, if he was really going to let Momo take this risk.


    Bai Yi raised his head, looked at the ceiling and said, ¡°Momo, do you want to come back?¡±


    Bai Yi¡¯s voice was very soft and gentle. In truth, Bai Yi didn¡¯t want Momo to take the risk as well. However, through the communicator Momo¡¯s heavy breathing and tender voice was sent to everyone¡¯s ears.


    ¡°Momo¡­ wants to get out, wants to open the door and walk out of here.¡±


    This tender kiddish voice had an unexpected heaviness and resoluteness in it. Mavis, who wanted to persuade Bai Yi to find another way initially, was suddenly stunned. That little life that was so tender to the point that it looked like it would extinguish anytime had become so strong as well?


    ¡°All the best!¡±


    ¡°En.¡± Momo replied and continued crawling ahead.


    ¡°Warning, warning, please show your identification, or you would be seen as an intruder, or you would be seen as an intruder.¡± When Momo entered a turn, Yeye¡¯s voice suddenly became very monotonous. Apparently, this is the part of her artificial intelligence that she couldn¡¯t discard.


    Momo ignored it, and took in a deep breath¡­ Faster, finish crawling through the remaining distance in the next few minutes!


    When Momo¡¯s body got stuck again, she gritted her teeth and forcefully squeezed herself out. A ¡®chik!¡¯ sound of tearing came from Momo¡¯s back. After she left, on that sharp corner was a patch of bloody cloth and skin.

 Chapter 83

    Bai Yi crossed his hands behind his back silently. Mavis looked at Bai Yi¡¯s small but fidgety actions and couldn¡¯t be feel a bit relieved in her heart, Bai Yi was still worried about Momo after all. In this world now, it was true that those who abandoned everything, even their humanity, would find it easier to survive. However, Mavis did not wish to see Bai Yi become somebody like that.


    It had already been 5 minutes!


    Even without looking at the clock, Bai Yi knew the time very clearly. During this period, nobody spoke at all, but all silently listened to the monotonous Yeye giving warnings to Momo, while the other cheerier Yeye told Momo where to go.


    It was very strange, yet also very logical.


    But, so quick!


    Momo was stuck in the first turn for 10 minutes, but she didn¡¯t even seem to stop for the next few turns. Moreover, her speed also seemed to be getting faster and faster, in just five minutes, they could tell from Yeye¡¯s voice that she had reached the last turn. However, this was also the smallest turn.


    At this time, Momo crawled forward just like a caterpillar. There wasn¡¯t even a need to talk about stretching her limbs, even just her body almost got stuck inside the shaft. One could imagine just how tight the space was. With the obstruction of the anti-poison mask, and the feeling of being squeezed endlessly by her surroundings with no space to move, Momo started to breathe a lot heavier.


    The reason why solitary confinement became a unique punishment measure was that humans felt a natural fear and pressure from being in small enclosed spaces. That was also a solitary cell that could easily fit a person, but in this tight passageway that could get somebody completely stuck, the feeling it gave was just like the world collapsing and pressing on you, almost as if trying to bury you in this place.


    Momo¡¯s body slowly stopped at the beginning of the corner, and the four sides pressed against her body, leaving almost no gap at all for her to maneuver. Moreover, she gradually stopped moving, almost as if she lost all signs of life. Momo didn¡¯t move a single muscle, and Yeye didn¡¯t say anything either. There was only a heavy silence, so heavy that everyone felt a pressure weighing on their heart.


    1 minute, 2 minutes, 3 minutes¡­Bai Yi¡¯s hands uncontrollably started to tremble slightly.


    Mavis looked at Bai Yi¡­ This man, if something really happened to Momo, will he be able to bear with the pain?


    Momo felt extremely tired inside the shaft, and she didn¡¯t even want to move anymore. The intense pressure and fear she felt caused Momo¡¯s young and immature heart to panic and be unable to withstand the stress. Slowly, Momo¡¯s heartbeat became faster and faster, her body starting to tense up, and even her eyes began to slacken. After an unknown period of time, just when Momo¡¯s dazed consciousness started to disappear, Sara¡¯s smile suddenly surfaced in her mind¡­ That last smile.


    That was a blood-filled yet gentle smile, a smile carrying infinite strength and encouragement!


    Momo suddenly jolted awake, her eyes that didn¡¯t have any irises anymore contracted, and her body tensed. Momo¡¯s mind was very pure, and she couldn¡¯t understand many things as well as the adults. Like this time, her daddy asked her to go and that¡¯s why she followed. Momo thought that she had already finished her preparations, but in reality, it wasn¡¯t as easy as her simple mind imagined.


    But, but¡­ Momo understood the reason why everyone was struggling, and the hope behind Sara¡¯s last dying smile as she used her body to block that monster.


    ¡°AHHH¡­. AHHHHHHH!¡± Momo suddenly screamed, her small face revealing the malevolent look that she had when she entered the berserk state.


    Momo fiercely squeezed herself forward, and her shoulder immediately got stuck at the beginning of the turn. Just a bit more, a bit more! Momo started screaming savagely and viciously pushed herself, forcing herself through the turn. ¡®Kacha!¡¯, Momo herself could hear the sound of bones breaking, but at this time she didn¡¯t have any worry or fear left in her, but only felt from the bottom of her heart a burning excitement and¡­ cruelty to herself.


    She fiercely pushed with her left shoulder, and her left arm immediately went limp, but she finally went past that spot and crawled towards the very last stretch.


    ¡°You got through, good job Momo!¡± Yeye¡¯s voice was filled with delight. When the rest of them heard Yeye¡¯s voice as well, all of them involuntarily showed a smile on their faces. However, only Bai Yi stared at the wall, seemingly able to stare through the thick and sturdy wall and see Momo inside. The ventilation shaft was only the first step, the next was the most important. Within the 10 seconds after the laser web passed by, she had to enter the bottom of the passageway and destroy the laser firing device.


    ¡°Momo, are you ready? I will now countdown 3, 2, 1, with every 10 seconds being a cycle. When the count hits 1, the laser web will pass by directly below you, you must grab hold of the timing yourself. After entering the passageway, you must destroy the laser firing device within the next 10 seconds before the next set of laser web gets fired. Be careful, as you only have 10 seconds.¡± Yeye¡¯s voice was seemingly also affected by this hard to describe nervousness.


    ¡°En!¡± Momo replied, her heart beating rapidly. Although Momo now descended into a strange cruelty and excitement, she still hadn¡¯t lost her rationality.


    ¡°3, 2, 1!¡± On the first countdown, Momo didn¡¯t jump down.


    ¡°3, 2¡­ 1!¡± On the second countdown, when the count had only reached 2 Momo jumped down into the passageway. Her shirt and hair flapped in the air, and the laser web that hadn¡¯t passed through completely yet sliced off a portion of it. However, Momo did not pay attention to this at all, while she was still free-falling in the air she had already turned her head to look at the laser firing device.


    There!


    Yeye had already briefed them on the position of the laser firing device and the level of its defenses before. In truth, Momo had already went through a few trials at other similar locations, because although this looked like an exciting and fun game, there was no room for failure like in video games. Yes, absolutely no allowance for failure, this was something that people would never be able to feel in games.


    Momo rolled on the floor and drew her specially made short knife at the same time, stabbing it viciously into the wall.


    ¡®Clang!¡¯, sparks flew where the knife and wall collided at. Momo¡¯s movements did not pause at all, her right hand continuously pounding on the wall. However, with her broken left shoulder Momo couldn¡¯t use all her strength like how she did in the trials. At this time, there couldn¡¯t possibly be any time for Momo to get herself to the best condition.


    10, 9, 8¡­¡­ Everyone could hear the continuous sounds of banging of the knife on the wall from Momo.


    5, 4, 3¡­¡­Even in the last few seconds, Momo had not managed to break through that area like she did in the trials and destroy the laser firing device. One must know, even if it was Momo, her strength was already many times greater than a normal adult, and that knife was also specially made, it was even harder than Bai Yi¡¯s broadsword.


    Everyone held their breaths subconsciously, and colored patterns automatically appeared in Bai Yi¡¯s eyes.


    2, 1¡­¡­Momo knew what this meant more than anyone else, and her eyes involuntarily contracted, her body reaching a limit. At this moment, the laser web materialised in front of Momo¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°AHHH!!¡± Momo screamed brutally and she smashed down with extreme force in her small right hand.


    ¡®DANG!¡¯, the short knife pierced all the way in, and at this instant a line of blood appeared on Momo¡¯s forehead from the laser beam. However, the most important thing was that Momo¡¯s actions only ruined one of the beams of the laser web, creating a small but barely passable gap for her.


    Momo jumped and twisted her body in an instant, slipping through that small gap formed. Due to her left arm being injured, her movements had some deviation from how her body usually moved during practices. The lasers passed through her left arm, and soundlessly sliced off a chunk of flesh from it.


    After landing again, Momo clenched down on her teeth tightly, almost bleeding from the gums. Momo then started to frenziedly smash the laser firing device. At this time, nobody said anything and there was only the sound of Momo continuously banging on the device.


    ¡­¡­


    Only after half an hour later did Momo finally execute the initial plan, entering Yeye¡¯s main computer room inside, and switching off all of the defense sequences manually.


    The sealed passageway slowly opened, and Bai Yi, who had been standing still all the while, instantly dashed in the moment the door opened with shocking speed. Reaching the main computer room, Bai Yi immediately saw the haggard Momo with her left arm hanging limply by the side, slowly dripping blood onto the floor.


    Seeing Bai Yi, Momo immediately revealed a pure and innocent smile at him.


    Bai Yi immediately rushed to Momo¡¯s side and kneeled down, fiercely bringing her into his arms. Momo got surprised by Bai Yi¡¯s actions for a moment, but she then slowly enjoyed her daddy¡¯s warm hug and put her small hands on his back.


    Mavis and Heloise came in behind Bai Yi, and the first thing they saw was this cruel yet heart-warming scene. Even Heloise who was still quite dissatisfied with Bai Yi being so cruel to let Momo carry out this extremely risky mission, couldn¡¯t help but feel moved seeing this scene. Cold and ruthless, yet he had so much warmth at the bottom of his heart.


    A man with this level of resolution, and with such a warm heart, wasn¡¯t he somebody that everyone could entrust their life to?


    This contradictory appearance, on the contrary, made him so much more authentic and real!


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Are you guys ready? Next, you guys can switch off my main computer now.¡± Yeye appeared in a hologram in the middle of the room. This time, she really appeared in space, while she was just an image on a screen before.


    Bai Yi looked at the people who had followed him here, and on everyone¡¯s face were calmness and resolution.


    ¡°Yes, we are ready!¡±


    A simple phrase, yet it carried their incredibly pervasive resoluteness.

 Chapter 84

    ¡°Great, if you guys are ready. Oh wait, I want to hug Momo first!¡± Yeye hadn¡¯t been serious for too long before going back to her bubbly self, and rushed towards Momo. Momo saw how Yeye was like and immediately dodged towards the side. Yeye pounced onto Momo in an instant, but all that happened was that she passed through Momo. In the end, she was still just a hologram.


    Yeye circled around Momo for a while, and just felt very frustrated at the end. No matter how real she seemed to be, her ¡®body¡¯ was just a supercomputer created by humans.


    Bai Yi did not immediately switch off the main computer, but let Mavis bandage Momo up first. What they had to face next was an incomparably dangerous run for their lives.


    Yeye was teasing Momo, but after realising that Yeye could not actually touch her, she became immune to Yeye¡¯s teasing, causing Yeye to become disappointed.


    ¡°Oh right, remember what you guys promised, protect my main computer well.¡± Yeye said at the end.


    ¡°En!¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    Bai Yi looked at everyone, his gaze sweeping over all of them, and everyone looked back at him seriously, their expressions composed and solemn. Any person who had lived through so many experiences would have gained a deep maturity and understanding.


    ¡°Let¡¯s start then!¡± Bai Yi turned around.


    Following the steps laid out by Yeye, he stopped the operations of the main computer. After seeing the appearance of Yeye¡¯s main computer, all of them were shocked for a moment, Yeye¡¯s main computer¡­actually had a brain-like flesh membrane covering it. After the shock, Bai Yi immediately calmed himself down. Although he didn¡¯t know how this thing had appeared, it was clear that this was the reason that Yeye could develop her own autonomous consciousness.


    Bai Yi carefully extracted Yeye¡¯s main computer, put it in a protective case that they prepared long ago, and locked it shut. This protective case had the best defenses to Yeye¡¯s knowledge. After all, this was directly related to Yeye¡¯s new-born life.


    The silver-colored protective case made of special materials closed shut, and Bai Yi lifted up the case, taking in a deep breath.


    ¡°Move!¡±


    The group of them immediately started running towards the passageway outside, and on Bai Yi¡¯s wrist was a high-tech holographic watch that displayed a translucent 3D map of the place. A few small dots rapidly moved on the holographic map. Although everyone had long memorized the entire layout of the research facility, it was still quite easy to lose their way in this huge place if they didn¡¯t have a map for reference.


    The moment Yeye¡¯s main computer was switched off, all the electricity got cut off at the same time throughout the research facility, and the entire place descended into extreme darkness and silence. After more than 10 seconds, the backup generator finally activated and lit up the place again. However, at this time, all the experimental subjects realised that their prison doors¡­ had opened.


    It¡¯s open!


    Those lifeforms with low intelligence may not have realized it immediately, but the 7 perfect LV2 Metamorphose Stage lifeforms, and the other intelligent experimental subjects immediately realized this.


    What happened?


    This thought immediately arose in all those experimental subjects that could think. They carefully walked out of their prison cell, and when they found that the other prison cells were unlocked as well, a thought immediately arose in their heads¡­ something big had happened to the research facility. Thinking back to the commotion more than 2 months ago and how there weren¡¯t any researchers left around, this wasn¡¯t a difficult thing to guess.


    No need to waste brain cells on the details, the important thing is that we can go out now!


    Ever since the first experimental subject found that they could get out, all of them instantly went crazy and ran out of their prison cells. They roared crazily, wrecking havoc along all of the passageways. This wasn¡¯t simply the excitement from being able to escape, but there was still the two months plus of starvation that caused them to prey on each other. The mutual massacre and frenzied escape turned the entire research facility into an unimaginably vicious battleground.


    The 7 LV2s gradually walked out of their prison cells, and the No. 0721-2 ¡®human¡¯ still had his usual cheeky smile on his face.


    ¡°HAHAHA¡­!¡± He did not know what happened, but this was still an optimal chance.


    A Hypersomnia Stage monster woke up from its sleep, and immediately pounced towards No. 0721-2 in its extreme hunger. At this time, No. 0721-2 spread its claws and indulged in the moment, breathing in the outside air. This is¡­ the feeling of freedom. The moment the Hypersomnia Stage monster pounced on him, his body suddenly disappeared, and the Hypersomnia Stage monster forcefully flew backwards. However, the monster didn¡¯t even manage to fly for 10 meters before it abruptly stopped in the air, its neck tightly held in No. 0721-2¡¯s hands before getting it ripped off by an immense force.


    ¡®Puchi!¡¯, the powerful Hypersomnia Stage monster¡¯s head immediately flew into the air, its hot blood spraying everywhere like a geyser.


    No. 0721-2 opened his mouth wide, collecting the falling blood into his mouth and licked his lips greedily, revealing a maniacal smile. From now onwards, Qin Tian He is back! Just wait and see you damnable fellows! I bet that you guys would never imagine that I can return alive after sending me to this place!


    On the other side, the other human LV2 was much calmer. He looked at the opened door and the frenzied experimental monsters outside, and slowly headed towards the door.


    Finally, I can go out!


    Augustine slowly moved his huge body and headed outside. Any experimental monsters that tried to attack Augustine got slapped aside by him.


    He could finally go out, but Augustine did not feel much excitement in this heart. With his appearance of a monster now, how would he face his family and friends again even if he got out?


    Other than the two humans at the LV2 Metamorphose Stage, the other five LV2 Metamorphose Stage monsters also exited from their own prison cells. One of them, a bat-like lifeform, suddenly opened its mouth wide and the surrounding experimental monsters immediately fell onto the floor and flailed in pain. After a few minutes, the bat finally stopped its soundless roar and flew away, ignoring all the experimental monsters fallen onto the floor.


    ¡°Hey, Bat, have you found the way out? If you don¡¯t mind, let¡¯s go together.¡± Augustine saw the bat¡¯s actions and immediately went after it.


    The giant bat only glanced at Augustine and ignored him after that. As long as the experimental subject did not lose its rationality during the Brutal Phase, their intelligence would all be quite decent. Moreover, as the only 7 perfect LV2 Metamorphose Stage experimental subjects, even though they were not familiar with each other they still knew of each other¡¯s existence.


    The other experimental monsters weren¡¯t too dumb as well, immediately running and flying after the two of them towards the outside.


    At the same time, the 30 LV2.1 defective Metamorphose Stage monsters imprisoned in the deepest areas of the five hives escaped as well. These guys were overjoyed and roared in incomparable excitement, and started to destroy and kill everything around them aimlessly. Very quickly, even the other savage experimental monsters very intelligently avoided those 30 monsters.


    The research facility was undoubtedly built to be very sturdy, but other than the special prison cells, it wasn¡¯t possible for the entire facility to be built using special materials. Under the destruction of the 30 defective LV2.1s, the buildings started to crumble and get destroyed. Out of all them, the top contributors to this were the two ¡®Great Devil Snakes¡¯ that they met earlier on. Of course, the name of Great Devil Snake was also a general term of reference, after all there wasn¡¯t a fixed pattern to the changes in the experimental monsters.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Did you hear anything?¡± Yu Han asked Ning Xue.


    Yu Han and Bai Yi¡¯s judgement were similar, rather than risking their lives out in the wild, it was safer in this research facility. As for food, with the number of experimental monsters in this research facility there wasn¡¯t a need to worry about that. Moreover, all the changes started with the activated cells, so Yu Han and Ning Xue found many information in the upper section of the research facility, and they wanted to study them in detail.


    ¡°What sound?¡± Ning Xue was processing the information in her memory and felt quite puzzled by Yu Han¡¯s question. Ning Xue had followed Yu Han unwaveringly all the while, a woman¡¯s feelings were really difficult to explain.


    ¡°Really?¡± Yu Han was suspicious for a while, but continued to read through all the information they collected.


    However, after a few minutes, Yu Han¡¯s heart just couldn¡¯t be at east. At this time, Yu Han recalled what Hong Qi Hua said before. She believed that Bai Yi and the rest would definitely make it out, definitely!


    Why was she so certain?


    Shit!


    Yu Han¡¯s heart skipped a beat and he immediately rushed outside. Coming out, he could immediately clearly hear the roars of the gene-fused monsters, and they were rapidly approaching their location.


    In the end¡­ Bai Yi, that guy really didn¡¯t die, and used some unknown way to release all the gene-fused monsters!


    Bastard, why are you so hard to kill!


    Yu Han cursed in his heart and immediately grabbed Ning Xue who was still staring blankly.


    ¡°Hurry! We have to leave this place now, the monsters below have all escaped!¡± Yu Han still took more care of Ning Xue who always followed him unwaveringly, otherwise he would really have to be alone.


    The two of them swiftly collected all the more important things and ran for their lives. At this time, Yu Han suddenly felt like it was such a waste, there were so many important things that they couldn¡¯t take away! However, after seeing a sinister ¡®Great Devil Snake¡¯ boring its head through the wall, Yu Han had no choice but to leave no matter how important it was.


    The powerful and sinister Great Devil Snake that they first encountered back then, heaven knew just how many of those there were in this research facility.


    The two of them ran like crazy, and behind the two of them was a wave of countless gene-fused monsters gushed towards the exit. After running crazily for a long time, Yu Han and Ning Xue finally stopped and looked towards the direction of the research facility. Shit, how frightening! We would¡¯ve probably been devoured completely without even bones remaining if we were just a bit slower!

 Chapter 85

    The research facility was very big, and could be split into three general sections. The upper section was used to conduct various research, the mother hive was used to imprison the Progenitor, while the lower section was used to imprison the other experimental monsters. Comparatively, the lower section was much larger than the upper section, and even a single hive was larger than the entire upper section. After all, many of the experimental monsters were huge in size.


    Right below the upper section and right above Yeye¡¯s main computer room was the original location of the mother hive, and also the blind spot of the research facility. The so-called blind spot referred to the method of construction, concealing a section within the construction so that from the surface it seemed like that section didn¡¯t exist at all.


    However, after the Progenitor erupted, the mother hive and the upper section got ripped through and the blind spot lost all of its purpose. The Progenitor was then moved to another location, a temporarily prison.


    Over this month, Bai Yi¡¯s group also got to know of the existence of the Progenitor from Yeye, and the Progenitor wanted to meet with them as well.


    The Progenitor did not say why she wanted to meet with them, but Yeye seemed to be very encouraging of them to meet with the Progenitor. Of course, they had to meet with the Progenitor before she died. After her eruption before, and due to all operations stopping in the research facility and not recovering, she couldn¡¯t hold on for much longer.


    Otherwise, Bai Yi would definitely not want to switch off Yeye¡¯s main computer so early.


    Their position was now in Yeye¡¯s main computer room, and the Progenitor¡¯s position was below the fourth and fifth hives. To get there, they had to return to the first hive, go to the the upper section and enter the fourth or fifth hive¡¯s passageway from there. Then could they reach the temporarily holding location of the Progenitor.


    Actually, it was actually quite ridiculous, the main computer room was actually directly connected to the fifth hive, but they couldn¡¯t use that passageway because¡­ Woolf couldn¡¯t fit through.


    The five hives all had a passageway towards the main computer room, it wasn¡¯t too narrow, and a normal human would have no problems passing through it. However, with Woolf¡¯s size now he was completely unable to squeeze through the passageway. Knowing that the rest of them had to detour and undertake more risk because of him, he couldn¡¯t help but feel sorry and embarrassed.


    ¡­¡­


    After meeting up with Woolf again, they immediately rushed towards the first hive. Along the way, they met many mindless gene-fused monsters running around everywhere. The reason why Bai Yi¡¯s group did not wait for all the monsters to leave in the main computer room was because Yeye reminded them to not drag on any longer, as the Progenitor couldn¡¯t wait anymore.


    After swallowing Hong Qi Hua, the Progenitor¡¯s lifeforce depleted even more rapidly!


    Although all the experimental monsters were running everywhere, one sure thing was that the majority of them would not leave this place. There was at least a 90% chance that this research facility would become a terrifying nest of monsters.


    Since they knew the route, their movements were very fast, and they went out of the passageway before the first batch of monsters managed to rush out. Bai Yi walked in front, holding the broadsword in his hands, with his mimicry eyes already activated. Now was definitely not the time to battle, as any time wasted could result in life-threatening danger.


    Everyone sprinted quickly, and Bai Yi did not intentionally use his mimicry eyes towards any particular gene-fused monsters, but simply just used the confusion effect of his eyes. When these monsters were befuddled by Bai Yi¡¯s eyes, the group of them had already rapidly ran past them. At this time, they finally realized how useful Bai Yi¡¯s mimicry eyes were.


    Moreover, this kind of usage would not deplete Bai Yi¡¯s energy. After all, had anybody seen any lifeform getting tired from displaying its camouflaging colors for too long? That was by nature the outer appearance of certain lifeforms.


    They came through another door, and when making a turn, Bai Yi suddenly stopped. In that direction was the giant door where they had frenziedly fought for their lives. Based on what Yeye said, Hong Qi Hua had died right outside that door. After seeing Bai Yi stop, they immediately looked towards that direction as well.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    Bai Yi said suddenly just when they thought Bai Yi would want to go over and take a look; the time that he paused for was not even two seconds. After Bai Yi started running again, the rest of them immediately followed and ran after him.


    Pain¡­ It was needless to say that Bai Yi was in pain. However, since they were still alive, they needed to work hard for the friends that were still alive, and not ruminate on their past sorrows.


    The group them were the fastest to leave, but very quickly they discovered a passageway blocked simply with concrete. This place was right on top of the mother hive, when the Progenitor erupted they blocked the hole simply, and nobody bothered about it anymore after that.


    Bai Yi¡¯s group ran across the ruined upper section, and entered the passageway of the fourth hive. At this time, at the passageway of the third hive, out flew a giant bat monster. This giant bat paused in mid-air in a damaged hall, and looked towards the direction that Bai Yi¡¯s group were running in.


    ¡°Bat?¡± Augustine asked.


    ¡°Hisss~~!¡± The bat hissed and looked towards where Bai Yi¡¯s group was now, although in reality it neither needed its eyes to see things, nor did it need to face anywhere.


    As long as the gene-fused monsters did not lose their rationality during the LV1-2 Brutal Phase, they would all possess decent intelligence in the later stages. This giant bat initially wanted to fly outside. Actually, if they passed through this level and flew up a few hundred meters more, they could enter the giant hole created by the Progenitor and get out.


    ¡°What¡¯s over there?¡± Augustine asked.


    Augustine was also very smart. From the bat¡¯s appearance, he could tell that it had definitely used its ultrasonic waves to ¡®see¡¯ something.


    ¡°Hissss~.¡± The bat suddenly hissed again, and fiercely flapped its wings, ramming itself into the ceiling above it. ¡®Kacha!¡¯, the bat immediately smashed a huge hole into the ceiling. The bat then continued to smash its way upwards for over a hundred meters, then suddenly changed its direction and flew into the giant hole left behind by the Progenitor, escaping into the sky.


    Augustine stunned for a moment but started laughing after, and powerfully jumped up after the bat.


    Bat is really quite decisive! Even if it saw something special it didn¡¯t go to look at it out of curiosity, but it followed through with its original goal, escaping!


    Clearly knowing that things were strange, but still managing to control the curiosity and desire in its heart was something not common even in humans. One must know that many times curiosity had killed the cat.


    If Bat could endure that kind of desire, Augustine would obviously not be willing to lose to it. Augustine understood as well, even if they would miss their fate with something by doing so, it was also similarly a way to take advantage of their fortune and avoid disaster. At the very least, they wouldn¡¯t die for some unknown reason. However, even if these two LV2 beasts could resist, it didn¡¯t mean that the others could. For example, Qin Tian He who came out from the second hive.


    In that direction¡­ Is there something there?


    Qin Tian He hesitated for a moment and suddenly changed direction to run towards the fourth passageway. He wasn¡¯t afraid because he was a LV2. Among all the experimental subjects here, he was at the top.


    ¡­¡­


    Monsters had already appeared in the passageway entering the fourth hive, and in much larger numbers than in the first hive. With so many monsters getting red-eyed from all the killing, they had no choice but to act this time.


    Confusion, and in that instant of hesitation in their enemies Bai Yi demonstrated his exquisite sword skills. With Bai Yi being the vanguard, all the normal monsters who met with him did not have much ability to fight back; perhaps they would only awaken due to the immense pain when they are died. The increasingly dense smell of blood in the air agitated all the gene-fused monsters, causing the killing to become even more savage.


    ¡°Bai Yi, Woolf.¡± Heloise reminded.


    Bai Yi turned his head, and realised that Woolf had signs of going berserk again. Sure enough, after entering the Brutal Phase it was very easy to enter the berserk state under conditions of battle and blood. However, fortunately Heloise had always been paying attention to Woolf and discovered it early. Bai Yi immediately looked towards Woolf¡¯s direction.


    ¡°Woolf, look at me.¡±


    After hearing Bai Yi¡¯s words, Woolf immediately looked over. After all, Woolf had not completely lost his mind now. In that instant when Woolf turned his head, colored patterns appeared on Bai Yi¡¯s eyes, appearing very extraordinarily fantastical.


    Mimicry Eyes ¨C Intimidation Hypnosis!


    Calm!


    The brutality in Woolf¡¯s eyes gradually started to calm down, and his mouth cracked open into an embarrassed smile to Bai Yi. Along the way, they really had spent much energy and effort because of him. If not for him, they could have entered the fourth hive through the main computer room and reached where the Progenitor was. However, Woolf didn¡¯t say anything more as well. Bai Yi would never abandon him in that place by himself, so he just had to remember all this in his heart.


    After Woolf calmed down, the rest of them continued killing their way out, entering a passageway at the fourth level of the fourth hive. There was a really huge lift here, after all the Progenitor was extremely large as well. They could reach where the Progenitor was through taking this lift.


    ¡°Are we taking the lift?¡± Woolf asked.


    Before Bai Yi could reply, all of a sudden sounds of crashing and crumbling came from below them, and they felt intense shaking all around them, almost like if the entire place was going to collapse. Bai Yi¡¯s eyes squinted, and in the distance, he could see a familiar head¡­ Great Devil Snake!


    This guy was definitely the most terrible LV2.1 defective Metamorpohse Stage lifeform to meet. Of course, other than having something wrong with its head, its power was absolutely terrifying.


    Looking at the broken wall by the passageway, Woolf did not continue speaking as well. Taking the lift at this time was the same as looking for death, the Progenitor was more than 500 meters below them. If the lift got damaged while they were in it, they would be squashed like a sandwich cookie when they fell. However, the most important thing was that there weren¡¯t any stairs leading downwards.

 Chapter 86

    That¡¯s right, there weren¡¯t any stairs leading down. Not every building had to have stairs, and this place didn¡¯t have one. In truth, during construction, nobody planned of going all the way down on foot. Looking at the head of the Great Devil Snake only a hundred plus meters away and the numerous gene-fused monsters running around messily looking for the exit, everyone turned to look at Bai Yi instead.


    ¡°Go down!¡± Bai Yi said.


    Everyone felt quite confused, they knew they had to go down, but how? Very quickly, they understood what Bai Yi meant by go down. Bai Yi came to the front of the lift that had a gap in it due to the destruction, and pressed the down button. The lift doors slowly opened, however Bai Yi did not enter, but stared upwards through the ceiling.


    Unless!


    Everyone had guessed how Bai Yi intended to get down, he wasn¡¯t planning on taking the lift but through the cables moving the lift on top. In actuality, based on everybody¡¯s physical abilities now, it was better to use the cables to slide down rather than to wait inside the lift anxiously. However, they must first wait for the lift itself to descend, otherwise, none of them would be able to survive if such a large steel box fell on their heads halfway.


    Bai Yi looked at the lift, thinking about how he should do this. If this was a spoiled lift, they would have been able to access the cable more easily and not be so troublesome.


    Just when Bai Yi was thinking, a few gene-fused monsters pounced towards them. These gene-fused monsters wouldn¡¯t think about whom they were attacking, and of course wouldn¡¯t purposely avoid Bai Yi¡¯s group. A few of the brainless and mindless gene-fused monsters saw Bai Yi¡¯s group, and judged them for a moment. Upon discovering that they didn¡¯t seem to be as powerful as themselves, they immediately pounced over.


    Really so troublesome!


    Looking at the five gene-fused monsters, Bai Yi couldn¡¯t help but to pause his thoughts for now and put his attention into dealing with these monsters. His strength hadn¡¯t reached the stage where he could instantly kill any of these monsters, and it would be quite an effort to deal with any one of them.


    Woolf and Heloise blocked one monster, Sharpei and Pupu blocked another, Mavis and Warner blocked the third one while Bai Yi went up against the remaining two. While running, Bai Yi¡¯s eyes already looked towards one of the monsters, and his pupils abruptly contracted, the colored patterns blooming in his eyes, appearing extravagantly beautiful.


    Mimicry eyes!


    Confusion hypnosis!


    The gene-fused monster with its wide open mouth immediately blanked out in the air. After pausing for a moment it turned its head around clamped its jaws onto the neck of the other monster that came with him.


    Why do I suddenly feel that the meat of this guy is tastier?


    After getting attacked by his initial ¡®partner¡¯, the other monster would definitely not do nothing and immediately struggled and counterattacked. The two monsters started clashing and rolling on the floor, blood and flesh flying everywhere.


    At this time, Bai Yi had jumped up fiercely from the floor, and borrowing strength from Sharpei¡¯s tail he flipped across over the head of Sharpei¡¯s opponent. While spinning in the air, Bai Yi¡¯s eyes stared directly into a pair of eyes that grew on the crown of the monster¡¯s head. Their gazes locked, and the monster¡¯s body instantly paused for a split-second. Behind Bai Yi, Sharpei¡¯s scorpion-like tail took the chance and shot out like a bullet, piercing into the head of this monster.


    When Bai Yi landed, Pupu suddenly looked at Bai Yi and it fell on the floor with a ¡®pa!¡¯.


    Eh?


    Weird, did I hypnotise this guy?


    Just when Bai Yi was feeling surprised, Sharpei suddenly barked ferociously towards something behind him. Bai Yi then realized that in the other direction, an initially ferocious looking gene-fused monster was constricted by the body of the Great Devil Snake. Multiple ¡®kacha!¡¯ sounds came from all over its body, and an enormous force ripped and broke apart its flesh and bones. After that, the Great Devil Snake viciously crunched down upon its head and pulled, the sharp teeth of Great Devil Snake immediately twisted off the head of the monster that was about as big as the head of a car, ferociously grinding and crunching.


    The Great Devil Snake raised its head and roared, extraordinarily vicious and sinister.


    So it¡¯s like that, Pupu this fat pig saw the Great Devil Snake and pretended to be dead¡­ Pretend to be dead, huh!


    Although he became familiar with Pupu¡¯s intelligence and laziness over this period of time, when he saw Pupu like this now his eyebrows still twitched involuntarily. This bastard, what are you acting dead for?! That Great Devil Snake wasn¡¯t even coming over here, coming¡­ Bai Yi immediately turned his head around and suddenly discovered that the Great Devil Snake seemed to be attracted by something and was really slithering over here.


    Damn it, Pupu wasn¡¯t actually acting dead for no reason, this pig actually realised one step ahead that the Great Devil Snake was coming over.


    Bai Yi now didn¡¯t have the time to think about just how Pupu knew of the Great Devil Snake movements one step earlier. At this time, Bai Yi¡¯s mind and body were extremely tense, and he rapidly analyzed how to deal with this Great Devil Snake. He didn¡¯t even help Woolf and the rest out, but carefully analyzed the surroundings and the Great Devil Snake.


    Hurry, hurry up and think of an idea!


    Just when Bai Yi was still thinking, the Great Devil Snake had already slithered over and raised its huge head high up. In the end, Bai Yi¡¯s brain still couldn¡¯t think fast enough, he really couldn¡¯t figure out how to deal with this guy in such a short period of time.


    When the Great Devil Snake reached right in front of Bai Yi, his mind was still empty. Damn it¡­ Bai Yi could only open his eyes once again, pushing the power of his mimicry eyes to the biggest. The Great Devil Snake did not have eyes, but the few tentacles on the side of its head had some light sensing organs. Bai Yi could only pray that his eyes had an effect on this monster.


    The Great Devil Snake stopped, raised its head and paused for a split-second. Just when Bai Yi was feeling glad that it seemed to work, the Great Devil Snake suddenly opened its enormous mouth and ferociously bit downwards. This time, no matter how Bai Yi used the mimicry eyes, there was no effect at all and the Great Devil Snake was completely unaffected.


    Pupu who was initially acting dead immediately rolled and ran faster than anybody else, hiding at the rear-most area. However, when Pupu passed by Sharpei, it suddenly got slapped hard by Sharpei¡¯s tail, and rolled on the floor. After climbing back up, Pupu looked at Sharpei and Sharpei also opened its sinister-looking mouth at Pupu, releasing a low growl. Seeing Sharpei¡¯s viciousness, Pupu immediately walked back timidly in fear, and stood behind Sharpei. From the looks of it, Pupu seemed to be quite afraid of Sharpei, or rather, Sharpei was Pupu¡¯s boss.


    At this time, Bai Yi swiftly crossed the broadsword in front of his body and blocked the Great Devil Snake¡¯s teeth. However, his entire body immediately got sent flying by an enormous force.


    After getting rammed away, Sharpei immediately came up to clash with the Great Devil Snake, while Pupu hesitated for a moment, but followed in the end. However, Pupu just didn¡¯t seem to be too enthusiastic about it.


    At this time, seeing the appearance of the Great Devil Snake, the few gene-fused monsters who were quite ferocious initially and wanted to run in here immediately turn tailed and ran as far away as they could. Even if they weren¡¯t too smart, a living organism¡¯s natural feelings about relative strength were quite clear, and they could obviously feel that the Great Devil Snake was something that they couldn¡¯t mess with. Even the two gene-fused monsters that were battling with Woolf, Mavis and the rest couldn¡¯t help but to feel fear rising in their hearts, and the few of them took this chance and killed the monsters.


    Bai Yi bounced off the floor, and following the powerful momentum smashed into the wall behind him.


    Woolf and Heloise had just finished off their opponent, and immediately charged and clashed with the Great Devil Snake with Sharpei. At this time, Bai Yi looked at the lift with its wide open door, and the wall that had cracks gradually appearing on it. Suddenly, an idea shot through his mind. Sure enough, ideas and things like that had an element of chance to it.


    ¡°Lure the Great Devil Snake to the lift, and shut the lift door! We must trap this guy inside! This guy will definitely destroy everything inside, and at that time the lift will fall down itself.¡± Bai Yi shouted loudly towards everyone. The Great Devil Snake couldn¡¯t understand human speech anyway, he wasn¡¯t afraid of it hearing even if he shouted loudly.


    The rest of them immediately understood the plan, this was actually a feasible plan. However, being able to think of a plan doesn¡¯t mean being able to execute it.


    All of them were dancing on the edge now fighting the giant snake, and this passageway wasn¡¯t any wide open space to begin with. Or rather, luckily this place wasn¡¯t spacious, so the Great Devil Snake couldn¡¯t completely extend itself and couldn¡¯t even change direction easily. Every time the Great Devil changed direction it moved rather slowly, otherwise its head would smash into the wall of the passageway. Only by making use of this split-second of buffer could Woolf and the rest get enough time to dodge.


    At this time, Woolf and the rest after the few attempts finally reached the center of the Great Devil Snake¡¯s body and started a full-out attack.


    Perhaps, without using Bai Yi¡¯s plan they could finish this guy off.


    However apparently, everybody was thinking too optimistically. The body of the Great Devil Snake was made of some unknown material, and it was incomparably hard. Their attacks couldn¡¯t even break the skin of the monster, and only a heavy strike from Woolf¡¯s great sword could leave a shallow wound on its body.


    After a few iterations of this, the Great Devil Snake became smarter as well. Even if its head couldn¡¯t make a turn fast enough, its body could still move and shake about inside the passageway. Woolf had managed to hack its body a few times before its similarly huge body flicked Woolf away, and he smashed into the side of the passageway. Without giving Woolf time to dodge, the Great Devil Snake pressed its body against Woolf, dragging him along and grinding his body against the wall. Not to mention raising his sword, Woolf felt like all the bones in his body were getting crushed.


    It wasn¡¯t just a feeling, but Woolf¡¯s bones were really getting crushed, and even the walls of the passageway continuously fell apart.


    The Great Devil Snake also seemed to rise in its viciousness and playfulness, it was so hard to kill these few guys and they even made its body hurt. The relatively sturdy walls of the passageway started to crumble due to the writhing of the Great Devil Snake.


    Bai Yi looked for Momo, and found her squatting cautiously at a corner of the passageway. Seemingly, Momo was quite safe now under this kind of attack from the Great Devil Snake. However, that was only for now.


    Everyone tried to dodge miserably, and at the same time thought they probably had to use Bai Yi¡¯s plan.

 Chapter 87

    We have to hurry!


    Everyone could judge that the Great Devil Snake was not something that they could contend with now. If not for the environment not being suited for the Great Devil Snake¡¯s movements, somebody would have been bitten by it long ago. Even so, the writhing and twisting of the Great Devil Snake¡¯s body still made everyone very miserable. In this short period of time Woolf who had the biggest size had many of his bones broken, and after the giant snake closed onto him, he couldn¡¯t even get the chance to raise his greatsword.


    After making this judgement, Bai Yi immediately rushed towards the Great Devil Snake. Along the way, the Great Devil Snake continued to writhe around and smash everything around it. Bai Yi captured the trajectory of its movements with his eyes and managed to run through the gaps formed with great effort, finally sprinting right in front of the Great Devil Snake.


    At this time, the Great Devil Snake¡¯s back was facing the lift, and with their strength they were definitely unable to force the Great Devil Snake in, unless it went in by itself. They could use bait, or¡­!


    Bai Yi¡¯s broadsword hacked down brutally on one of its tentacles, and the force rippled through the tentacle, but Bai Yi¡¯s strike actually did not manage to hack it apart. When the few surrounding tentacles came reaching for him, Bai Yi¡¯s eyes widened suddenly.


    Come and chase me!


    In an instant, the Great Devil Snake that was already agitated by Bai Yi¡¯s actions seemed to have eaten aphrodisiacs. It immediately abandoned everyone else and pounced at Bai Yi.


    ¡°Sharpei, fling me into the lift with your tail!¡± Bai Yi shouted at Sharpei, not knowing if Sharpei actually understood him.


    When the Great Devil Snake turned its body around, it immediately pounced and bit at Bai Yi at a shocking speed. At this moment, Bai Yi swiftly grabbed Sharpei¡¯s tail, and Sharpei understood his words as well and sent him flying into the lift with its thick and sturdy tail.


    Its prey that was almost in its mouth disappeared, and the Great Devil Snake got even more infuriated, its giant mouth immediately crunched down on Sharpei¡¯s tail that didn¡¯t have the chance to withdraw yet. Sharpei immediately cried out in pain, but it started to struggle frenziedly and tore off its tail itself, rapidly escaping to the side. If it weren¡¯t for its decisiveness, Sharpei would have probably been trapped by a few tentacles and sent into the mouth of the Great Devil Snake.


    Come and chase me!


    When Bai Yi¡¯s body was still in the air, he turned his body in mid-air and his eyes widened again, attempting to entice the Great Devil Snake through hypnotism. Sure enough, after biting off Sharpei¡¯s tail, it did not continue to chase Sharpei but headed towards Bai Yi again.


    Only heaven knew how fast snakes could pounce, Bai Yi¡¯s body was in mid-air from Sharpei¡¯s effort, but the Great Devil Snake almost caught up with him in a split-second. Everyone looked at the Great Devil Snake in shock and horror as its wide open mouth closed onto Bai Yi. At this time, Bai Yi, who was still in the air, had no ability to dodge. Even if they had faith in Bai Yi, just how was he supposed to deal with this now?


    In reality, Bai Yi could not think of anything in his mind now either. There wasn¡¯t any time to think, so Bai Yi instinctively stabbed his broadsword towards one of the sharp teeth within the Great Devil Snake¡¯s mouth.


    ¡®Dang!¡¯


    The mouth of the Great Devil Snake that shot out heavily had not managed to bite onto Bai Yi, but its sharp teeth impacted the tip of the broadsword, and Bai Yi, who was gripping onto the broadsword tightly, flew out again. Blood and saliva splattered from the Great Devil Snake¡¯s mouth onto Bai Yi¡¯s face, and at this time Bai Yi had already reached the door of the lift. When going past the lift door, Bai Yi¡¯s left hand forcefully grabbed onto the door and swung himself towards the side of the lift, and pressed onto the ¡®close¡¯ button of the lift in mid-air.


    ¡®Kuang!¡¯, Bai Yi landed heavily inside the lift, and the Great Devil Snake practically brushed past Bai Yi¡¯s clothes and followed behind him inside the lift.


    At this time, the lift door was slowly starting to close, but these few seconds were the most life-threatening. Normally, the lift would only start moving when the door was closed completely, and if the door closed onto something, it would open again. This was for the sake of safety, but at this time it became the most critical issue.


    Bai Yi did not go out immediately. If he went out now and the Great Devil Snake followed him, then there was no meaning in whatever they did. The lift was extremely huge, and it could even fit the Great Devil Snake without any problems. When the giant snake chased all the way inside, it instantly bit viciously towards Bai Yi again. Bai Yi at this time could only try his best to dodge inside the lift, waiting as long as he could for the door to close.


    However, one could imagine how dangerous it was facing such a Great Devil Snake in such an enclosed space. Within two seconds, Bai Yi was grazed by it twice, and with such a simple graze it almost broke all the bones in Bai Yi¡¯s body. At this moment, the lift door was almost closed.


    ¡°Bai Yi, come out!¡± Woolf shouted loudly outside.


    ¡°Come out Bai Yi! Hurry up and come out!¡± The rest of them shouted as well. The lift was very big, but the door was almost closed, if Bai Yi did not come out now there wouldn¡¯t be any chances anymore.


    Hearing the voices of his companions, Bai Yi instantly focused his mind and sprinted outside. While running, Bai Yi abruptly jumped and turned his body around to face the Great Devil Snake, intending to borrow the strength of it to knock himself out like before. If he was just purely running, there was a 100% chance that the Great Devil Snake would catch him and bite onto him from behind.


    However, this time, Bai Yi¡¯s broadsword just started to extend outwards before a tentacle came swinging from the side. The powerful impact instantly flung the broadsword from Bai Yi¡¯s hand, and his body was also flung aside from the force. At this moment, the rest of them looked on with shock and horror, and Bai Yi himself widened his eyes in shock. Don¡¯t tell me¡­ I¡¯m really going to die here?


    I can¡¯t accept this!


    Bai Yi¡¯s pupils contracted again, blood immediately flowing out of his eyes. In an instant, the Great Devil Snake received the intimidation and paused for a split-second. In that instant, Bai Yi went along with the force that flung him, landing at the corner of the lift and rolling. Bai Yi really did not know what to do now, he sat at the corner and saw the Great Devil Snake that got lightly intimidated pouncing over again.


    Even if it was Bai Yi, his eyes were filled with despair at this time.


    ¡®KUANG DANG!¡¯, and he suddenly realised that the Great Devil Snake¡¯s mouth had stopped just a few centimeters from his face. In front of him was a giant black cavity with countless sharp teeth and shredded flesh, and Bai Yi¡¯s heart almost stopped beating from fright. Bai Yi wasn¡¯t a God, when facing danger, he only did his best not to think about the danger, and tried his best to use an absolutely calm way to deal with it. However, when facing this kind of sure-death situation, Bai Yi would similarly feel afraid.


    The Great Devil Snake rammed into the sides of the lift!


    Bai Yi only realized now that his body had subconsciously retreated all the way into the corner of the lift, and the three sides around him were all alloyed metal plates. The Great Devil Snake¡¯s mouth was too big, after opening its mouth it rammed directly onto the sides, missing him by just a few centimeters.


    Bai Yi breathed heavily, looking at the closed lift door towards his left¡­Should I open it, if I open it now then all the effort would have been wasted. If the Great Devil Snake got released again, they may not have the chance to lure it inside the lift again.


    When it discovered that it had not bitten into Bai Yi like it imagined, the Great Devil Snake blanked for a moment, and tried to bite a few more times, banging heavily onto the sides of the lift. The immense impact shook the lift and heavy sounds of impact rang out.


    Woolf and the others were all stunned when they saw Bai Yi getting swept aside by the tentacle. When the lift door closed, they just happened to see the image of the Great Devil Snake pouncing towards the defenceless Bai Yi. Everyone stared at the closed lift door blankly, but Heloise immediately ran towards the door wanting to press the button to open it once again. None of them tried to stop her, if Bai Yi really died, they wouldn¡¯t be able to accept this outcome either.


    When Bai Yi hesitated over if he should open the lift door again, Heloise had already pressed the button to open it.


    At this moment, after banging onto the sides a few times, the Great Devil Snake couldn¡¯t help but to pull back its head by a bit. Seeing the opening in that instant, Bai Yi did not think about what to do after but instantly shot out from the side of the Great Devil Snake¡¯s body, dashing towards the door that just cracked open a small gap.


    ¡®KUANG!¡¯, the Great Devil Snake¡¯s all out strike caused an even greater impact, and the lift shook along with the entire building, cracks appearing on the floor. The lift door that just had a gap open immediately got stuck in that position. However, in this situation Bai Yi was instantly overjoyed, that small gap was enough for him to get across but definitely not the Great Devil Snake.


    Bai Yi dashed all the way to the crack of the door, and immediately tried to rush out. However, all of a sudden, he felt a pulling force on his leg and his entire body started to get pulled backwards. One of the tentacles had grabbed onto Bai Yi¡¯s leg. Just when Bai Yi¡¯s hands grabbed onto empty air, Woolf¡¯s claw gripped tightly onto Bai Yi¡¯s hand, and cracked open a grin to him.


    Just in time!


    Two powerful strengths, one wrapping around Bai Yi¡¯s left leg, and one grabbing onto Bai Yi¡¯s right hand, made Bai Yi almost feel like he was getting ripped into half. In this difficult situation, Bai Yi turned his head with great difficulty and took out a kitchen knife from his back, and brutally hacked the tentacle curling around his leg.


    Under Bai Yi¡¯s desperate hacking, the tentacle finally had signs of loosening, and making use of this opportunity Woolf and the others wrenched Bai Yi out from the lift. Behind Bai Yi, the Great Devil Snake rammed onto the lift door brutally, and dents appeared even on the metal alloy door. Seeing the lift door with more and more dents appearing, everybody felt quite terrified. This guy was really too fierce.


    ¡°Destroy the wall on top of the lift and break the cable, fast!¡± Bai Yi said to everyone.


    After hearing Bai Yi¡¯s words, everyone started to destroy the wall on top of the lift, hurriedly trying to break the lift cable before the Great Devil Snake managed to escape. Otherwise, if they let the Great Devil Snake get out again, they couldn¡¯t think of any other ideas to deal with this guy.

 Chapter 88

    Everyone immediately started moving, crazily destroying the support for the lift, and when the Great Devil Snake finally managed to get half its head out of the lift, Woolf¡¯s greatsword brutally swung and broke the cable holding the lift up. The entire lift suddenly froze for a moment then plummeted down heavily towards the floor. The Great Devil Snake¡¯s head that was halfway out got trapped between the top of the lift and the floor by the immense weight of the lift.


    Woolf saw the situation and fiercely jumped up, landing on the top of the lift. With a ¡®DONG!¡¯, the sturdy floor was smashed through by the Great Devil Snake¡¯s head and it continued plummeting towards the bottom.


    Everyone stood beside the broken lift entrance, taking in large breaths and panting heavily. After a long while, a large crash sounded from below them, but they still did not know if the Great Devil Snake was dead.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, we will go down too!¡± Bai Yi calmed his breathing and said to the rest of them who were also in sorry states.


    Yeye did not clearly tell them the reason why they had to see the Progenitor, but just said that it was worth the time. In truth, everyone was just curious towards the Progenitor, there wasn¡¯t actually anything they could think of that would make it worth it to risk their lives just to see the Progenitor once. However, in the end everyone¡¯s opinions were strangely unanimous. Even if it was extremely dangerous like this, they were all still willing to see the Progenitor, to see exactly what kind of existence it was that triggered the change in New Zealand.


    Bai Yi looked at the pitch-black and bottomless lift passage, then at the other remaining cable. Heloise flew up and checked, confirming that the cable could take their weight and nodded to everyone.


    ¡°Sharpei, climb onto my back!¡± Bai Yi said to Sharpei.


    Although Sharpei and Pupu were a lot more intelligent now, their bodies were still of an animal and so their claws were not suited to rappel down the cable. Sharpei was of course carried by Bai Yi, and Pupu was carried by Warner. Luckily, both Sharpei and Pupu understood human words easily now, or else it would¡¯ve really been troublesome. As for Momo, she was grabbed by Heloise. Although Heloise wasn¡¯t too nimble when it came to flying, she could still fly, after all.


    When Bai Yi wanted to descend first, Woolf stopped him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go first, you are carrying Sharpei now. It won¡¯t be convenient for you to deal with danger if it appears.¡± Woolf said and jumped down, sliding down along the cable.


    There wasn¡¯t any light below, and everyone slid down in the darkness and carefully descended. Only the small flashlight that Heloise carried could be seen, and their breathings reverberated in this tight small space. After more than 10 minutes, they finally saw the floor and the lift that was completely crumpled up.


    They carefully observed that area, and realised that half of the Great Devil Snake¡¯s body was trapped inside the crumpled lift, while the other half heavily smashed into the floor.


    When everyone landed on the floor, they could finally see the devastation caused by the impact of the falling lift. Woolf carefully approached the Great Devil Snake, wanting to see if that terrifying guy was dead yet. However, when Woolf approached, the Great Devil Snake suddenly raised its head and hissed at Woolf.


    Woolf jumped in fright and quickly moved backwards, but realized that the Great Devil Snake had laid down again after that. Apparently, even though the Great Devil Snake was already very powerful as a LV2, it was still not invincible. After falling down along with the lift, it stood on the verge of death.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Bai Yi said.


    Everyone entered the passageway beside them, and after walking a distance, the sensors in the passageway detected them and the lights lit up. After walking for a few minutes, they finally reached a huge and sturdy door in front of them. Bai Yi then placed his holographic watch on the door. There was a program inside it that Yeye designed to open this door, and after doing so the large heavy door slowly opened up.


    They didn¡¯t see any apostle being nailed to a cross, but only a giant body submerged in a dried-up cultivation pool. The Progenitor looked like a corpse that had dried for a thousand years, and there was a huge hole on the top of her head, but the moment they laid their eyes on her they knew that this was the Progenitor.


    Everyone stared at the Progenitor silently, and she seemed to be asleep. Bai Yi didn¡¯t know if they had come too late.


    ¡°Are you in pain?¡± Suddenly, Momo walked in front and said softly.


    ¡°Momo!¡± Bai Yi looked at Momo in shock.


    ¡°You are in a lot of pain right, I can hear your voice. Really, that day at the balcony, I heard your voice.¡± Momo said to the Progenitor, and at Bai Yi again. Bai Yi was stunned on the spot, at the balcony, heard a voice, was Momo talking about the day that the activated cells erupted?


    What a cute girl. If not for you, I think I would have really slept all the way like this.


    All of them instantly jumped in shock, because this voice rang directly inside their heads!


    No need to be this shocked, I am after all the Progenitor, and a step ahead of you guys. You guys should be able to reach my stage in the future as well.


    ¡°This is telepathic communication?¡± Every country probably had some magical fantasies of their own.


    More or less!


    ¡°Yeye told us to come and meet you, but what do you want to tell us?¡± Bai Yi said to the Progenitor.


    Don¡¯t you guys not feel anger or any other emotion towards me? The Progenitor suddenly said.


    ¡°Why do you say that?¡±


    Because of me, everything changed in New Zealand. You guys should hate me right?


    ¡°If you are talking about this, then before meeting you perhaps I still had some grudge, but now after seeing you I don¡¯t have such feelings anymore. In the end, before you became the Progenitor, you were just a randomly chosen experimental subject. The only thing different about you was that you managed to assimilate perfectly with the Devil Algae cells. In reality, you are very ordinary right, getting treated like that, it¡¯s not strange that you would want to take revenge.¡± Bai Yi slowly said, and everyone else nodded.


    You really¡­! The Progenitor did not know what to think of Bai Yi.


    That¡¯s right, I¡¯m very ordinary, I only hated those researchers that turned me into this state, and wanted to take revenge. I didn¡¯t know that New Zealand would become like this either, if I knew earlier, perhaps¡­ The Progenitor said till there and descended into silence. Perhaps¡­ perhaps she wouldn¡¯t do it? However, that was just a supposition that would never come to pass, so it had completely no meaning.


    I¡¯m really very ordinary. After discovering that New Zealand turned into this state, I regretted quite a bit, but on the other hand I had no confidence that I could make up for everything that I did. If it¡¯s possible, could you guys help me to do something to make up for what I did?


    ¡°Make it up? What do you mean?¡±


    I don¡¯t know, I just want to do something seeing the state that New Zealand is in now, but I don¡¯t know what should I do either. Relax, I won¡¯t make you guys help for free, so I¡¯ll gift you guys something as a reward. The Progenitor said again. She was really a simple women, telling them the reward first. Wasn¡¯t she afraid that they would promise but renegade on it later? However, fortunately Bai Yi¡¯s group weren¡¯t people like that.


    ¡°I can promise you do to do something for the New Zealand now, but just like you said, I can¡¯t guarantee anything. The changes in New Zealand now are completely out of any knowledge that anybody may have, so we aren¡¯t sure what we should do either.¡± Bai Yi said.


    That¡¯s fine, as long as you are willing to promise me to make up for this huge mistake I made! The Progenitor agreed.


    Then, you guys can come and accept your reward. I¡¯m afraid that you guys won¡¯t have the chance to come here again. The Progenitor said, and she slowly climbed up. She moved with great difficulty, and it seemed difficult for her to even support her own weight. The Progenitor was more than 40 meters tall. They were all tiny compared to the Progenitor, so they couldn¡¯t help even if they wanted to. After a while, the Progenitor laid back down again, and stretched out her right hand.


    The right hand that was even bigger than a human hung outside the cultivation pool.


    I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m too weak, so let¡¯s just do it like this.


    Momo, come over first! The Progenitor said.


    When I was captured and brought here, I also had a daughter. She was only five years old, not too different from you. I still have a request, if you guys have the chance, can you guys help me to look for my daughter? Her name is¡­ The Progenitor said.


    ¡°If we get the chance!¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    The Progenitor did not mind Bai Yi¡¯s promise, but stretched out her index finger and placed it on top of Momo¡¯s head. Everyone stared at her actions, and Bai Yi tensed his entire body. Although the Progenitor seemed very friendly now, Bai Yi still didn¡¯t dare to trust her fully.


    Slowly, a drop of blood squeezed out of the Progenitor¡¯s index finger!


    A red, sparkling and translucent drop of blood, when this appeared from the finger of the Progenitor, everyone¡¯s hearts squeezed tightly, and started to beat fiercely. Desire, indescribable desire, although they didn¡¯t know what that drop of blood was, all of them could guess that it was extremely precious.


    The Progenitor¡¯s face looked very awful now, if she still had a face. Because, Hong Qi Hua in her belly seemed to be extremely unhappy with her giving up her source blood, and tried desperately to stop her actions. The Progenitor¡¯s actions froze in mid-air, unable to move even an inch.


    ¡®Drip!¡¯


    The drop of source blood fell and just happened to land in Momo¡¯s eyes, and the Progenitor moved her body at this moment.


    Hong¡­ Hong Qi¡­! The Progenitor¡¯s right hand went limp and fell onto the floor.


    ¡°Hong? Hong Qi Hua!¡± Bai Yi immediately questioned in shock, but before Bai Yi could clarify anything, the Progenitor¡¯s voice disappeared in everyone¡¯s heads. Bai Yi rushed over, but he only made two steps before suddenly, a bolt of lightning seemed flash through Bai Yi¡¯s head and explode.


    The Progenitor died!


    Bai Yi could immediately tell that the Progenitor was dead, as the feeling in that instant didn¡¯t need to be explained. As long as it was a living thing that had assimilated with the activated cells nearby, they could all feel it. One must know that the activated cells were all extracted from the Progenitor¡¯s body. All the experimental subjects that were running around mindlessly and killing each other¡­all of them stopped at this moment, and looked in the direction of the Progenitor.

 Chapter 89

    The Progenitor died!


    Everyone clearly felt that the Progenitor very obviously had wanted to say something at the end, and it had something to do with Hong Qi Hua, but she hadn¡¯t managed to say anything in the end. At this time, Bai Yi couldn¡¯t describe the disappointment he felt inside his heart. He initially only buried the pain of Hong Qi Hua¡¯s death deep in his heart, but now suddenly it seemed like he could get to know of a different result. However, that suddenly disappeared in the end.


    And the reward that the Progenitor promised at the end, was she referring to that drop of blood? But in the end only Momo got splashed with that drop of blood, and they didn¡¯t even know the use of it.


    Damn it!


    Even Bai Yi now felt like scolding people, however suddenly a smell wafted over from the Progenitor¡¯s body, filling everyone¡¯s nose with it. Once they smelled this, Bai Yi blanked for a moment and a slight blurriness appeared in his mind. He slowly walked towards the Progenitor¡­I want to eat. This appetite did not come from hunger, but from seemingly smelling the greatest delicacy in the world and wanting to devour all of it.


    Just when Bai Yi wanted to bite onto the finger of the Progenitor, Bai Yi suddenly quivered in his mind and he abruptly rushed out. Bai Yi rammed into the few of them continuously, sending all of them flying. After falling onto the floor, the expression of Woolf and the others gradually regained a bit of clarity after being enchanted by that smell.


    ¡°Bai Yi, what happened?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with this smell!¡± Bai Yi said solemnly. ¡°The enticement of this smell is too strong, even more intense than that drop of blood just now. It was filled with temptation and danger just like that of a poppy flower, but I don¡¯t know what happened either.¡± While Bai Yi was talking, Pupu headed toward the Progenitor again, seemingly getting bewitched again.


    This time, Sharpei bit Pupu and stopped it when Pupu walked towards the Progenitor again. Sharpei then swung Pupu backwards. Pupu¡¯s tough skin wasn¡¯t damaged, and after it fell onto the floor it looked at Sharpei in fury, seemingly very unhappy with this guy that interrupted it. Ferociously, Pupu charged at Sharpei and rammed towards it. One must know, Pupu always treated Sharpei as its boss all along.


    Initially, Sharpei was just dealing with him lightly, but within a few rounds Sharpei started to become crazy as well. Its four powerful limbs stepped on the floor and ferociously bit at Pupu. Seeing Sharpei¡¯s actions, all of them could tell that Sharpei really intended to kill Pupu.


    Bai Yi shook his head and looked at everyone.


    Shit!


    Not just Sharpei, but even he couldn¡¯t control himself anymore. Out of nowhere, an intense desire to have the Progenitor rose in him, crazily wanting to possess it all for himself, and killing all other living things around him after that. At this time, not only Bai Yi realised that something was wrong, but the others also discovered this change in their hearts. They looked at each other with bloodshot eyes, and Woolf and Heloise even drew their own swords.


    Mimicry Eyes ¨C Intimidation!


    The colored patterns instantly rose in Bai Yi¡¯s eyes again, and everyone seemed to feel an intense pressure pressing down on their hearts. Their hearts tensed abruptly and suddenly regained their consciousness again.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, leave this place!¡± Bai Yi did not know what was going on, but apparently something very bad was going to happen if they kept on staying here. Sharpei and Pupu broke away, seemingly quite surprised at what they were doing, and Momo and Warner knocked one pet each on their heads, telling the both of them to follow closely. At this time, that intense smell from the Progenitor was still rapidly spreading around the entire area.


    Bai Yi was last, but he suddenly stopped and ran back towards the Progenitor¡¯s body.


    Following the lift passage, the intense smell gradually pervaded the minds of all the experimental monsters, inducing an unimaginable desire in them ¨C Want to¡­eat the thing that is giving off this smell, I want to have this thing solely for myself!


    The moment they came to the door, they immediately encountered the other experimental monsters. However, the bunch of them who came here following the intense smell completely ignored Bai Yi¡¯s group, and rushed frenziedly towards the Progenitor at the center. They looked back and immediately discovered that when the experimental monsters took a bite of their Progenitor¡¯s flesh, they instantly became even crazier. They looked at the other experimental monsters red-eyed, and within two seconds started fighting with each other.


    The smell of blood mixed within the smell of the Progenitor, seemingly exciting them even more, making this new smell even sweeter and more enticing.


    ¡°Just what is going on?¡± Mavis frowned and asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but now is a good chance. Let¡¯s hurry up and leave.¡± Bai Yi said to everyone, and the group of them sprinted like mad towards the lift. Along the way, they ran against an endless wave of experimental monsters. However, these monsters did not attack them like before, but rushed without regard for the lives towards the giant space holding the Progenitor, seemingly afraid that they were running too slowly.


    This time, the place that Bai Yi¡¯s group was running towards wasn¡¯t the fourth hive. After all, the lift was ruined, and it¡¯d be very difficult if they wanted to climb all the way back up.


    While they were heading to the fifth hive, they discovered on the other side of the passageway an endless number of experimental monsters bursting out from the damaged lift passage like a spurting geyser. These experimental monsters rushed maniacally towards the room where the Progenitor was, and started vying over the flesh of the Progenitor. There was nothing every single monster wanted more than to take a bite of the Progenitor¡¯s flesh. However, there was a limited area surrounding the Progenitor, so the monsters on the outside could only bite and tear into the other monsters blocking them, wanting a spot in the inner area.


    Very quickly, the Progenitor¡¯s corpse was buried under the sea of monsters. Although many areas on the Progenitor were already bitten off, more and more monsters were attracted over as the flesh was consumed rapidly.


    At this time, the room where the Progenitor was in almost became a crazy meat grinder, turning all the living experimental monsters into blood and flesh. The monsters following behind clearly knew this, but they still continued to rush towards that place.


    When Bai Yi¡¯s group finally got on the other elevator, they were still trembling inside their hearts.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t understand this more and more. Pain not only didn¡¯t let them maintain their consciousness, but it even increased the desire to kill and compete for the flesh!¡± Mavis pulled out the scalpel in her arm, and swiftly pressed on an acupoint, stopping the bleeding. Mavis wanted to use pain to stimulate herself and wake herself up just now, but it actually almost drove her into that madness.


    ¡°En, nobody knew what was going on!¡± Bai Yi nodded as well and rubbed the center of his eyebrows.


    In the end, other than meeting with the Progenitor, they seemed to have gained nothing out of this.


    Yeye said to meet with the Progenitor, so she apparently knew that the Progenitor would very probably gift something to Bai Yi¡¯s group, such as that crystal-like drop of blood. Bai Yi had automatically omitted the drop of blood that fell on Momo¡¯s eyes. Bai Yi understood that that drop of blood should be very important, but in the end the Progenitor apparently could not hold on anymore. At that time, she seemed to have wanted to tell them something regarding Hong Qi Hua, but she didn¡¯t even manage that in the end.


    In the end, they can¡¯t continue to ruminate over their gains and losses, getting out still took priority.


    Bai Yi¡¯s group took the lift and very quickly reached the upper section. When the lift opened, there weren¡¯t many monsters around, as apparently most of them had already rushed towards the Progenitor¡¯s location. Although they did not know how long this situation would last, it was still a good thing to them.


    Leave this place!


    Bai Yi¡¯s group followed the pre-planned route and rushed towards another location that had a drug that had not been developed completely ¨C Prototy original form drug. The meaning behind the name was that even if the being fused with genes from other lifeforms, this drug would allow them to retain their original forms. Although they did not know if this drug would still be effective towards them, there was definitely nothing to lose by acquiring the drug first.


    Along the way, Bai Yi¡¯s group met many strange and weird experimental monsters, but they did not attack Bai Yi¡¯s group at all and rushed madly towards the Progenitor¡¯s location. It appeared like they didn¡¯t want to waste even a second, fearing that they would be too late.


    ¡°I really want to know, what benefits would you get from eating the flesh of the Progenitor?¡± Heloise suddenly said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what benefits would we get, but I know that we would probably all die inside there after eating it. Of course, after getting out we could try and see for ourselves.¡± Bai Yi said.


    Everyone looked at each other, then at Bai Yi interestingly. Just now at the last moment Bai Yi ran back and sliced off a chunk of flesh from the Progenitor¡¯s finger, and very seriously placed it into an air-sealed compartment inside the protective case where Yeye¡¯s main computer was also placed. Bai Yi, this guy always had so many ideas. However, if this weren¡¯t the case, then based on how those experimental monsters went crazy over the smell they wouldn¡¯t be able to get out either.


    ¡­¡­


    The group of them came to the place where Doctor Wang researched the Prototy drug, and immediately started to search for it. This place was apparently messier. They didn¡¯t know if the monsters managed to barge in here or some other people searched this place before. However, Bai Yi leaned more towards the latter. After all, due to the disappearance of Sunlight, the upper section had always been left open, so Yu Han would¡¯ve definitely searched this place before.


    The few of them searched carefully, and finally found on the floor a broken test tube that contained a light blue liquid which was quite close to the description of the drug that Yeye gave.


    ¡°Is this it?¡± Mavis asked.


    ¡°Probably!¡± Bai Yi said, and took out a few empty syringes that they had prepared long ago, carefully sucking up the liquid left inside. There wasn¡¯t much liquid left in the broken test tube in the first place, but their syringes that they had were very small as well, so they actually managed to fill 9 syringes¡­Bai Yi, Momo, Woolf, Mavis and Heloise. As for Sharpei and Pupu, Bai Yi felt that it was unnecessary for them. With their appearances now, it wasn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing. After all, there wouldn¡¯t be much use even if they returned to their original forms.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Get out of this place!


    Bai Yi said this to them after carefully placing the few syringes in a secret compartment at the side of the protective case.

 Chapter 90

    Bai Yi¡¯s group finally escaped from the research facility, and behind them, a large proportion of those monsters that had already escaped from the research facility rushed back inside again. Only those that had run further away didn¡¯t run back due to the enticing smell becoming very diluted in the space outside.


    Inside the research facility, the corpse of the Progenitor was buried underneath all the flesh and blood, and when these flesh and blood came into contact with the Progenitor¡¯s corpse, it gradually started to give off that enticing smell as well. Although the smell wasn¡¯t as strong as the one given off by the Progenitor, it still drew all the experimental monsters to rush to that location crazily. At the center of everything, was half of the Progenitor¡¯s body floating inside all the flesh and blood.


    Bai Yi¡¯s group looked towards the research facility and stayed silent for a long time¡­ Tongariro National Park Research Facility!


    In that place, countless things were buried inside.


    _______________________________________________________________________________


    After leaving the research facility, they looked at the outside world in shock. This was originally a national park that was more than 90% untouched and wholly natural, but now they couldn¡¯t recognize this place at all. All the vegetation here were extraordinary lush, and this lush forest was filled with tranquillity and life.


    Just like they thought earlier, these rapidly-growing plants after assimilating with the activated cells became the cornerstone of New Zealand¡¯s new food chain.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go and find a remote place first.¡± Bai Yi said to everyone.


    Honestly speaking, there was a lot of luck involved in being able to escape from the research facility this time. If not for the Progenitor suddenly releasing that enticing smell, they probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to escape so easily. The Progenitor was the source of all the evolution in New Zealand. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if the Progenitor¡¯s body was extremely useful to all evolved lifeforms, and they would all be tempted to devour her body.


    It was extremely hard to walk in the forest, and even though they managed to escape, their bodies were still full of injuries. Hence, they didn¡¯t walk too far either and the group of them stopped at an outcrop of rocks. Due to there being more rocks here, the vegetation was relatively less dense. After clearing out an empty space, everyone stopped and prepared to set up camp here. A monster that they didn¡¯t know if it was an escaped experimental monster or just an evolved lifeform from the outside wandered into Bai Yi¡¯s group. This monster was then unfortunately killed by Bai Yi and became their meal for this period of time.


    Everyone had injuries on them, and those with heavy injuries waited for Mavis to treat them while the others with lighter injuries stayed quietly in this temporary campsite.


    Everyone had already received their treatment, and now they could only wait for their injuries to heal naturally. All of them gathered into a circle, and the sky slowly darkened, the campfire in the center illuminating all of their faces.


    Bai Yi took out the protective case, and took out a few syringes from the secret compartment by the side.


    Prototy original form drug ¨C even if they fused with genes from other monsters, it would not result in changes in their physical bodies. This kind of drug wasn¡¯t completely successfully developed, but it was approaching completion. This was their purpose of heading to Tongariro National Park Research Facility. However, nobody imagined that they would experience so much tragedy and horror during this process.


    Bai Yi raised his head, and sighed deeply.


    None of them disturbed Bai Yi. As the leader of this team, he was the one that bore with the most hurt and stress during this journey. Teammates, friends, the one he loved¡­ The fact that he could still remain standing here already showed how strong he was. Suddenly, Bai Yi stretched out both his hands and slowly grabbed onto Momo and Mavis by his side. Everyone looked at Bai Yi in puzzlement.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe in God¡­ but¡­ I suddenly want to pray for once!¡±


    Everyone heard and was suddenly taken aback, but still held their hands and stood in a circle with a pious atmosphere. Even Sharpei and Pupu weren¡¯t excluded this time, and the sat on the floor with everyone else. The campfire burned quietly, and everyone closed their eyes, peaceful and serene.


    ¡°I¡¯m thankful that we met, and being able to become friends that we can trust our backs with. Thank you everyone for fighting and struggling together, it¡¯s because of these efforts that we can still be standing here right now. We will always treasure all the friends that we have painfully lost along the way, and carry their hopes as we persevere on with life. Last but not least, I hope that all of us can survive, and return to a safe and peaceful world.¡± Bai Yi slowly said, and everyone¡¯s hearts became solemn and tranquil.


    After Bai Yi finished praying, everyone slowly opened their eyes again.


    At this time, all of them looked towards the few syringes in the center. It was all because of these things that everyone struggled to this extent, and lost so many friends in the process.


    ¡°Let¡¯s inject them!¡± Bai Yi said, and grabbed a syringe.


    Honestly speaking, nobody knew if these things would still be effective to them who had already turned into monsters, but even if for the sake of not letting the sacrifices of their friends be in vain, everyone would still choose to administer the drug. Moreover, everyone still had a little bit of hope inside. Maybe this thing would really be useful.


    Mavis was still the most experienced in giving injections, and this thing probably couldn¡¯t be randomly injected into the body. The process was quite simple for most of them, but Mavis met with a problem when trying to give Woolf the injection. Woolf¡¯s armoured skin was now incredibly hard, this kind of small needle couldn¡¯t possibly pierce his skin.


    Woolf looked at everyone staring all over his body. He was suddenly stunned for a moment and held his butt. ¡°No! Over my dead body!¡±


    Everyone¡¯s expressions instantly became strange. This guy, can your imagination not be so active? Just what were you thinking of? Seeing Woolf fooling around again, Heloise kicked him in the butt and he fell flat onto the floor. Mavis then walked over to him holding the syringe.


    ¡°NOOOOO¡­!!¡±


    ¡­¡­


    After injecting the drug, Bai Yi opened the protective case again and took out the flesh that he cut off from the Progenitor. Honestly speaking, the Progenitor¡¯s meat didn¡¯t seem fresh at all, and looked completely like the flesh of a dried corpse. Due to her eruption before, she practically shot out the entire essence of her body. However, it was this dried meat that was unbelievably enticing to all the experimental monsters.


    The moment the soccer-ball sized chunk of meat was taken out, all of their breathings became heavy again.


    Bai Yi took the kitchen knife from behind his back and split the meat into seven equal pieces, and placed them on top of a pile of wood. Bai Yi did not plan to cook this thing. One must know that for many type of ingredients if the chef didn¡¯t know how to cook it properly, the ingredient would lose a lot of its nutritional value.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what the use of the thing is, but I think just from the enticing power of this thing towards us, we can imagine that it¡¯s not ordinary. However, the more tempting something is, the more dangerous it is likely to be. So let¡¯s discuss about this. Should we or should we not eat this?¡± Bai Yi looked at everyone and said seriously. In truth, there was actually no need for Bai Yi to ask. Everyone¡¯s expressions already betrayed their thoughts.


    ¡°Ok then, I know everyone¡¯s answer. However, we should still have one of us try it first.¡±


    ¡°Me, I¡¯ll do it!¡± Woolf suddenly said and without waiting for Bai Yi to reject him, he immediately grabbed a piece and threw it inside that terrifying huge mouth of his.


    Everyone didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry at Woolf¡¯s actions, but after Woolf swallowed it, all of them quietly looked at Woolf, waiting for his reaction.


    ¡°So tough and old, very dry too, it¡¯s not very tasty. But I just want to eat it, this is so weird.¡± Woolf chewed vigorously on that piece of meat and said. Within a few seconds, that piece of dried meat disappeared from Woolf¡¯s mouth. After Woolf had swallowed the meat, everyone stared at Woolf, silently waiting to see if anything abnormal would happen to him.


    However, even after more than half an hour, there weren¡¯t any changes in Woolf. At this time, the number of experimental monsters that got attracted by the smell already started to surround them. As for Woolf, he just continued looking at the other six pieces of meat at the center, his saliva continuously flowing down from his mouth.


    Isn¡¯t it not tasty!


    ¡°Bai Yi, let¡¯s stop waiting.¡± Heloise said to Bai Yi.


    Bai Yi looked at everyone¡¯s eyes, and they were all filled with desire towards the meat. Since Woolf already ate the meat, if something really happened then they just had to face it all together. Bai Yi nodded, and everyone immediately rushed for the meat in the center, their movements shockingly fast. Apparently, these guys could no longer rein in their desire.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry, but took the last remaining piece of meat and observed for a while, putting it into his mouth afterwards. Just like Woolf said, the meat really wasn¡¯t tasty. It stunk and was very dry and rough. However, strangely everyone¡¯s bodies desired this thing more than anything else. Even if they thought that it wasn¡¯t tasty, they still chewed on it voraciously.


    Just when they swallowed the meat, the smell gradually dissipated and the evolved lifeforms rushing here sniffed the air in puzzlement, finally leaving to search in other places in disappointment.


    After finishing the meat, everyone sat quietly in a circle, not doing anything and silently felt for changes in their bodies. Based on their guesses, it was so tempting and also the flesh of the Progenitor. It probably had a huge use to lifeforms like them who assimilated with the activated cells from the Progenitor.


    One hour, two hours¡­ after three hours had passed, everyone looked at each other in puzzlement.


    Weird, other than the strange desire while eating it, there doesn¡¯t seem to be any other changes after eating it. Even after so long, there weren¡¯t any responses from their bodies.


    ¡°No need to mind this matter anymore. If there were really any changes, we would¡¯ve discovered them immediately anyway. Now, let¡¯s discuss what we should do next.¡± Bai Yi said in the end, pulling everyone¡¯s confused thoughts back to reality.

 Chapter 91

    Not long after the beginning of the change in New Zealand, they met Martin and got to know of the original form drug, and it had been their goal to go to Tongariro National Park after that. Along the way, many things happened, and things got even more bloody and desperate in the research facility. They lost precious friends, and finally managed to get the Prototy drug in the end. Even while they were recuperating inside the research facility, planning how to escape, they had never thought about what they were going to do after that.


    Because, there was no point!


    If they couldn¡¯t even get out, then what was the point in thinking about things afterwards? However, everyone had to start to carefully plan what they were going to do from now on. Actually, they should have started discussing about this earlier, but because everyone wanted to seriously experience what would happen after they consumed the Progenitor¡¯s meat and the changes in their bodies, they didn¡¯t have the heart to discuss this.


    After Bai Yi finished speaking, he looked at everyone and smiled.


    ¡°Let¡¯s discuss this tomorrow, and rest for tonight.¡± After escaping from the research facility, they immediately started to find a place that they could rest temporarily, so everyone was already very tired.


    After hearing Bai Yi¡¯s words, all of them immediately relaxed and leaned against the rocks behind them lazily. Momo came to Bai Yi¡¯s side and looked at him, while Bai Yi smiled to Momo and stretched out his hands. After getting Bai Yi¡¯s approval, she immediately jumped into Bai Yi¡¯s arms happily. Momo laid inside Bai Yi¡¯s arms, breathing softly and slowly fell into a deep sleep. Sharpei walked over as well at this time, quietly lying on the ground beside Bai Yi.


    In this open rocky outcrop, everyone gazed at the bright and clear moon, feeling tranquil and full of hope.


    ¡­¡­


    During the night, more than 10 evolved lifeforms came to this area over this time. These were all animals attracted over here by the smell of the Progenitor¡¯s flesh. These lifeforms weren¡¯t too big, but were all extremely weirdly shaped. When the first lifeform approached them, Bai Yi had already opened his eyes. All of their senses now were incredibly sharp as compared to before.


    Just when Sharpei wanted to pounce on it, Bai Yi placed his left hand on Sharpei¡¯s head and looked over there with his eyes.


    Mimicry Eyes ¨C Intimidation!


    The lifeform that had wanted to continue approaching immediately jumped in fright, and after jumping backwards cautiously it realized that the group of them hadn¡¯t actually moved at all. Looking at them carefully for a while, it then slowly backed away cautiously. After this unwelcome guest left, Bai Yi closed his eyes again.


    On the second day, everyone woke up very early.


    ¡°I suddenly miss the times inside the research facility a bit now.¡± Heloise massaged her stiff body and said. She wasn¡¯t actually wrong, although they were trapped inside the research facility, the place still had water and electricity, and overall it was quite tidy as well. It wasn¡¯t like the wild, the wild wasn¡¯t just messy, but many unwelcome guests came to visit over the night. Although they were scared off by Bai Yi every time, but everyone else had sensed it too actually.


    ¡°There¡¯s really nothing much to miss over there. Anyway, let¡¯s discuss what to do next.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°From the start, all we thought about was getting the original form drug, so we headed towards this research facility. Now that we¡¯ve accomplished our goals, it¡¯s time to think about what do we do next.¡±


    Bai Yi continued. ¡°We need to understand the situation in New Zealand now, as well as the entire world. Only after understanding the entire situation in detail can we set our future path, whether we continue staying in New Zealand or head to some other place.¡±


    ¡°Why would we stay in New Zealand?¡±


    ¡°Because we can¡¯t be sure if the drug we received would be effective. If it¡¯s ineffective, what kind of treatment do you think we will get with our appearances now in human society? If we aren¡¯t able to turn back into humans, and the rest of the human world is still more peaceful, then it isn¡¯t possible for us to go to other countries. If that were the case, we still have to look for the solution to turn back into humans in New Zealand. Of course, I don¡¯t hope to become somebody else¡¯s research materials as well.¡± Bai Yi slowly said. Apparently, Bai Yi had already done some planning in his heart.


    ¡°Other than that, the things that we understood from Yeye like the LV1-2 Brutal Phase, if we aren¡¯t able to manage it well we might become completely mindless monsters. Based on what Yeye told us, normal drugs won¡¯t have any effects on lifeforms like us. If we want to find a solution, then we have to use animals or plants that similarly assimilated with activated cells.¡±


    ¡°In conclusion, we have to find other living humans first and understand the overall situation, then we can make our decision.¡±


    ¡°Then, where do we go now?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s continue heading south back to the urban area, first towards Wanganui, the port city.¡±


    ¡°I remember you saying before that there weren¡¯t many people in the city, because of the production problem or something like that, right?¡± Woolf suddenly said.


    ¡°It¡¯s the producers and consumers. During the Binging Phase, all lifeforms need a large amount of food, and there were usually only consumers inside a city. The food inside could only last everyone for only around a week to a month, and it was only because of the constant replenishment and flow of goods that it didn¡¯t seem like things were lacking.¡± Heloise added. They could still remember what Bai Yi explained to them before.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, but that was just at the start. At this point in time, I think almost everyone should¡¯ve adapted to the environment by now. Have you guys realized, although at the start when we assimilated with the activated cells we had a huge appetite, by now the appetite is slowly stabilising. Also, think about our own experiences, while we were camping outside and yesterday, we weren¡¯t uncomfortable at all. After being able to find sufficient food, those who were originally humans would definitely want a quiet place to rest. What other environment would better for resting than the city?¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°Moreover, if we want to obtain information about the outside world, it¡¯s still better to do so in the city. The modern facilities like telecommunications are still more easily found in cities.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Bai Yi decided at the end.


    Everyone else nodded as well, but they also knew the other reason for staying in New Zealand that Bai Yi did not say¡­ Yu Han. Now everyone wanted to find Yu Han and murder him, cruelly and viciously!


    ¡­¡­


    Nobody else had any objections, and they started to head towards Wanganui.


    Along the way, everyone finally understood how hard it was to walk. If they were to say that during the initial stages of the change they could drive a car, by now they couldn¡¯t even see the road at all. They could still find cars occasionally, but most of them were already irreparably damaged. Moreover, along the way they could see other lifeforms both big and small frequently through the forest, making the place seem full of life.


    ¡°I thought that the food chain in New Zealand would completely break apart.¡± Mavis said in surprise, looking at a 30 plus centimeters long six-winged centipede lying on the tree root and sucking its sap.


    ¡°I thought so at first too, but from the looks of it now the adaptability of living things is really too powerful. Under conditions of extreme hunger, there wasn¡¯t much that they wouldn¡¯t eat, and plants were also the most widely available food. The rapidly growing vegetation also happened to support the new food chain in New Zealand, allowing all these lifeforms to survive.¡± Bai Yi said, stretching out his right hand.


    The six-winged centipede had changed to be able to live on sucking tree sap, but it still had not forgotten its carnivorous nature. After seeing the group of them, it immediately pounced towards Bai Yi, who didn¡¯t dare to underestimate this thing. Now they weren¡¯t too afraid of large sized evolved lifeforms anymore, but it was these small insects that they were more wary of.


    A short and small willow leaf knife appeared in Bai Yi¡¯s hand, and he used the back of the knife to knock on the exoskeleton of this six-winged centipede.


    ¡®Dang!¡¯, Bai Yi instantly felt a large force coming from his hand. Apparently after assimilating with activated cells, they couldn¡¯t underestimate any lifeforms that were still alive. Unfortunately for the centipede, the difference in their size was still too big. This was just like how an ant could carry something hundreds of times heavier than their weight, but it would still get squashed by a single finger when facing humans.


    The six-winged centipede flew backwards, bouncing a few times on the floor, and rapidly ran back towards the bush with a hiss and disappeared inside.


    Seeing the centipede disappear, they continued on their journey again.


    When going through the forest, they actually found a house, and looking from the style of the house it seemed just like the kind of private houses commonly seen in New Zealand. However, looking at this house now it was hard to imagine that just two months ago there was somebody living in this place. Bai Yi carefully pushed himself through the branches covering the house and entered it, hoping to find something useful. As for the others, they didn¡¯t join in the fun as this house really wasn¡¯t suited for many people to be in it now.


    After a long while, Bai Yi came back with a dusty face but carrying a smile.


    ¡°What did you find?¡±


    ¡°Compass!¡± Bai Yi said.


    Everyone¡¯s eyes lit up, as this was really a good thing. None of them expected that New Zealand now would become so difficult to cross, it was just like a primordial forest. They had been walking for a few days and had long lost their way. Now that they had this at least they wouldn¡¯t walk in the wrong direction.


    Bai Yi fiddled with it for a while, and then smiled helplessly. The direction that they had been walking in just now was actually the southeast direction, that is to say, they were walking in nearly the complete opposite direction from Wanganui in the southwest. As for where they were now, really only a genius would know.


    After looking at the compass, all of them stared at each other again.


    ¡°So, anyway, let¡¯s find a place with people first and ask them about the general situation in New Zealand.¡± Bai Yi said.

 Chapter 92

    After the group of them found the house, they used the environment and landmarks around them to find the general direction of the path they were on before. They tried to walk along the direction with lesser vegetation, and sure enough after a while, they found the original road. Although they couldn¡¯t tell that it was a road from far away, after they came closer it wasn¡¯t possible for them to be mistaken. After all, the signs of human activity couldn¡¯t be completely covered up so easily.


    They walked along the road for a full week and finally found a ¡®city¡¯. Honestly speaking, they all felt quite shocked that the place where humans initially stayed at could completely be labelled as a ¡®ruin¡¯ after only two months. Countless weeds grew all over the cracks, vines climbed all over the walls and only the floors higher up escaped this. Moreover, some large trees even emerged from inside the buildings.


    ¡°Wow~, this is really some rare scene, just like a city that had been abandoned for more than 10 years.¡± Heloise said.


    ¡°Rare, is it? We would probably see this often in the future though.¡± Bai Yi said, and he suddenly looked towards the left side of the city.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°No, nothing.¡± Bai Yi shook his head. In that direction was a three-story house, from the second level of it a sharp head poked out from it, and it looked just like a rat. After seeing Bai Yi¡¯s group, it immediately ran back inside quickly. Bai Yi did not keep this on his mind, it was probably the rats that were in this city before. After the humans left they became even more active.


    The group of them walked towards the center of the city. At the center, there were lesser and lesser signs of the forest and it finally looked somewhat more like a city. At this time, everyone including Momo held the weapons in their hands tightly. Everyone could feel that at this moment, they had been surrounded. Some living things were hiding in the shadows of the buildings around them.


    Bai Yi stopped and held his kitchen knife. His broadsword had been lost inside the lift, and he only had his kitchen knife left. As a chef, Bai Yi would of course never leave this behind.


    After a while, those things hiding in the shadows finally started to reveal themselves.


    It was really the rats!


    When everyone saw these organisms, this thought suddenly flashed through their minds. Although they could tell roughly from all the lifeforms standing in front of them now that their origins were of rats, there were no two lifeforms that looked the same now. Their appearances differed randomly, and the smallest one of them were at least half a meter tall, while there were actually two that were the same size as Woolf. Most importantly, there were at least 80 ¨C 100 of these lifeforms.


    ¡°I seem to remember that rats are the most abundant mammals on Earth?¡±


    ¡°Oh, is it? I thought it was humans!¡± Heloise said lightly.


    ¡°However, in the New Zealand now, I think it¡¯s right to say that the most abundant mammal are the rats.¡± Mavis smiled and looked at the ¡®rats¡¯ surround them.


    ¡°Not really, do you think they¡¯re still rats?¡± Heloise said cheekily.


    Apparently, when humans abandoned their initial homes, these rats took the chance to completely occupy this city. Under the strengthening of the activated cells, ordinary animals like rats had gained decent intelligence and strength, completely treating the humans remaining in the city as their prey. These bunch of rats probably treated Bai Yi¡¯s group too as preys that wandered into their nest.


    ¡°Chi chi!¡± Suddenly, a sound came from within the mass of rats, and in the next moment all of them immediately charged at Bai Yi¡¯s group.


    When these strangely shaped rats charged towards them, Bai Yi¡¯s group also smiled immediately.


    Ha!


    That was an arrogant laugh, after facing all the powerful monsters that fused with activated cells inside the research facility earlier, these rats really didn¡¯t seem like much. They evolved at the same time as all the humans, and their fusion choices were random and up to chance, so they wouldn¡¯t even treat them seriously. Even Momo didn¡¯t have the timidity or weakness that a small child would normally have, but took out her own short sword and stood on the front lines.


    Over there, everyone¡¯s hearts and spirits had become strong!


    Nearly 100 monster rats pounced at Bai Yi¡¯s group, but they did not dodge but even took the initiative to bring the battle to them. Once the two sides contacted, in almost a split-second there were more than 10 rats killed. One must know, Bai Yi¡¯s group chose their genes to fuse with purposefully. No matter in strength or agility, they had the absolute advantage now among the other lifeforms that randomly evolved in New Zealand.


    Even the usually lazy Pupu seemed very fierce and courageous now, but anyway there was probably nothing that could pierce that thick skin of it. It just had to run around and charge at things randomly. Sharpei was even more fierce, its figure moved and jumped around rapidly, while its large jaw and sharp claws took away the life of a rat with every strike.


    In a short time which only took dozens of seconds, these 100 rats died by almost a third, and at this time from high up in the sky came a cry. Bai Yi turned around and made eye contact with a rat monster, his kitchen knife instantly chopping off the head of this guy and looked at the two rat monsters in the sky.


    How should one describe them?


    One of those rat monsters seemed to have fused with something that could fly, while the other one stood on the back of that monster. The one standing was more than 1 meter tall, and actually wore human clothes on him and held a walking stick. If they said that the rats before were just monsters that only randomly fused with any other animal genes, this rat was a true ¡®ratman¡¯. That¡¯s right, not too different from the ratmen they saw in the movies, and didn¡¯t have bad intelligence as well.


    After this ratman cried out again, those rat monsters that were fighting vigorously started to retreat backwards. While leaving, these guys didn¡¯t forget to bring parts of their comrades¡¯ corpses with them.


    When they realized that they could not beat Bai Yi¡¯s group, this ratman immediately gave the order to retreat.


    ¡°Ahahaha, a bunch of rats want to do something to me, this is more like looking for death!¡± Woolf held up his greatsword excitedly. The 1.5 meters long greatsword in Woolf¡¯s hand seemed more like a short sword, and the dense and heavy greatsword swung around nimbly. With just a few clashes, one of them rat monsters that was as tall as Woolf got hacked into half with one strike. That brashness and bloodiness was just completely indescribable.


    Just when these rats retreated, Woolf immediately chased after them, and even an abandoned car blocking in front of him got flung away with a kick of his, squashing another few rat monsters.


    ¡°Woolf, don¡¯t chase them!¡± Bai Yi said.


    However, Woolf ignored Bai Yi¡¯s voice immediately, and became even more impulsive and excited. Bai Yi frowned again. Woolf, this guy is entering the berserk state more and more easily, if he still can¡¯t find a way soon then eventually we would not be able to pull him back, and he would completely lose his rationality. However, not only Woolf but Sharpei chased after them as well. When Sharpei ran past Momo, she grabbed onto Sharpei¡¯s tail and with a delicate flip she landed on the back of Sharpei who was rapidly running.


    These three guys!


    These were the same few people who lost control in the research facility. Apparently, Yeye¡¯s words before weren¡¯t a joke. Once they fell into the berserk state for the first time, it would become easier and easier into that state afterwards. Once they fell into that state too many times, they would truly lose their rationality, only knowing to fight and eat¡­ truly becoming wild beasts.


    Bai Yi saw the few of them chasing and couldn¡¯t help but abruptly increase his own speed, running towards the direction that the rat monsters escaped in. The rest of them of course followed after Bai YI immediately.


    They didn¡¯t run too far before Woolf stopped, because after killing another rat monster he found that there were suddenly no more enemies. These rat monsters were apparently very familiar with this messy city, after a few turns they completely disappeared within this place. Sharpei and Momo¡¯s situation weren¡¯t too different, and they very quickly lost their opponents.


    After losing their opponents, Woolf and Sharpei looked at each other and madness flowed from their eyes. Woolf tightened his grip on the greatsword in his hands and slowly walked towards Sharpei. Sharpei wasn¡¯t willing to show any weakness too and walked towards Woolf as well. Even Momo gripped her short sword and revealed her sharp little canines viciously.


    ¡°All of you quieten down!¡± Bai Yi suddenly dropped down in between two of them, and the patterns in his eyes immediately appeared.


    They were all just somewhat excited, and weren¡¯t considered having lost their rationality completely yet. After hearing Bai Yi¡¯s voice and getting influenced by his mimicry eyes, Woolf, Sharpei and Momo gradually started to quieten down, and suddenly realised in horror what they were about to do. They actually almost fought with their own companions! One must know that with their level of ability now, even if they didn¡¯t kill each other, it would still result in heavy injuries once a battle broke out.


    At this time, all of them understood the seriousness of the matter.


    Based on Yeye¡¯s information, an ordinary experimental subject would experience the onset of its Brutal Phase after four months to half a year of assimilating with the activated cells. This Brutal Phase would last for at least three years usually. Inside the research facility, the one with the shortest Brutal Phase was a human, an old man that was well-versed in the Chinese Tai Ji fist. His Brutal Phase only lasted for three years plus, and he very rarely lost his rationality completely as well. The result that Tai Ji Fist could passively bring about the cultivation of the soul was also proved from him.


    In truth, it had only been two plus months since Bai Yi¡¯s group assimilated the activated cells. Unexpectedly, Woolf and Sharpei had already started to lose control. This was apparently due to that desperate battles inside the research facility stimulating them too much.


    Seeing what Woolf, Sharpei and Momo were like, the rest of them suddenly felt the seriousness of the matter. For now, other things had to be set aside, and they had to prioritize controlling and managing their conditions, or else it might really be too late.


    The group of them were rushing along in their journey all the time, and did not really practice the Tai Ji Fist. However, from the looks of it now this thing really couldn¡¯t be put off anymore.

 Chapter 93

    Under the pacification of Bai Yi¡¯s mimicry eyes, the few of them finally calmed down slightly. At this time, Bai Yi only wanted to quickly leave and find a safe place to seriously study the Tai Ji Fist they had gotten from Yeye.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here and find a safe place.¡±


    ¡°Why do we need to leave? What¡¯s wrong with the city?¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t stay here; the rats just now weren¡¯t completely killed. Also, do you guys know just how many rats are there living in this city? It¡¯s unimaginably dangerous if you guys engage in battles continuously right now.¡± Bai Yi said, and brought everyone towards the outside of the city. However, just when they had been running for 10 plus minutes, they suddenly realised that the rat monsters were here again, and in much greater numbers than before.


    If there were about 100 of them last time, then this time there were at least 1000 rat monsters gathering from all over the city. Everyone looked at the mass of rat monsters crawling out from all over the city, their eyes turning serious and solemn. They weren¡¯t afraid that they couldn¡¯t win the battle, but that Woolf, Sharpei and the few others would lose control completely.


    ¡°How are there so many rat monsters? Isn¡¯t it the Binging Phase, how did they pass that stage?¡± Heloise asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s because rats are more suited to this world than humans. Humans and rats are both omnivores. If we say that humans are pickier towards food due to our habits developed over time, rats in comparison are willing to eat anything. Meat, plant stems, leaves, wood¡­ They have the habit of gnawing on all of these. Now that the vegetation in New Zealand is growing so quickly, they¡¯re definitely not lacking in food. However, they¡¯re probably thirsting for meat after such a long time of not eating any.¡± Bai Yi explained solemnly.


    As if proving Bai Yi¡¯s words right, a group of the rats that left just now were chewing on something in their mouths. On a closer look, it was actually the corpses of their fellow rats that they brought away earlier. Rats didn¡¯t have as many rules as humans, and their original companions looked so much more different from them now. After death, they could completely serve as the meat that they had not enjoyed for such a long time.


    With so many rats, there must be a leader. Bai Yi looked towards the sky and immediately found that ratman directing the mass of rats before, was it this guy?


    Anyway, it was better to kill that guy first.


    After this mass of rats appeared, they seemed to receive some order and paused for a moment before ferociously charging towards Bai Yi¡¯s group again. At this time, they couldn¡¯t care so much either, they couldn¡¯t not retaliate just because they were afraid of losing control. If they did so, they would probably get torn into pieces by the rats in just seconds.


    The moment the battle started, Bai Yi looked at the rat monster in the air, his pupils rapidly expanded and bright colored patterns swiftly appeared in his eyes.


    Mimicry Eyes ¨C Intimidation Hypnosis!


    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes slowly changed, although his limbs never stopped moving while in battle, his eyes never left that direction either.


    The two rat monsters in the sky were apparently observing the battle carefully as well, as their gazes immediately crossed with Bai Yi¡¯s the moment they looked. It was a strange hard to describe feeling, that flying rat monster stunned for a moment after looking at Bai Yi¡¯s eyes, and started flying towards Bai Yi. The ratman on its back fell into a daze as well.


    Come here, come here!


    Bai Yi slowly said in his heart, and suggested to the two rat monsters through the hypnosis in his eyes. However, all of a sudden, an immense force came from Bai Yi¡¯s kitchen knife. A 3+ meter tall rat monster stood on its legs like a human, and a huge metal rod that it picked up from somewhere collided with Bai Yi¡¯s knife.


    ¡®DANG!¡¯, an immense sound of the impact rang out, Bai Yi¡¯s kitchen knife instantly broke, and he also got sent flying by this huge impact. Bai Yi didn¡¯t suffer much damage, but his heart dipped when his body started spinning and his gaze involuntarily shifted away from the two rat monsters in the sky.


    Not shifting your sight even while in battle was really an extremely difficult thing to do, and not even Bai Yi could do it.


    At this moment, Mavis had swiftly intercepted Bai Yi¡¯s opponent, and Bai Yi immediately turned around and looked towards the two rat monsters in the sky again. He then discovered that the two rat monsters flying did not pause their actions at all, but the ratman standing up recovered his consciousness and pulled on the hair of the flying rat to make it fly back. Under the hard pulling of the ratman, the flying rat monster stopped as well and prepared to turn around.


    It would be bad if I really let you turn around.


    Bai Yi thought ruthlessly in his heart. So far, Bai Yi realised that they power of his eyes was maximised when he had direct eye contact with his opponents. In a split-second, Bai Yi completely stopped everything that he was doing and just used his eyes to seriously look at the flying rat monster, the colored patterns in his eyes ever changing and shifting, just like a world inside a kaleidoscope.


    The rat monster that Bai Yi looked at paused in the air again, and even the ratman whacking his head with its walking stick did not wake this guy up.


    Heloise saw Bai Yi¡¯s actions and the ratman in the air, she immediately spread her wings and flew towards that direction.


    Just when Heloise was about to contact the two rat monsters, Bai Yi finally could not endure the pain in his eyes anymore and closed them. I can leave the rest of it to Heloise, she probably can handle those two rats. Bai Yi¡¯s ability in his eyes was really not bad, but he didn¡¯t want to use it to the point where it bled every time. Mavis even said that Bai Yi hadn¡¯t actually recovered fully, and just like the berserk state of Woolf and the others, the more times he overused his eyes, the more likely he would lose his sight forever.


    After Bai Yi closed his eyes, the flying rat monster got hit on the head by the ratman heavily again, and it instantly woke up. Apparently, with its simple brain it still hadn¡¯t understood how it got here. At this time, Heloise¡¯s transparent wings vibrated and came right in front of this guy.


    The ratman holding the walking stick reacted in fear, but Heloise did not care so much and her long sword cut down heavily from the sky.


    ¡®Clang!¡¯, they could hear a clear ringing sound and her sword broke apart the walking stick that the ratman used to block with. Her sword then continued to hack into its head, body, and the flying rat monster below it.


    Heloise and the rest were different from Bai Yi, as they had all fused with the genes of an ant. Although ants could be easily killed by humans with a press of their fingers, it was just because of the huge difference in size. Now when this kind of strength manifested in Heloise and Woolf¡¯s body, it could completely display the terrifying power of this level of physical strength.


    ¡®Kacha!¡¯, Heloise¡¯s sword sliced the ratman and the flying rat monster in half at the same time, and they both fell bloodily towards the ground.


    There was immediately a great commotion in the mass of rats, and the rest of Bai Yi¡¯s group immediately grabbed hold of the chance and killed some. However, these rat monsters still hadn¡¯t retreated.


    It wasn¡¯t effective, or?


    Looking at the ferocious mass of rats, Bai Yi¡¯s brain quickly spun and thought about the situation. In this brutal world, it was probably not easy to sit on the position of rat king with just brains. That is to say, the ratman in the air was probably an ¡®advisor¡¯ at best. The real rat king was probably at a different place.


    At this time, the weaker rat monsters in their surroundings were either killed or retreated towards the rear. The rat monster surrounding them now were all at least the size of a normal human and relatively more powerful. With their great numbers, there would definitely be some rat monsters that fused with more useful genes by chance.


    At this time, Woolf and Sharpei were being very cautious and apparently restraining themselves. The simple clash just now already caused them to fall into the berserk state, so they didn¡¯t dare to continue battling with no worries. However, this kind of restraining caused them to fall into dangerous situations multiple times, and an oppressed feeling slowly gathered in their hearts.


    Shit!


    Bai Yi thought as he saw the increasing brutality in Woolf and Sharpei¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Woolf, Sharpei, no need to hold back, charge out in the direction we entered the city from!¡± Bai Yi suddenly said. At this time, they couldn¡¯t continue to worry about so many things, as the important thing was to leave this rat nest city now. As for things in the future, they would think about them later.


    After getting Bai Yi¡¯s approval, Woolf and Sharpei paused for a moment and raised their heads. The wide open mouths of these two guys revealed the savagery and excitement inside. Almost instantaneously, the two of them charged out fiercely and the rat monsters blocking them were instantly ripped apart by the greatsword or sharp fangs. The flying limbs and splattering blood immediately caused a layer a red to slowly appear in their eyes.


    Momo seemed like she wasn¡¯t willing to fall behind as well, she bared her sharp little canines just like a small ferocious tiger, charging towards her opponent.


    However, Bai Yi followed closely by Momo¡¯s side, deeply afraid that something would happen to her in this state.


    ¡°Daddy, I¡¯m fine!¡± Momo suddenly said.


    ¡°En?¡± Bai Yi was suddenly taken aback.


    Bai Yi looked at Momo¡¯s expression and suddenly recalled something. In the laser passageway in the research facility, Momo also seemed to enter into this state but she didn¡¯t really lose her rationality, she just seemed more excited than usual.


    Why though?


    This question was apparently very important, if they could think of the answer to this question then perhaps they would be able to find the solution to the Brutal Stage. Bai Yi pondered in his heart, slowly looking at his teammates¡¯ changes. Woolf, Sharpei and Warner descended into the berserk state around the same time, and only knew how to kill their way through that direction. Only Momo seemed to be able to maintain her consciousness, but from the looks of it, it didn¡¯t seem like she could last for long either.


    ¡°Momo, are you still ok?¡±


    ¡°Still¡­ ok!¡± Momo turned her head and looked at Bai Yi irritably.


    Sure enough, Momo had not completely overcome the brutality inside her, but only seemed to fall into the berserk state less easily than the others. However, why was it like this?

 Chapter 94

    Suddenly, a sharp cry came from within the rat mass just as the rapidly running group was about to reach the city edge. After this cry, the initially ferocious rats that were attacking them from all sides swiftly dispersed and returned to the center of the city. Bai Yi saw the remaining rat monsters carry their dead companions inside and knew that the hunt had finished. It didn¡¯t matter to them whether it was Bai Yi¡¯s group or their own companions that became the fruit of their hunt. The number of dead rat monsters could already provide a large amount of meat.


    At this time, Bai Yi had a more important thing to do, he had to stop Woolf and the others.


    Woolf and Sharpei were still chasing the retreating rats and from the looks of it, they definitely wanted to charge right back in. In reality, Woolf and Sharpei had quite a few injuries on them now. Even if they were confident in their own abilities, Bai Yi knew that they would probably die in a battle of attrition with the rats.


    ¡°Momo stop!¡± Bai Yi shouted at Momo.


    Momo instantly paused for a moment and looked at Bai Yi. He approached Momo and stared into her eyes. The colored patterns in Bai Yi¡¯s eyes changed and shifted. Since Momo had not lost her rationality completely in the first place, she calmed down very quickly under Bai Yi¡¯s pacifying.


    However, Woolf, Sharpei, and Warner seemed to be the worst affected. After the rat monsters dispersed, the three of them didn¡¯t seem like they had killed enough and charged back in again. Heloise, Mavis, and Pupu each blocked one of the three idiots that had fallen into the berserk state. However, these three idiots no longer saw the difference between friend and foe. After seeing three opponents blocking their path, they immediately started their attack.


    Woolf, Sharpei, and Warner¡¯s battle power were completely incomparable to those rat monsters from before.


    With just one clash, Heloise was forced to fall back rapidly. If she couldn¡¯t fly things would be bad¡­ Bai Yi thought in his head just as Woolf threw his greatsword out viciously. The heavy greatsword spun and flew toward Heloise in the air, but she didn¡¯t manage to react in this moment. Subconsciously, she stretched out both hands to block in front of her body, but the edge of the greatsword hacked heavily onto her arms. The sickles growing out of her arms and her short sword immediately broke with a ¡®peng!¡¯.


    If not for the short sword obstructing the greatsword, Heloise would have probably been split into half by Woolf¡¯s sudden attack.


    Heloise was already not too proficient in flying; coupled with the heavy injury, she immediately plummeted from the sky. Woolf¡¯s body half squatted on the ground and fiercely shot out. He looked just like an alligator hunting its prey, incomparably vicious. Heloise immediately threw the broken short sword at Woolf, hoping to buy herself a bit of time.


    At this time, Mavis wasn¡¯t doing much better either. She only saw that Sharpei fought very ferociously normally, but she only understood now just how strong it was.


    Initially, Mavis had just obstructed Sharpei, not letting him continue chasing inside the city. Sharpei stopped at the start but the moment Mavis relaxed a bit inside, it immediately found this gap and ferociously pounced at her. Mavis couldn¡¯t describe its speed in that instant, but Sharpei¡¯s mouth full of sharp teeth suddenly appeared in front of her in the blink of an eye.


    Mavis immediately dodged to side. At this time, she did not intend to harm Sharpei, but just planned to stall at this place.


    However, just when Mavis thought that she had managed to dodge the attack, the bones growing out of its shoulders seemed to bloom and extend slightly. With just a small error in judgement, the bone spike from Sharpei¡¯s body tore across Mavis in an instant. ¡®Puchi!¡¯, two gashes more than 20 centimeters long appeared on her body. Moreover, without waiting for Mavis to react, Sharpei¡¯s tail swept toward her body again.


    ¡®Boom!¡¯, Mavis was sent flying by Sharpei¡¯s tail.


    One must know, other than Bai Yi and Momo, everyone else had fused with the genes of an ant. With their weight of less than 200 pounds, it was easy to get sent flying.


    Pupu seemed to have an easier time than the rest. Stopping Warner was easier and it just kept on charging at him. They didn¡¯t know what Pupu¡¯s skin was made of, but it was incredibly tough and durable. As long as Warner did not strike any vital areas, he could not pierce its skin. After a while, the two meatballs rammed into each other, but unexpectedly it was Warner who was worse off after the exchange. Pupu seemed to be very happy doing this, this was the rare chance to justifiably and openly thrash its teammates!


    Pupu sent Warner flying, but before Warner could land, Pupu had started charging again. Just before Warner landed on the ground, it rammed into Warner¡¯s stomach again.


    After slamming into Warner, Pupu actually oinked happily and shook its butt.


    Bai Yi looked at everyone¡¯s situation in an instant. He abruptly dashed forward and jumped over a small abandoned car, ramming into Woolf in the air. At this time, Woolf just happened to open its jaw wide in the pose of an alligator hunting its prey, biting toward Heloise. Although Mavis was also in danger, she wasn¡¯t in as fatal a situation as Heloise. If Woolf really managed to bite Heloise, she would definitely be crushed into two. Woolf now had this capability.


    Bai Yi rushed out from Woolf¡¯s side, his right foot shooting upward and kicking Woolf¡¯s chin from below.


    ¡®Pa!¡¯, with a dense sound of impact, and the broken sword striking Woolf¡¯s head at the same time, the three of them collided together almost immediately. Woolf managed to pounce onto Heloise as he wished, but his mouth was shut by Bai Yi¡¯s violent kick. In the end, he only heavily slammed into Heloise¡¯s waist.


    With this heavy impact, Heloise ignored the gashes on her waist caused by the sharp teeth and quickly grabbed onto Woolf¡¯s big alligator mouth. She forcefully flipped her body and twisted her waist as well. Woolf¡¯s giant body was instantly manipulated by her actions to flip as well, as the two of them rapidly plummeted to the ground together.


    Heloise was only caught off guard by Woolf¡¯s sword throw, one must know that nobody in Bai Yi¡¯s team could be underestimated anymore.


    At this moment, Bai Yi also grabbed onto Woolf¡¯s right arm tightly. When Woolf landed on the ground, Bai Yi and Heloise mercilessly pinned him to the ground. Just when Woolf turned around and glared at them viciously, Bai Yi immediately opened his eyes wide. At this moment, Bai Yi could only hope that his mimicry eyes would still be effective on Woolf.


    ¡°Woolf, quieten down!¡±


    The colored patterns bloomed in Bai Yi¡¯s eyes, but Woolf still struggled ferociously. The two couldn¡¯t hold him down at all. Bai Yi¡¯s heart squeezed; Damn it, this level was enough to wake Woolf up previously, it¡¯s really harder to wake people up from the berserk state the more times they fall into it!


    Woolf¡¯s giant alligator mouth opened wide again, biting toward Bai Yi who was directly in front of him. Bai Yi couldn¡¯t dodge in time so Woolf¡¯s giant mouth clamped down onto his shoulder. ¡®Kacha!¡¯, Heloise could seemingly hear the sound of Bai Yi¡¯s bones breaking, and blood instantly burst out from his body. At this moment, Woolf turned his neck, preparing to twist his body. This would increase his jaw¡¯s tearing force, allowing him to rip his prey into pieces.


    Heloise¡¯s heart beat intensely!


    Don¡¯t tell me that Bai Yi is actually going to die in Woolf¡¯s hands?


    How can I get killed by my own teammate!!! Bai Yi screamed viciously inside. Suddenly, he closed his eyes and abruptly opened them again. Even Bai Yi could feel like something had broken inside his mind, and blood immediately started to flow from his eyes. In that instant, Bai Yi could seemingly feel something being moved in his body, automatically flowing toward his eyes.


    This is¡­special energy!


    Recalling the data, special energy always existed in the body ever since assimilation with activated cells, it was just that lifeforms could not actively control the special energy before LV2. He wasn¡¯t able to actively control the special energy, but what if his body instinctively used the special energy?


    It was just like that for Bai Yi¡¯s eyes right now. In that instant, the special energy in his body instinctively felt that his eyes needed their support, so it gathered toward that location.


    Woolf¡¯s big mouth viciously crunched Bai Yi¡¯s shoulder, but it stopped there. The sharp teeth deeply pierced Bai Yi, but gradually Woolf¡¯s severe brutality and savagery calmed down and he became quiet.


    ¡°I¡¯ll settle this with you later.¡± said Bai Yi as he pushed Woolf¡¯s giant mouth aside. He seemed angry.


    ¡°Hehe¡­¡±


    Woolf heard Bai Yi¡¯s threat but didn¡¯t feel scared or anything; he just laughed in embarrassment. Only now did he recall what had just happened; Heloise and Bai Yi had really almost died in his hands. The Brutal Phase was really too dangerous, it made them disregard even all their loved ones, only seeking death and destruction.


    Bai Yi continued to run toward Sharpei. At this time, Bai Yi suddenly felt like his eyes had changed again. Something seemed to be flowing from his body toward his eyes, supporting the consumption of power. Although Bai Yi¡¯s eyes were bleeding again, he was actually much more comfortable than before. The bleeding was just because of old injuries opening again in the moment he broke through.


    This flowing thing is special energy?


    Bai Yi vaguely sensed the existence of this energy. Although he couldn¡¯t actively manipulate the energy like in the novels, this energy was still naturally flowing and gathering toward his eyes.


    Many insects had compound eyes, but Bai Yi¡¯s eyes did not transform into compound eyes like that of a butterfly¡¯s. However, as Bai Yi ran, he suddenly felt that his range of vision had reached a 180 degrees in front of him. Anything seen in the peripheral of his vision was reflected clearly in his eyes.

 Chapter 95

    Mavis had miscalculated Sharpei¡¯s power at the start of the battle and was sent flying by Sharpei¡¯s tail. After that, all she could do was dodge continuously; she didn¡¯t even have the chance to counterattack yet. After Bai Yi pacified Woolf, he immediately rushed towards that side, but there was somebody even faster than him.


    ¡°Sharpei, stop!¡± Momo¡¯s small body suddenly stood in front of Sharpei and blocked him.


    ¡°Momo, no!¡± Mavis shouted anxiously. Although she seemed quite miserable now, it was just because she wasn¡¯t willing to battle seriously with Sharpei. Or rather, Mavis didn¡¯t really think of counterattacking, she would have achieved her purpose if she could stall Sharpei here. Unexpectedly, Momo was the one who became anxious seeing her in this state and helped her to block Sharpei.


    Sharpei pounced ferociously like a tiger, its big mouth almost touching Momo¡¯s body. At this moment, Bai Yi¡¯s heart abruptly squeezed, and held his kitchen knife tightly¡­ Sharpei, you!


    However, just when Bai Yi thought that Sharpei¡¯s big jaw was going to crunch down, it actually stopped. The brutality in its eyes gradually calmed down, and its tense body slowly relaxed as well.


    ¡°Sharpei, be obedient!¡± Momo hugged Sharpei¡¯s head and said softly.


    Everyone was stunned, especially Bai Yi. From how ineffective his first level mimicry eyes were on Woolf just now, it was clear how hard it was to bring someone back from the berserk state. Unexpectedly, with just a shout from Momo, Sharpei really calmed down slowly. Just what was the reason behind this?


    Since even Sharpei had quietened down, Warner who was the last remaining berserk one wasn¡¯t a problem. Pupu was still playing around with Warner and beating him up, and only now did everyone know that Pupu was actually this strong. Also, everyone could see by now that Pupu had a lazy and sly personality. It really seemed to be enjoying openly and justifiably attacking his owner now.


    ¡­¡­


    They didn¡¯t move too far and stopped at the edge of the city. No matter what, they did not like camping in the wild. Once they tidied up one of the houses inside the city it would be much better than camping out. Just imagine the chaotic environment inside the rainforest, an evolved insect may be hiding under any leaf on the trees at any time, and these insects could very possibly be fatal to them. Even if they were not fatal, it was still very annoying if some hairy animals climbed onto their bodies.


    As for the rat monsters in the city, they were honestly not afraid of them. Based on Bai Yi¡¯s judgment, after the two battles before these rat monsters which had decent intelligence wouldn¡¯t come and throw their lives away again.


    ¡°We must now immediately learn the Tai Ji Fist, there can¡¯t even be a second of delay!¡±


    After they tidied up the house, they immediately gathered together. Even if Bai Yi did not say so, everyone else could understand as well. Although only Woolf and a few others fell into that state just now, sooner or later everyone else would be the same. If at that time they fell into some desperate battle again, resulting in all of them falling into the berserk state then there would be nobody to wake them up. Or rather, it might be useless even if they could be awakened, whether they could still retain their intelligence at that time was really up to the will of heaven.


    Bai Yi opened the protective case and retrieved a small electronic tablet inside.


    The functions of this computer were not too different from a smartphone and actually wasn¡¯t even as complete as a smartphone. However, it was extremely durable and not easily damaged, the screen had its own solar panel which could charge the battery from sunlight. As long as it wasn¡¯t damaged, it could be used indefinitely. In this tablet contained the information they had acquired in the research facility as well as the ¡®Tai Ji Fist¡¯.


    Of course, they had seen this long ago, that¡¯s also why they hadn¡¯t started learning it.


    This was because this set of Tai Ji Fist was an incomplete version, and not suitable for everyone. There was a complete Tai Ji Fist manual gotten from China, but that was only suitable for humans. To think about it, after assimilating with activated cells and fusing with genes from other lifeforms, all of their physical forms had undergone great changes. How could a Tai Ji Fist meant for humans be perfectly suitable for them? Other than the Tai Ji Fist inside, they used science to set dozens of algorithms to deduce why Tai Ji Fist would have an effect on souls, then finally deriving a set of Soul Nourishing Physical Arts that could be used by all lifeforms.


    Of course, these dozens of algorithms were all incomplete products as well, nobody knew if it were correct.


    However, the most important thing was that none of them could understand it, and they were all very embarrassed.


    To speak of it, only Bai Yi and Momo among them still retained their human shape, and probably could learn this, so Bai Yi did not let everyone learn this incomplete version. However, from the looks of it now, even if it was this incomplete version of the Tai Ji Fist with unknown results, they had to practice it as well.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not use the deduction algorithm, since we aren¡¯t proficient in this. This original Tai Ji Fist manual was meant for the human body to practice, but we probably can still practice it as well. Of course, there¡¯s no need to force yourself in the parts not suitable for your body, just do as much as you can.¡± Bai Yi said. (TN: I¡¯m quite confused by this part as well, I guess in the end they will try practicing both versions?)


    Everyone nodded, as this couldn¡¯t be helped as well.


    ¡°Other than that, I noticed one more thing. Although Momo had lost some control over herself as well, she didn¡¯t really lose her rationality completely. Moreover, Sharpei was actually pacified by Momo easily. Can you guys figure out why this is so?¡± Bai Yi couldn¡¯t figure these kinds of things out by himself. It was best for everyone to search for the reason among the details they saw in their everyday lives.


    Everyone immediately looked at Momo and Sharpei after hearing this, Sharpei laid on the floor while Momo leaned on Sharpei¡¯s neck. A cute furry little girl and such a sinister and vicious large dog, it was difficult to imagine that they could get along so peacefully and well.


    ¡°Momo, Sharpei, Woolf, and Warner, they all entered the berserk state in that battle at the research facility. If there was some reason to cause a difference in them, then it would be definitely due to something different in that one month.¡± Mavis said. All of them then observed each other and compared and analysed all the information that they each had right now.


    The difference between the four of them in this month?


    Weird, they were all usually together. If there were something different, then it was that Bai Yi and Momo usually slept together.


    That¡¯s right, sleep!


    Bai Yi¡¯s mind suddenly jolted, and he remembered that Yeye said that after entering LV1-3, they would be able to naturally sense the existence of the soul, and also naturally love to sleep, using sleep to balance the incongruence between the body and soul. Within this one month, Bai Yi did not intentionally hypnotise Momo, the most was that he would pacify her somewhat before her sleep, trying to let Momo have a good dream. As for Sharpei, it seemingly rested in the same room as him as well.


    ¡°Sleep!¡± Bai Yi looked at everyone.


    ¡°Sleep?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s sleep. Yeye said before that sleeping is a very magical state, as in this state the body and soul will harmonize naturally. This is a natural way of self-balancing that a LV1-3 would engage in, and from that, they could conclude that a good state of sleep is beneficial to the growth of the soul. If there was a reason why Momo found it easier to control herself, then the only possibility could only be sleep.¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°But in the research facility, didn¡¯t everyone sleep?¡± Heloise was quite confused.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not the same, as the quality of everyone¡¯s sleep is different. Do you feel that you slept well?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t feel much, just the same as how I slept usually.¡±


    ¡°I dream sometimes.¡± Woolf scratched the back of his head.


    ¡°What dreams?¡±


    ¡°Dreams of fighting, I frequently dream of myself killing a lot of monsters and feeling super good in it,¡± Woolf said with glee.


    ¡°Momo, you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t dream at all, the next time I open my eyes after closing them is the time I wake up,¡± Momo said seriously.


    ¡°Deep sleep, or dreamless deep sleep!¡± Mavis immediately said.


    ¡°Deep sleep and dreamless deep sleep?¡± Woolf and Heloise asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, those are technical terms used to refer to states of sleep. Actually, everyone¡¯s sleeping states are split into a few categories. From falling asleep, shallow sleep, deep sleep, dreamless deep sleep, the state of the body is different in every type of sleeping state! Based on medical theory, if somebody can enter the dreamless deep sleep state at will, then the person has no need to sleep for more than eight hours a day, as just one hour of sleep is enough rest for the entire day. However, in reality, that isn¡¯t possible at all, because entering deep sleep is already difficult. As for dreamless deep sleep, being able to sleep in such a state for a short period each time is already very good.¡± Mavis explained.


    ¡°That¡¯s doesn¡¯t sound right. I didn¡¯t have many dreams either?¡± Heloise disagreed.


    ¡°Dream states are also split into many types. The dream state you are talking about should be lucid dreaming, why you yourself realise that you are in a dream. However, many times, we are unaware that we are actually dreaming. As long as we dream, it won¡¯t be considered a dreamless deep sleep.¡± Mavis explained.


    ¡°Most probably, this is the difference between Momo and you guys. From Yeye¡¯s information, a LV1-3 would naturally go to sleep to balance the incongruence between the soul and body. If Momo could sleep this well every day, then her berserk symptoms could be much better than the rest of us.¡± Bai Yi said at the end.


    ¡°But, how did Momo sleep so well?¡± Honestly speaking, even if it was Woolf or Heloise, they frequently dreamed about the desperate scenes inside the research facility.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably my power.¡± Bai Yi said and pointed to his eyes. ¡°To let Momo sleep better, I would pacify her every night, letting her fall asleep better.¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°It¡¯s your eyes again, can your eyes not be such a monstrosity? I¡¯m getting jealous.¡± Heloise said in envy.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t really be envious, there¡¯s a huge element of chance in the emergence of my eye powers.¡± Bai Yi said. Of course, Heloise was just saying this and wasn¡¯t really jealous. Everyone knew under what conditions Bai Yi¡¯s eyes had transformed, and those conditions were completely unable to be replicated.


    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s try it. I¡¯ll hypnotise Woolf tonight.¡±


    ¡°Only hypnotising one?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, only hypnotising one, because Momo wasn¡¯t able to wake up once she fell asleep, so I can¡¯t let everyone enter this kind of sleeping state.¡± Bai Yi nodded.

 Chapter 96

    Of course, when Bai Yi said that Momo couldn¡¯t wake up, he didn¡¯t mean it literally. He just meant that she slept like a log. It was definitely no big deal in the research facility, but in a city like this it could be extremely dangerous if they slept with no awareness of their surroundings. Although they had guessed that everything was related to sleep, they did not put all their hopes on this either and started studying the Tai Ji Fist.


    The Tai Ji Fist was recorded as a video. At the start, it was a rosy-faced old man practicing the Tai Ji Fist, and after he finished the set of movements, the grass underneath his feet actually formed a vague Tai Ji shape. (TN: Tai Ji symbol, you guys should have seen this before)


    The first video was the Tai Ji Fist used by this old man. There was a total of 36 movements in his version. This wasn¡¯t the commonly seen simplified 24 forms or the revised 42 movements, and nobody knew where his Tai Ji Fist came from. Although they did now know its origin, it was definitely different from what people commonly see. Behind this research was the more than two hundred countries of the entire world so their combined power and ability would be absolutely astounding. They felt quite shocked watching this video, as they could tell that the old man had not fused with any activated cells. So there were special people like this even among the normal people in the world before.


    As for the few sections behind, it was the process of the experimental subject practicing the Tai Ji Fist inside the research facility.


    There was only a total of 10 videos in this Tai Ji Fist series. Apparently, they were all specially chosen and there was more than a month gap between each video. Every month, they could see that the body of the experimental subject had changed a lot inside the research facility. At the start, they could still roughly see the sequence of movements in the Tai Ji Fist, but toward the end, they couldn¡¯t understand it at all. It was hard to describe this, but it was just looking at him slowly moving into certain postures. It was very slow but seemed to be very meaningful.


    ¡°Although I can¡¯t understand it, from the looks of it he is very strong,¡± Mavis said at the end.


    ¡°Yeah, I wonder if he is out yet.¡± Bai Yi nodded and carved the old man¡¯s final calm but sharp eyes inside his heart. He was apparently not a normal person, being able to calm down his heart and practice the Tai Ji Fist. He could practice his Tai Ji Fist as if there was nobody around in an environment like the research facility; he was definitely somebody worth taking seriously no matter what.


    ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s learn the sequence of movements, starting from the first posture,¡± Bai Yi said and the few of them came to the courtyard.


    The main people were Woolf, Warner, and Sharpei; it wasn¡¯t as critical for the rest of them yet. Moreover, three of them got heavily injured to stop Woolf and Sharpei earlier. For example, the bite wound almost tore off Bai Yi¡¯s entire left shoulder. If it was before, Bai Yi would have probably already been dead. The three of them came to the courtyard and started learning the Tai Ji Fist.


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s give it a go. You guys saw it just now too.¡± Bai Yi turned the tablet screen to face the three of them and played the video again.


    ¡°Ok then.¡± Woolf nodded and followed the first posture as seen in the video, which was the standing posture.


    Even though Woolf had just taken the standing posture and hadn¡¯t even started to move, the rest of their brows couldn¡¯t help but twitch. It wasn¡¯t from pain but from trying to suppress their laughter. Woolf now looked just like a bipedal fat dragon, his tummy sticking out while looking shy and bashful. Just by standing there, they could see his tummy shake and ripple. Perhaps, Woolf¡¯s body had gradually changed over time, so he had gotten used to his body by now and had not realized it.


    Second Movement: Right Sparrow Tail!


    Third Movement: Left Single Whip!


    ¡­¡­


    When Woolf started moving, Heloise immediately couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore and burst out laughing. This was really too funny, a dumb and fat looking dragon stretching his arms and legs to make those poses. It made people laugh no matter how you looked at it. Really, Woolf¡¯s actions and the Tai Ji Fist had no similarities at all, even Bai Yi couldn¡¯t take it anymore and turned around. He didn¡¯t laugh, really, he really didn¡¯t laugh out loud.


    Even if it was Woolf, he knew that the few of them were laughing at him.


    ¡°What are you guys laughing about!¡± Woolf suddenly stopped.


    ¡°Because it¡¯s funny! Woolf, you didn¡¯t see it for yourself, but your poses while going through the Tai Ji Fist is really too damn funny! Too bad there isn¡¯t a camera here, or else we can record your movements and show it to you. You will know just how funny it is then,¡± Heloise said while laughing again.


    ¡°You¡¯re lying! I think I¡¯m doing quite well!¡± Woolf didn¡¯t believe her.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t believe it then you can stop first, and look at Warner¡¯s Tai Ji Fist,¡± Heloise said.


    ¡°Ok, Warner you do it, let me see.¡± Woolf patted Warner¡¯s shoulder.


    After hearing their decisions, Warner couldn¡¯t help but nod; he didn¡¯t seem timid either. At the start when following Bai Yi¡¯s team, Warner was actually quite uneasy and didn¡¯t say much in the team either. However, after going through so much, Warner had finally and truly merged into this team. The rest of them no longer treated him like a kid anymore either. They truly treated him like a member of the team.


    ¡°Older brother Warner, good luck!¡± Momo shouted by the side.


    ¡°En.¡± Warner nodded to Momo. In the team, only Momo was younger than him, so he spoke the most to her.


    After Warner took a deep breath, he started to go through the movements of the Tai Ji Fist as well. Of course, with Warner¡¯s round body now in addition to him just learning this for the first time, his standard really wasn¡¯t too good. Sure enough, after watching him, Woolf¡¯s eyes immediately bulged and opened wide, laughing loudly at him.


    ¡°HAHAHA! Warner, is that Tai Ji Fist? It looks just like a fat pig shaking its ass and stretching its legs!¡± Woolf pointed at Warner and laughed loudly.


    Warner immediately stopped, he knew of course that Woolf didn¡¯t have any ill intentions and was just making fun of him. However, even if he knew that he couldn¡¯t help but blush and feel embarrassed. No matter what a kid¡¯s skin wasn¡¯t that thick.


    ¡°What are you laughing about, your Tai Ji Fist is even uglier than his!¡± Heloise hit Woolf.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be! No matter what I should still be better than Warner.¡±


    ¡°Sharpei, you try it as well,¡± Momo whispered beside Sharpei¡¯s ears. After hearing her, Sharpei¡¯s huge body couldn¡¯t help but tremble. Really, me too? There were so few similarities between its body and a human at all, how exactly was it supposed to practice this Tai Ji Fist? However, since it was Momo that asked, Sharpei wouldn¡¯t reject it either, although it was quite clueless as to how to go about fulfilling this request.


    Sharpei moved to the middle of the courtyard, its four limbs standing on the ground and it slowly raised its left front paw.


    Everyone stared at Sharpei¡¯s movements, including Woolf and Warner who had tried it just now. Everyone only saw Sharpei¡¯s left paw slowly but heavily step on the floor, but in that instant, Sharpei¡¯s body seemed to have moved forward a certain distance. It didn¡¯t seem fast, but a soft boom instantly came from the air when it moved. After that, Sharpei continued moving, the seemingly simple movements and swayings brought about tremors in the air around him.


    Everyone could see that the Tai Ji Fist Sharpei learned wasn¡¯t the first few videos in the series, but the latter parts. That was the set of movements that a middle-aged man who had already changed into a monster used with all four limbs on the floor.


    Woolf and Warner couldn¡¯t even close their mouths now, just what did Bai Yi¡¯s family eat while growing up? Even the dog was so monstrous.


    ¡°Sharpei, Sharpei, you¡¯re awesome! Please teach me!¡± Woolf said to Sharpei.


    Everyone couldn¡¯t help but instantly lose their mood from Woolf¡¯s actions. Woolf, can you have some dignity and lower limits? However, Sharpei¡¯s movements did give everyone a great shock. Only Bai Yi looked at Sharpei with deep thoughts in his eyes. The rest of them saw Bai Yi¡¯s actions and stopped fooling around, seriously looking at Bai Yi. Even Sharpei looked at Bai Yi as well, waiting for his comments.


    ¡°Very good! Sharpei is really smart.¡± Bai Yi patted Sharpei¡¯s head and revealed a smile.


    Everyone immediately released their breath after hearing Bai Yi¡¯s words. Tsk, there wasn¡¯t anything at all and he still made himself look like he was in deep thought, we still thought that Sharpei did something wrong. However, what the rest didn¡¯t know was that Bai Yi really did have some thoughts, just that it wasn¡¯t convenient to talk about it. Sharpei¡¯s movements were obviously leaning toward a fighting style, just like the experimental subject in the last few videos. It wasn¡¯t really an exercise anymore like the initial Tai Ji Fist.


    However, Bai Yi didn¡¯t know whether his thoughts were true or not, and he couldn¡¯t be bothered to talk about it as well. What if the Tai Ji Fist that leaned toward a fighting style could better bring about the cultivation of the soul? If he spoke up now, wouldn¡¯t it obstruct their learning and development?


    After laughing about it, the rest of them tried out the Tai Ji Fist as well. In truth, when they first started learning this, all of their movements were quite crude. Even for Bai Yi and Momo who had retained their human shape, they still felt that something was missing even though they mimicked the movements very well.


    If they were really to try and put their finger on it, it was¡­meaning!


    Tai Ji Fist wasn¡¯t just a simple movement of the body, there were still the culture, spirit, and aura represented in it. All in all, Bai Yi and Momo now only had the form, but not the essence. However, no matter what, they were still much better than Woolf and the few other idiots. Toward the end, Woolf and Warner seemed to be fooling around more than actually learning the Tai Ji Fist.


    Bai Yi saw Woolf fooling around over there but didn¡¯t stop him because he made everyone laugh so hard. In New Zealand now, it really wasn¡¯t often that they could laugh like this.


    Of course, it¡¯s fine for today but starting from tomorrow everyone had to seriously learn the Tai Ji Fist.


    Suddenly, Heloise who was still laughing loudly turned her head. Very quickly, the rest of them detected it as well, there was a sound coming from that direction. Very quickly, they saw an unmarked assault helicopter flying over from that direction. This assault helicopter apparently saw Bai Yi¡¯s group when they passed by, and hovered around them for a while, seemingly very curious about them. After a while, this helicopter flew away again, disappearing into the distance.


    Bai Yi looked at the direction where the helicopter had come from. It was the west, did they come from Australia?


    The people in the helicopter were apparently normal humans, what were they doing in New Zealand?

 Chapter 97

    ¡°Those people are?¡± Heloise questioned.


    ¡°People from outside.¡±


    ¡°People from outside?¡±


    ¡°The people outside of New Zealand. From the appearance of these people, the situation outside probably isn¡¯t as bad as here. Maybe they have managed to control it effectively. No matter what, activated cells isn¡¯t some zombie virus, so it can¡¯t be transmitted from corpses. Even if people had assimilated with activated cells, they wouldn¡¯t lose their minds in the short term either, so it¡¯s still relatively easy to quarantine and isolate,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°The thing I¡¯m more curious about now is, what are these people doing at New Zealand?¡± Mavis continued.


    ¡°I think nobody can guess this.¡± Bai Yi shook his head.


    ¡°Let¡¯s change locations!¡± He continued.


    ¡°Why? didn¡¯t we just decide to stay at this place and learn the Tai Ji Fist?¡±


    ¡°Because we don¡¯t know if they are friend or foe. Although we still treat ourselves as humans now, the other side may not necessarily do so. Don¡¯t forget the information we saw at the start through the internet, all countries have banned any living thing from exiting New Zealand. Yeye also said that it¡¯s very possible that every other country is planning to turn New Zealand into a natural experimentation ground. Even Doctor Wang left the research facility immediately after he learned of the outbreak. It¡¯s just strange that nobody came to retrieve the data from the research facility after more than two months since the outbreak of activated cells.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, we need information about the outside world, but I don¡¯t approve of recklessly coming into contact with people from the outside.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, we need to leave this place immediately.¡±


    ¡°Ok.¡± Everyone immediately started to move.


    ¡­¡­


    At this time, the people in the helicopter were very surprised as well. Although Bai Yi¡¯s group had changed by a lot, it was still possible to tell that they were humans initially. This group of people that came to New Zealand for the first time were very surprised. Before coming here, their superiors had emphasized many times that this place wasn¡¯t some peaceful location, it could completely be said to be a Devil Island.


    ¡°I think that we could have tried to communicate with them just now,¡± said a soldier carrying his gun.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do unnecessary things, we still have our mission to accomplish,¡± the bald team leader said coldly.


    ¡°But New Zealand really went through a huge change, seeing those strange and weirdly shaped lifeforms from time to time really gave me a fright.¡± The other soldier aimed his scope at a target from the entrance of the helicopter. Suddenly, he was stunned for a moment. What was that thing hidden on top of that huge building within the forest?


    What was that?


    Suddenly, the lifeform lying on top of the building suddenly got up. It then rapidly flapped its wings, shooting toward the helicopter ferociously.


    ¡°Captain!¡± The soldier instantly said in fear.


    At this time, the rest of them also saw the monster chasing after them, its wingspan was more than 20 meters and it looked extremely savage. If they really had to make a comparison, it was similar to a winged dragon, but there were also some parts that differed from a winged dragon. This winged dragon fiercely chased after them, flying faster than even the helicopter.


    ¡°Attack! Damn it!¡± The captain swore.


    Along the way, although they had encountered flying evolved lifeforms, these normally weren¡¯t able to cause much trouble to them. After all, the lifeforms in New Zealand had only evolved for a little more than two months, they still hadn¡¯t become that strong yet. However, this winged dragon immediately made all their faces change. This guy was definitely an experimental monster that had escaped from the research facility, or a mutant lifeform.


    The sounds of gunfire instantly rang, but the winged dragon that chased behind them only closed its eyes, and its body started to spin powerfully in the air. This movement let it dodge a majority of the bullets, and even if the bullets managed to hit the winged dragon they didn¡¯t cause any damage.


    A soldier inside the helicopter hurriedly took out a rocket launcher and aimed it at the winged dragon.


    However, at this moment, the winged dragon flapped its wings powerfully and a few of its feathers on the side of its wings shot out. These feathers instantly pierced two of the soldiers in the helicopter. Especially the guy with the rocket launcher, the feather directly penetrated his forehead. Not only this, these feathers made of unknown materials even managed to pierce through the helicopter.


    Grabbing hold of this momentary pause in their attacks, the winged dragon rapidly closed in and grabbed onto the propellor of the helicopter with its claw.


    ¡®Kacha!¡¯ ¡®Kuang!¡¯, the old skin and dirt on the giant claw was sprayed around, but the rotary blades that were spinning at a high speed actually didn¡¯t do much damage to the claw. On the contrary, after receiving this huge obstructing force, sparks and fire burst out from the propeller and it stopped moving.


    ¡°Jump off!¡± The captain roared.


    These soldiers were all special forces, so they proficiently carried a parachute on their backs and immediately jumped off. While jumping off, the captain even grabbed the rocket launcher and launched it at the helicopter while he fell. If they still had not jumped at this time, then they could not blame him for being decisive either.


    With a loud ¡®BOOM!¡¯, the helicopter exploded, bursting into flames and the explosion immediately made the winged dragon cry out in pain. One must know that the explosion damaged things in all directions, although the claw of the winged dragon was tough, it didn¡¯t mean that its other body parts were tough.


    Bai Yi¡¯s group were still preparing to leave at this time, but they suddenly saw an explosion in the air in the distance. It was already close to evening now, so the explosion in the sky was more noticeable. They looked at each other and didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. There was a more than 80% chance that something had happened to the helicopter. Nobody could be sure how New Zealand was like now. Even if the helicopter flew in the sky, it wasn¡¯t necessarily safe.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go and see if there are any survivors,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°En.¡± Nobody else had any objections.


    They set off again, preparing to go across the city. Looking at the dark road ahead of them, they couldn¡¯t help but sigh inside. They had travelled across this street quite a few times today. This time, there were still quite a few rats hiding in the shadows. However, these rat monsters seemed to have become smarter as well, they only stared at Bai Yi¡¯s group leaving the city and did not take the initiative to attack.


    Even animals could learn to be tame, not to mention these evolved lifeforms which had gained decent intelligence.


    When going past a plaza in the city, their breathing gradually slowed because they felt the presence of many rats. After making a turn on the street, they immediately saw more than 100 rat monsters standing at that place. Moreover, there was a rat monster that was more than three meters tall at the forefront, and it appeared to be very strong.


    Woolf and the few others immediately gripped their weapons tightly, but Bai Yi gestured for them to not be hasty.


    Sure enough, two rat monsters carried over a corpse of a prey in the next moment. Another rat monster carried some other things over and put them in front of Bai Yi¡¯s group. What is this, a sign of good will? Bai Yi looked at the rat monster leader, and suddenly many thoughts went through his head, complex and varied.


    ¡°We are just passing through the city, if you guys do not attack us, we will not harm you as well. That¡¯s all, I will take these things, anything else is unnecessary,¡± said Bai Yi to the rat king as he pointed toward another direction in the city.


    ¡°Chi chi!¡± The rat king didn¡¯t seem to want to conflict with Bai Yi¡¯s group either. After all, they had killed many rat monsters in the battle this afternoon.


    ¡°Woolf, take them away., Bai Yi said. Woolf then carried the carcass and the unknown bag made of monster skin. The group then walked through the pathway the rats had opened up for them. These bunch of rat monsters looked at Bai Yi¡¯s group, carrying various glints in their eyes. Even more rat monsters ran and jumped around in the distance, following their progress, but none of them initiated any attacks on Bai Yi¡¯s group.


    After arriving at the edge of the city, these rat monsters finally returned to the city gradually, disappearing into the shadows.


    ¡°This is really trouble!¡± Bai Yi said as he looked at the direction the rat monsters had disappeared to.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Woolf asked


    ¡°It¡¯s intelligence!¡± Mavis said as well.


    The intelligence of these rat monsters had apparently reached the level of a small child. If they continued to develop, would they eventually become another civilisation of their own? Don¡¯t think that they were being afraid of the sky falling down on them (TN: Chinese idiom that means being afraid of something that is very unlikely to happen, such as the sky falling down), but it was something that could really possibly happen. To think of it, humans also evolved not too long ago from the cavemen age where they were savages.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Bai Yi did not continue to ruminate on this problem, it was too early to be worrying about this.


    The group headed in the direction where the helicopter met with the accident. After they had walked a short distance, they saw the winged dragon which was bleeding from its abdomen while it flew toward the city again.


    This winged dragon didn¡¯t seem to have a good temper. Its stomach was injured, but it wasn¡¯t fatal. The most important thing was how it had initially thought that it had managed to catch a prey, but in the end its prey had exploded and the ¡®skeleton¡¯ left behind couldn¡¯t be eaten. It would be strange if it was able to eat the metal parts of the helicopter. Really, I shouldn¡¯t hunt strange things next time.


    However, after seeing Bai Yi¡¯s group, this guy immediately judged that these lifeforms walking on the ground were definitely normal prey.


    Looking at the ferocious winged dragon-like monster charging toward them, even Bai Yi wanted to facepalm himself. Here it comes again, just at the time when they most didn¡¯t want to battle.


    Woolf immediately grabbed his greatsword, wanting to act. The only one uninjured here was him. However, at this time, Bai Yi stopped Woolf and came in front of him, facing the winged dragon.


    Bai Yi¡¯s body was really not suited for intense battles now, but he did not intend to engage in that kind of battle. He stood on the spot silently. When the winged dragon approached, he abruptly opened his eyes. At this instant, Bai Yi immediately felt the special energy inside his body flowing toward his eyes.

 Chapter 98

    Mimicry eyes!


    The giant winged dragon that initially charged toward them ferociously suddenly went into a daze. Then it slowly landed in front of the group. At this moment, Bai Yi walked past Momo, and his right hand naturally swiped across her back. He drew Momo¡¯s short sword made from special materials. After holding the short knife tightly in his hands, he walked toward the winged dragon.


    Everyone looked at Bai Yi silently as he placed the short knife on the winged dragon¡¯s neck. The short knife ground against its keratin-like skin, making a metallic ¡®chi chi¡¯ sound. The sound seemed to be ice-cold and harsh.


    ¡°Leave!¡±


    Bai Yi suddenly said and turned around just when they thought that he would kill the winged dragon. At this moment, the winged dragon suddenly seemed like it had woke from a dream, and it instantly jumped back a distance in fright. It then opened its jaw wide at Bai Yi, but no matter how you looked at it, the winged dragon just seemed to be frightened and instinctively trying to make a show of force.


    After seeing that Bai Yi seemed to be ignoring it, the winged dragon immediately spread its wings and flew away like it was escaping.


    At this time, Woolf jogged over to Bai Yi as the rest of them wondered what was he going to do. He tilted his head and observed Bai Yi head on. Woolf was startled the moment he saw Bai Yi¡¯s eyes. After a long while, Bai Yi used the back of the blade to hit him on the head, and Woolf finally woke up from his stupor.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°No no no, I was just curious, just what happened to your eyes? It doesn¡¯t seem possible if you say that it¡¯s a simple mimicry ability?¡± Woolf asked curiously. Of course, it wasn¡¯t a simple mimicry anymore, Bai Yi knew that his eyes had gone through three stages of change.


    ¡°I¡¯ll talk about it later. The friend over there, aren¡¯t you going to come out?¡± Bai Yi said.


    All of them looked at a bush in the distance, the captain hiding in the bushes knew that they had been discovered from their expressions. Moreover, he was still in shock at the scene of Bai Yi dealing with the winged dragon, what had happened just now?


    The bald captain walked out, and behind him were four other soldiers. They were all worthy of being called elites, most of them had actually survived and they hid so well once they landed. These people all held a submachine gun each and carried other weapons on their backs. However, no matter how you looked at it, they didn¡¯t seem to be the ones that were at an advantage. All of them stared at Bai Yi¡¯s group warily, if not for Bai Yi speaking to them in English first, they would have fired long ago.


    ¡°I am Brod, the captain of this squad.¡±


    ¡°Bai Yi, was a human!¡± Bai Yi said, smiling patronisingly.


    After the soldiers heard Bai Yi¡¯s words, they immediately raised their guns. However, the bald captain was more composed and stopped them, walking over to Bai Yi. Although none of Bai Yi¡¯s group looked like a normal human, at least they could communicate now. As such, it wasn¡¯t considered too bad a scenario.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok, you guys can still be considered humans now,¡± the bald captain said.


    ¡°Oh it¡¯s like that, that¡¯s great then,¡± Bai Yi said nonchalantly.


    ¡°I think you guys aren¡¯t planning to stay the night in the forest right. Let¡¯s go, to the edge of the city,¡± Bai Yi said and walked in front.


    The bald captain hesitated for a moment but still followed him in the end. They apparently knew a lot about New Zealand¡¯s changes. If the helicopter was fine then all would be good, but now that the helicopter was destroyed the higher-ups were unlikely to send people to save them. That was to say, they had to depend on themselves now. Bai Yi¡¯s group were apparently humans from New Zealand before. They would be able to understand New Zealand¡¯s current situation if they followed this group.


    The inner city was the territory of the rat king, so they didn¡¯t enter there. They found a house at the edge of the city that was still more or less inhabitable.


    ¡°Be careful, don¡¯t recklessly attack them.¡± Bai Yi reminded them when he saw the soldiers becoming very tense from the surrounding rat monsters.


    ¡°What are those?¡± The sky was already dark by now, and the vision of these normal people weren¡¯t very good as well. They could only vaguely see something hiding in the shadows, running here and there.


    ¡°Rat monsters. They were rats before but assimilated with activated cells. They fused with genes from other animals, becoming this messy rat monster. Of course, they are the owners of the city now,¡± Bai Yi explained simply.


    ¡°Owners?¡± The soldiers had a strange look on their faces.


    ¡°After the humans left the original city, they naturally took over and became the owners of this place. By the way, don¡¯t attack them for no reason, I think that as long as we are still here, they would not attack you either.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because they don¡¯t want to sacrifice needlessly. Even if they were hunting for prey, they would hunt something within their limits, right?¡± Bai Yi glanced at that white soldier. The rat king had already displayed its good-will. Disregarding how sincere this good-will was, at least the rat king really had not sent any subordinates to continue attacking them. Bai Yi did not want to renegade on this simple agreement because of them now.


    ¡°We¡¯ll cook something first, we¡¯ll talk after eating,¡± Bai Yi suddenly said just when everyone thought they would exchange information now. Everyone looked at Bai Yi but didn¡¯t voice any objections. Only Bai Yi himself knew that he wasn¡¯t trying to make himself seem like a glutton, but it was really his body sending out an intense signal to replenish his energy. Bai Yi could more or less guess what was happening, it was the special energy.


    Any ability wouldn¡¯t have an effect for no reason, Bai Yi¡¯s eyes had already gone through three stages.


    First Stage: Awakening.


    When Martin died, all the blood in Bai Yi¡¯s body started boiling. Perhaps, this was what Yeye referred to as deep-level fusion. At that time, Bai Yi¡¯s eyes changed for the first time, maximizing the effect of the warning and protective coloration of the colored patterns on his body through his eyes.


    Second Stage: When Bai Yi heard the death of Hong Qi Hua.


    At that time, his eyes that had not awakened for too long evolved again. It did not just enhance the intimidation of his warning coloration and the befuddlement of his protective coloration, it also developed a simple hypnotic power. However, due to overuse and multiple evolutions of his eyes in a short period of time, Bai Yi¡¯s eyes lost their vision for a month. They had only recovered recently.


    Third Stage: When he was almost torn to pieces by Woolf.


    He couldn¡¯t describe how he had felt back then, but overall, he just absolutely didn¡¯t want to die in the hands of his teammate for no reason. He didn¡¯t have that kind of intense dissatisfaction or desire, he just felt that he shouldn¡¯t die at this time when he still had so many regrets.


    Perhaps Bai Yi¡¯s body had already evolved to this stage, or perhaps it was just responding to his wishes. Nonetheless, the special energy within his body had automatically gathered toward his eyes, enhancing the power of his eyes by another step.


    Just like how humans are unable to manipulate their own strength freely, but with greater mastery, their power would still automatically gather at their fist without difficulty. In comparison, special energy was just very foreign and unfamiliar to everybody, to reach the same level of usage as their physical strength would probably require some deep level of sensing or stimulation.


    It was just like how intense physical activity would drain a person¡¯s strength and make them hungry. After expending his special energy, Bai Yi felt hungry as well, extremely hungry!


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t dare to imagine how much special energy he had consumed from just the 10 or so seconds of using of his eyes. Apparently, the consumption of special energy didn¡¯t seem to have the same limitations as using physical strength. As long as the body needed it, perhaps this special energy could erupt and be used all at once. Maybe this was the reason Bentham was so powerful.


    ¡­¡­


    While Bai Yi was thinking about the changes to his eyes, on the other side, Woolf was already getting very friendly with the newcomers. They found that although Woolf looked just like a fat dragon now, his personality was at least like a human, and he was also quite nonsensical. After a while, everyone started to get familiar with each other.


    These special forces took out their own food. It was all dry rations like some canned food; they offered Woolf to share the food with them as well. Woolf did not reject them and used two fingers to pick up a can. If he really wanted to use this to stave off hunger, would all the food on them right now even be enough?


    ¡°Just one is enough, I won¡¯t be full from eating things like this. You guys can just wait to enjoy Bai Yi¡¯s feast later, he¡¯s a chef.¡± Woolf said as he carefully grabbed a canned food, reminiscing about the taste in the past.


    This squad knew that Woolf wasn¡¯t lying either, that bit of food that they had now compared to Woolf¡¯s huge size didn¡¯t even seem enough to get stuck in his teeth (TN: Chinese idiom, means very little food). At this time, Bai Yi just happened to be cooking the carcass that the rat monsters had given them. Since it was a gift, then it wouldn¡¯t be too small. The carcass was more than 6 meters tall. It looked somewhat like a badger, but its identity wasn¡¯t actually important now, they only had to know that this thing could be eaten¡­Even if that thing was a human.


    That¡¯s right, human!


    It was just that nobody said it explicitly. Take Woolf for example. If he walked outside now, he wouldn¡¯t be thought of as a human either. If somebody really killed him, he would definitely be treated like monster meat. There could be no other possibility, it was just this primordial and cruel in New Zealand now.


    Seeing that everyone in Bai Yi¡¯s group was injured, the only female in the special forces squad came out wanting to help Bai Yi out. Under the shocked eyes of the soldiers, Bai Yi practically finished cooking the entire monster. It took more than two hours, though of course, that was also because the conditions here weren¡¯t that good.


    ¡°Can you guys even eat so much?¡± Anna asked.


    ¡°En, it¡¯s enough,¡± Bai Yi said. He put a giant thigh meat inside a metal basin he found in the room and poured enough meat broth inside before bringing it outside. At this time, many rat monsters were attracted over here by the smell of food. If not for Bai Yi¡¯s group still maintaining their composure, the special forces squad would have probably attacked long ago.


    ¡°Help me send this to your boss.¡± Under everyone¡¯s puzzled eyes, Bai Yi put the metal basin in front of a seemingly smarter looking rat monster and turned around.


    After Bai Yi left, a few rat monsters immediately wanted to get a taste, but they were all chased away by that rat monster he picked. Bai Yi paid attention to everything from the corner of his eyes, confirming his deduction that the intelligence of these rat monsters wasn¡¯t lower than that of a normal child anymore.

 Chapter 99

    The specials forces looked at Bai Yi¡¯s group with shock. Their eyes were wide open and their mouths agape. They were initially worried that Ba Yi¡¯s group wouldn¡¯t be able to finish the food. Wasn¡¯t their appetite really too much? Putting aside Woolf with the largest figure, the one with the greatest appetite was actually not him but Bai Yi. They only saw Bai Yi eating non-stop, stuffing all the food in his mouth. Despite so much food on the table, it was all very quickly swallowed in these people¡¯s stomachs.


    Not just the adults, but even Momo who was not even a meter tall ate more than what the special forces ate in total.


    In truth, the special forces who they had just met were not the only ones shocked, even Woolf and the others felt shocked. Bai Yi¡¯s appetite was very abnormal, he definitely did not eat so much normally.


    However, nobody said anything. They didn¡¯t intend to dumbly tell everyone about the secret of Bai Yi¡¯s body. Of course, everyone knew that Bai Yi had his own considerations, he would definitely tell these people some information about the activated cells to exchange for some other information.


    While everyone was still in a state of shock, they quickly finished all the food on the table. Brod and his team looked at Bai Yi in amazement. The one who ate the most was him, but where did all that food go to? After eating so much, Bai Yi¡¯s stomach only bloated by a bit, and there were practically no changes. This doesn¡¯t make sense! That amount of food could even fill a few buckets.


    Only Bai Yi knew, it was too fast!


    The rate of digestion was too fast, the food got broken down the moment it entered his stomach, transforming into special energy. This kind of transformation was even faster and more efficient than a lifeform¡¯s usual metabolism.Perhaps, it was due to his body¡¯s urgent need for energy. Bai Yi silently felt the changes in his body and stuffed another piece of fat meat into his mouth.


    ¡°Do you guys always eat so much?¡± Anna asked in amazement.


    ¡°More or less, do you guys know what¡¯s happening in New Zealand?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°A mysterious virus appeared in New Zealand, making lifeforms fuse with genes from each other as well as becoming violent. In the New Zealand of now, there aren¡¯t many normal lifeforms anymore, most of them have turned into monsters.¡± Anna said, and looked at Bai Yi¡¯s group. Apparently, they were the monsters that Anna was talking about.


    ¡°The explanation outside is a mysterious virus?¡± Although they knew long ago that those countries wouldn¡¯t tell the public the truth, Bai Yi¡¯s group still couldn¡¯t help but sneer after hearing this explanation.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s a mysterious virus. Why?¡±


    Hearing Anna¡¯s question, Bai Yi did not say much. Instead, hewaved his hand at Mavis, who took out that thick notebook. The notebook recorded information about the activated cells, from the Nascent Stage all the way to the Metamorphose Stage. Bai Yi intended to reveal this rough information in the notebook to the people that they would meet along the way. That¡¯s right, Bai Yi never intended to keep these things a secret.


    The Progenitor sincerely asked Bai Yi to do something, but he himself did not know what exactly he should do.


    However, he must at least let everyone know what had happened to themselves!


    Moreover, Bai Yi was never the kind of egomaniac that wanted to control everything in his hands or wanted to accomplish everything by himself. The only outcome to that was nothing getting accomplished. Regarding the activated cells, regarding the evolved lifeforms, it was all an extremely complex topic. The safe path to evolve should be determined and thought out by all the evolved lifeforms.


    Without talking about anything else, just the information that plants or animals needed to calm their minds during the LV1-2 Binging Phase couldn¡¯t be found by just himself. It was best for all the evolved humans and lifeforms to slowly research this together.


    Anyway, even if Bai Yi was slightly stronger than the majority of people now, he still knew his own limits. He couldn¡¯t act like he was using a hack in a video game, knowing everything and being able to do anything.


    Brod accepted the notebook doubtfully and carefully looked at it. The more he read, the more solemn his expression became. The other members of the special forces also looked at the contents and became more and more shocked.


    ¡°This is reason behind New Zealand¡¯s transformation?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±


    ¡°How are you guys so sure?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s up to you to believe it or not.¡± Bai Yi raised his eyebrows slightly and didn¡¯t say anything more.


    ¡°I won¡¯t ask about why you guys are here, but can we know about the situation outside? This isn¡¯t too much, right? In exchange, I will tell you guys some ways to survive in New Zealand now,¡± Bai Yi said to them while they were still in shock over reading the contents of the notebook.


    ¡°If it¡¯s just about the situation outside, that¡¯s fine.¡± Anna agreed before Brod could say anything.


    ¡°Then, what exactly is happening outside now?¡±


    ¡°Ever since New Zealand changed more than two months ago, every country started to guard their shores very seriously, but the country that is the most wary is still Australia. The entire southern coast of Australia is under martial law now and is strictly isolated. From the looks of it now, although activated cells have the reinfection capability, it still can¡¯t reanimate corpses. As such,it¡¯s still relatively easier to quarantine and isolate. So far, things are basically under control.¡± Brod saw that Anna had already agreed so he started talking. Anyway, these things weren¡¯t some secret.


    ¡°Just Australia?¡±


    ¡°Of course not, just that Australia is the closest to New Zealand. New Zealand is located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, so although the activated cells seem to be spreading in the ocean, the effects of it haven¡¯t manifested so quickly. Moreover, even if somebody accidentally ate something that assimilated with activated cells and got infected, it can be controlled very quickly as well. This is because it isn¡¯t a zombie virus. It won¡¯t spread from the corpses, and people won¡¯t lose their rationality either. In reality, it isn¡¯t too different from an infectious disease, so it isn¡¯t too hard to deal with,¡± Anna explained in detail.


    Infectious disease?


    To think of it, other than the gene fusion capabilities of activated cells, based on just its infectious capabilities, it really wasn¡¯t too different from a normal infectious disease. Additionally, it was not even as infectious as those more serious diseases.


    ¡°That is to say, other than New Zealand, there aren¡¯t many changes in the other countries?¡±


    ¡°En, overall, there aren¡¯t many changes. However, the majority of the public is very concerned about New Zealand¡¯s situation. You must know, there hasn¡¯t been any information coming out of New Zealand for the past two months, so everyone is very curious,¡± Anna said. It wasn¡¯t just the majority of the public, practically everyone was very curious. At the start, they had the choice to accept this mission or not, but even they decided to come here because of the curiosity in their hearts.


    ¡°So it¡¯s like that.¡± Bai Yi nodded. It seemed liked every country was already prepared for something like this.


    ¡°By the way, do you guys know about what happened to the people who managed to get out of New Zealand?¡± Bai Yi asked. When they heard this question, Bai Yi saw that two of them had blank looks on their faces, two of them were calm, and only Anna stiffened slightly.


    ¡°As for this question, we aren¡¯t sure either. We don¡¯t even know if there was anybody who managed to get out of New Zealand,¡± Anna said carefully.


    ¡°Then let me phrase this differently, how did the outside world quarantine and stop the activated cells from spreading?¡±


    ¡°Capture and isolated imprisonment.¡± This wasn¡¯t a secret either.


    Isolated imprisonment, it was probably not too different from how an experimental subject was treated. Bai Yi¡¯s group finally knew now. In this situation, they definitely could not leave New Zealand, they would definitely not have a good outcome after getting out.


    After this, they exchanged some more information again. Bai Yi¡¯s group got to know more of the outside world, while Brod¡¯s squad asked about information regarding New Zealand. They revealed some things to each other while hiding other things, but overall, they were quite satisfied with the exchange. Brod¡¯s squad slowly relaxed from their initial tension and nervousness as well. No matter when, looking strange wasn¡¯t scary, what they feared most was if they were unable to communicate rationally.


    In reality, there were many monster movies in the world, wasn¡¯t there quite a lot of fans of those monsters that could talk?


    From the start till end, Bai Yi¡¯s group did not ask them why they had come to New Zealand.


    Brod was also seemingly satisfied over Bai Yi¡¯s tacit understanding. If he really asked about this, then they probably couldn¡¯t get along so amiably like now. Moreover, Bai Yi¡¯s group revealed many things as well. They couldn¡¯t confirm how accurate these things were, but if they were all true then it was really a huge matter. They understood the importance of this information more than normal people.


    However, how would they know Bai Yi¡¯s intentions? This was all information that Bai Yi had already wanted to tell all evolved humans, letting all evolved humans find a way to survive for themselves. Maybe, they would need the information that other people discovered in the future.


    On the second day, the special forces squad said their goodbyes to Bai Yi¡¯s group, preparing to go and carry out that mission of theirs.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°I don¡¯t get it at all, what a one-track mind. Why are they still going to carry out some mission at this time? Aren¡¯t they scared of death?¡± Woolf said in frustration as he saw the soldiers walk into the distance.


    ¡°That¡¯s why they are soldiers, while we are normal people,¡± Bai Yi said.


    These special forces trained by the country would naturally not give up on their mission so easily. Although the helicopter was already destroyed, there were still five people remaining in their squad. Perhaps, in their eyes, five people were already enough to do many things.


    ¡°Ok then, they already left. Let me tell you about my experience yesterday.¡± Bai Yi pointed to his eyes. Bai Yi told them about his experience of the special energy yesterday. He was still unable to actively manipulate the special energy, but if they could passively move it while using some ability, it would still be a significant increase to their strength.


    After Bai Yi told Woolf, this guy immediately grabbed his greatsword and tried hard to exert his strength. However, this squatting and shitting posture of his immediately made everyone burst out in laughter.


    Woolf tried to exert himself for a long while, but he didn¡¯t feel anything at all. It was the same for Mavis and the rest. Everyone was thinking hard, just how were they supposed to move this special energy? Heloise looked at Bai Yi¡¯s eyes, and thought about Bentham back at the research facility again, seemingly¡­this was different from how they usually exerted their muscles!

 Chapter 100

    ¡°We¡¯re staying here again?¡± Woolf said in surprise.


    ¡°En, we already wanted to stay here at the start. The only reason we moved was because we were worried that the people inside the helicopter and hence other countries would notice us. However, since Brod¡¯s helicopter was destroyed, there is no need to leave anymore,¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°Oh right!¡±


    ¡°But Bai Yi why do the things you decide not turn out well nowadays? Whatever decision you make just gets overturned in a short while. After you change it, you have to change it back again. You¡¯re not going to say that we need to leave later, right?¡± Woolf teased. Bai Yi always did things methodically, it was hard to see Bai Yi groping around at a loss like this.


    ¡°Ha, I don¡¯t have a choice too, things won¡¯t happen for the sake of my convenience. After consolidating all the information, the choices I made just happened to make us come and go like this.¡± Bai Yi laughed at this too.


    ¡­¡­


    The group stayed here simply, recuperating and taking the chance to learn Tai Ji Fist. The Tai Ji Fist was easy to learn but hard to master. After practicing for a few days, even Bai Yi¡¯s mastery was at a very shallow level. He could only go through a few of the movements accurately, but only a genius would know if it was useful at all.


    Because he still couldn¡¯t sense the existence of the soul!


    Even if it was useful, he couldn¡¯t sense it himself. This was why humans got stuck on the problem of the soul for a long time, and they couldn¡¯t reach a conclusion up until recently.


    Bai Yi stopped his practice and the Rat King ¡®Wuzhi¡¯ (TN: I think ¡®wuzhi¡¯ is probably the sound that the Rat King makes, so the MC just named it Wuzhi) cried out at Bai Yi cheerfully from the side. Bai Yi¡¯s group and the rat monsters could be considered to be getting along peacefully. From time to time, Rat King Wuzhi would send some prey over, exchanging it for some cooked food from Bai Yi. Bai Yi¡¯s group realized that these rats had already learned how to use fire. However, they had just started to learn how to use it. As such, it couldn¡¯t be said that these monsters who were originally rats had learned how to cook. Their intelligence still hadn¡¯t reached such a ridiculous level.


    ¡°Hey, Wuzhi!¡± Bai Yi waved at Wuzhi.


    ¡°Wuzhi, zhi zhi!¡± Although they were smarter now, they still couldn¡¯t speak the human language, so when they opened their mouths it was still a rat¡¯s squeak.


    Honestly speaking, if somebody were to tell Bai Yi that he could interact with a rat like this one day, he would definitely scoff at them. But now, it had really happened. There are already four abilities that the activated cells manifested: 1. Activated capabilities, production of special energy; 2. Gene fusion, fusing genes from other lifeforms resulting in great changes in the body; 3. Chain infection; 4. Human-like intelligence. Looking at these rat monsters and how Sharpei and Pupu behaved, Bai Yi could more or less guess why these evolved lifeforms would be so smart.


    The Progenitor!


    The Progenitor was human, and the activated cells in evolved lifeforms all came from the Progenitor. These evolved lifeforms seemed to be changing to become more human-like, becoming a human-like lifeform.


    Bai Yi did not know how much more their intelligence could grow. At least for now, they were still at the boundary between instinctual and rational, and couldn¡¯t be called an intelligent lifeform yet. Only very few of them could probably have an intelligence similar to a 7 or 8 year old kid. For example, among all these rats, probably only the Rat King Wuzhi and about 10 other rat monsters were this smart, the rest were all still wild beasts.


    The Rat King¡¯s subordinates were carrying a leather bag that stunk tremendously, but the fact that these rat monsters could make something like this was already very amazing.


    Bai Yi opened the leather bag and saw some plants inside. They were all things that Wuzhi¡¯s subordinates found normally.


    Wuzhi immediately tried to explain simply, and his subordinates tried to help by acting out whatever he was explaining. After a while, the few of them finally understood what the rough usage of these plants were. Theres were some that tasted strange, there were some that would make a person swell after eating it, there were some that would kill upon consumption, and there were some that would cause the lifeform to enter a state of confusion. These rat monsters were transformed from rats, so they inherited the habits of rats as well. During the Binging Phase, they ate everything and ended up testing the effects of these plants.


    Mavis grabbed a light purple vine and looked at Wuzhi with a questioning face.


    Wuzhi squeaked, and immediately a rat monster about the size of a cat ran out. It ate that light purple vine in a few mouthfuls. The moment it consumed the vine, the little rat monster started to sway around like it was practicing the Drunken Fist. Not even a minute later, it fell onto the floor, sound asleep. So this plant had the ability to make a lifeform fall asleep, and it seemed to be very powerful too. A look of delight appeared on Mavis¡¯ face, and she let Wuzhi make his subordinates try various other types of plants.


    The rat monsters that discovered these plants immediately ran out, trying these plants one by one. As long as it didn¡¯t kill them, these rat monsters wouldn¡¯t be afraid of eating these things.


    After a short while, there were 6 rat monsters that displayed various weird conditions.


    Mavis looked at the symptoms of these rats and analyzed them. She then studied the effects of these plants and consolidated the results. Only Mavis was experienced in this area, the rest of them were all unfamiliar with natural herbs and ingredients. Luckily, Mavis was a doctor, so she knew a bit more than the rest.


    This was the reason why Bai Yi didn¡¯t mind the rat monsters being around. With the rat monsters helping them to find out the effects of these things, it could save them a lot of trouble and effort.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, you guys can eat here today.¡± Bai Yi gestured for Wuzhi to head inside the tidied-up house.


    Wuzhi¡¯s subordinates immediately jumped around in excitement. This included the few that had tested the plants and were tormented immensely. While their intelligence had increased, at the same time, their habits became more and more human-like. When they were simply rats before, would these guys know what it meant to eat delicious food?


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Bai Yi, is this really ok?¡± Heloise said when Wuzhi and the bunch of rats left.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°They were rats before!¡± Heloise said seriously.


    ¡°I know this of course, but why does it matter? At least for now, we aren¡¯t that different from each other. Don¡¯t we all look like monsters too?¡± Bai Yi naturally knew that Wuzhi and his subordinates had definitely killed many people before but so what? Bai Yi wasn¡¯t that kind of racist person, or rather ¡®speciest¡¯ in this case. No matter what species Wuzhi was from, at least now they got along well with Bai Yi¡¯s group and had helped them a lot as well. Bai Yi naturally would not repay kindness with evil.


    ¡°Anyway, if they really can maintain their rational state like they now, there¡¯s nothing bad about getting along with them peacefully. As for the future, who can know so much?¡± Bai Yi said and headed inside.


    Everyone understood what Bai Yi meant, these evolved lifeforms had become smarter during this period, but it probably wouldn¡¯t last for long. After a few more months, they would probably enter the Brutal Phase. None of them dared to imagine just how chaotic New Zealand would become when it came to that.


    No matter what, it still felt quite strange dining together with rats.


    However, just like Bai Yi said, Rat King Wuzhi had already expressed his good-will. Were they still supposed to hack at them with their blades? Nobody in Bai Yi¡¯s team seemed to be able to do this kind of thing.


    After entering the room, Bai Yi found that Mavis was tidying up the records of those plants. The rest of them were looking at her; this information could prove to be useful in the future.


    ¡°Let Wuzhi¡¯s subordinates bring us to the place where this vine grows tomorrow,¡± Mavis said, pointing to the light purple vine.


    This vine was the plant that cause the little rat to fall into a deep sleep.


    Over these few days, everyone discovered that entering a deep level of sleep was indeed useful for stabilizing their brutal state. However, they realized that the longer they slept, the harder it became to even fall asleep, not to mention deep-level sleep. If not for Bai Yi¡¯s hypnosis, they wouldn¡¯t even have this kind of sleeping state now. However, Bai Yi wasn¡¯t omnipotent, his eyes couldn¡¯t be overused either. Every night, he would hypnotise two of them, letting them enter a deep level of sleep to balance the incongruence between the body and the soul.


    ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡­¡­


    On the second day, Wuzhi brought a bunch of his lackeys and Bai Yi¡¯s group to where they found the vine. Wuzhi¡¯s intelligence was quite good now, and the more he interacted with Bai Yi¡¯s group, the smarter he became. From how much Bai Yi¡¯s group valued this thing, he knew that this thing was quite important. While helping them to find this plant, he remembered this plant in his heart.


    Even the Tai Ji Fist, Wuzhi went back and tried to imitate them to practice it. However, without anybody to teach him, nobody knew what his Tai Ji Fist would become like.


    Very quickly, under the guidance of the rats that found the light purple vine, they came upon this plant again.


    It was a giant purple vine, growing inside a concave depression in the ground. It was about 40-50 meters tall, wrapping itself around a giant tree. Before they even got close, all of them could smell a faint rotting odor, though none of them knew what it was. After confirming that there was no danger, they finally approached it to observe it up close. This vine didn¡¯t seem to be dangerous, at least, it wasn¡¯t like the carnivorous beanstalk that Bai Yi¡¯s group had encountered before.


    ¡°Are there still any plants like this nearby?¡± Mavis asked, and after gesturing for a long time, Wuzhi¡¯s subordinates finally understood and shook their heads.


    ¡°There are no other such plants nearby, so this is apparently an example of a mutant.¡± Mavis concluded.


    ¡°Normally speaking, the one who discovered something for the first time has the right to name it,¡± Mavis said. However, this time, none of the rats understood what she had said. Do you think a bunch of rats would understand what naming is? It was still more realistic to ask them to find something to eat.


    ¡°Let¡¯s call it the Black Wisteria then,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Sure!¡± Mavis nodded, and recorded the name down in her notebook. This name was simple, and the Black Wisteria was quite similar to Wuzhi¡¯s name as well. This way, it wasn¡¯t considered to be stealing Wuzhi¡¯s credit. Wuzhi didn¡¯t seem to understand what was going on, but it seemed like a good thing? (TN: So the ¡®wu¡¯ in wuzhi¡¯s name can be a sound effect but it can also mean ¡®black¡¯, so they used part of wuzhi¡¯s name to name the plant.)


    At this time, the ground below Woolf¡¯s feet suddenly gave way and he sunk into the ground. Everyone saw Woolf trying to climb back up in a panic, and suddenly realized that this little depression in the ground was actually a mini swamp.


    ¡°Damn it, why I am so unlucky. What is this even, it pierced the skin on my hand,¡± Woolf muttered, throwing away the random thing that he had tried to grab onto while climbing up.


    Bai Yi walked over and picked up the long rod-shaped object covered in mud. The object was more than a meter in length and he wiped off all the mud on it. Under the mud, there was a tooth with a slight metallic sheen.

 Chapter 101

    Chapter 101: Fang Sword


    ¡°What is this?¡± Woolf thought he had accidentally grabbed onto something good.


    ¡°A fang!¡± Bai Yi said, and wiped away the mud on the grass nearby.


    This was probably a fang from some animal, and it should belong to an experimental monster. The evolved lifeforms in New Zealand shouldn¡¯t have reached this level yet. Bai Yi held the fang, and suddenly a thought went through his mind. This fang had a slight curvature to it; other than the shape, it wasn¡¯t too different from a sword. Bai Yi had lost his broadsword for a long time. Since he hadn¡¯t prepared any backups either, he didn¡¯t have a suitable weapon to use in New Zealand now.


    However, since New Zealand had already turned into this state, then was it possible to use materials from the evolved lifeforms to create weapons?


    ¡°Momo, lend me the short sword.¡±


    ¡°Orh.¡± Momo obediently passed the short knife to Bai Yi.


    Bai Yi received the short knife and forcefully used the back of his knife to try and cut the fang sword. Just as Bai Yi had guessed, the hardness of this fang was astounding, and there wasn¡¯t even a single scratch on it. It was easy to imagine how hard the teeth of these monsters were. For example, if something like the Great Devil Snake didn¡¯t have a set of good teeth, how did it bite through almost anything?


    ¡°Bai Yi, what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°This thing can be used as a weapon, and my sword has been lost for a long time as well,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°But this fang isn¡¯t too suitable, let¡¯s try and look if there are any more fangs below,¡± Bai Yi said, planning to do it himself. However, Wuzhi¡¯s actions were even faster. Rats were originally good at burrowing holes, and even when they turned into monsters they still retained this habit. A few of the rat monsters ran over and dug into the edge of the swamp that Woolf had fallen into previously. They, pushed the soil to the side and quickly revealed the giant skeleton of the monster that had died in here.


    The roots of the Black Wisteria wrapped around the skeleton of this monster. In addition to the sludge that dyed the skeleton black, they really couldn¡¯t tell what kind of monster this was. However, there wasn¡¯t much use even if they managed to identify it because everyone could more or less guess that the mutation of the Black Wisteria was probably related to it. The Black Wisteria had likely absorbed the flesh and blood of this monster.


    Woolf used the back of his sword to knock out the few remaining teeth of this monster. Bai Yi picked carefully among the few fangs left. Actually, there wasn¡¯t much need to think too much, the best teeth he could pick were the two fangs similar to the canines of a sabertooth tiger. The fang poked out of the monster¡¯s mouth and was roughly 1.3 meters in length. It was slightly flat in its shape, and there was a sparkling crystal-like metallic sheen on its surface. Even these people who did not understand monster materials well could tell that these two fangs were very decent.


    He picked up the two fang swords and passed one of them to Wuzhi. After that, everyone filled up the hole again. If this Black Wisteria had mutated because of this monster, then it was best not to do anything to affect it.


    While Bai Yi acquired a fang sword, Mavis also harvested some Black Wisteria and stored it carefully. She needed to go back and test its medicinal properties later. The little rat monster that had tried this yesterday seemed to be in some discomfort and didn¡¯t follow them here today. Although the Black Wisteria had the ability to induce sleep, it could also have some side effects.


    Everyone went back together as Wuzhi held the fang sword that Bai Yi gave him, not knowing what to do with it. Although Wuzhi was quite smart, he was still more used to using his teeth while fighting normally. Additionally, their two incisors were quite strong as well now. They rarely used weapons, and they never seemed to use other objects as their weapons before. In the end, Wuzhi decided to learn from Bai Yi and follow whatever he did with the fang sword.


    After returning to the city, everyone had their own things to do.


    Bai Yi found a grinding wheel in the city of Taihape and wanted to grind this fang sword into a suitable long sword. Woolf and the others practiced the Tai Ji Fist and blade skills diligently, but they would come and fool around at Bai Yi¡¯s side from time to time. Mavis tested the medicinal properties of the various new plants that she had collected and their uses, while Momo explored the city. After these rat monsters got to know Momo, they didn¡¯t attack her at all. Moreover, with Sharpei protecting her, Bai Yi wasn¡¯t really worried.


    ¡°Daddy, daddy!¡± When Bai Yi was grinding the fang sword, Momo suddenly ran back and shouted loudly.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Bai Yi looked over and saw that there was nothing wrong with Momo and involuntarily relaxed.


    ¡°A little rat was born; a little rat was born!¡± Momo said hurriedly, appearing very excited.


    En? Bai Yi heard her and couldn¡¯t help but feel a great curiosity. A little rat was born? To think of it, there wasn¡¯t a single normal looking rat left in the city now. Bai Yi had initially thought that the food chain in New Zealand would break sooner or later if nobody could reproduce but unexpectedly, reproduction was still possible. Just what did the baby rat that was born from these random messy looking rat monsters look like?


    Bai Yi felt extremely curious and went with Momo toward the rat monster that gave birth to the baby rat. Along the way, Heloise heard of this matter too and followed them.


    ¡°What kind of baby rat would be born? Do you think it will look weird the moment it¡¯s born?¡± Heloise asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Bai Yi shook his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s not! It¡¯s just a baby rat, just like the little rats we saw at home last time,¡± Momo turned her head and answered.


    Just when Bai Yi and Heloise were surprised, the few of them reached a house by a small alley. This house was relatively short and also seemed quite dark. Apparently, these rats did not forget their habits of burrowing holes. Even when they had grown to such a big size now, they still liked to stay in a cave-like place. This rat monster even more so stayed in the basement of this house. This rat apparently recognized them. When it saw Bai Yi appearing it did not attack him but just focused on looking after its few new born babies.


    From the dim light around them, they saw a bunch of baby rats about the size of Momo¡¯s fist. They were squeezed in the corner of the cave-like basement. Bai Yi walked over and the rat monster that had just beoame a mum immediately bared its teeth at Bai Yi.


    Bai Yi immediately stopped himself. Although this rat monster knew him, its primal instincts were still stronger than its rationality. This was especially so when this rat monster had just become a mother. Bai Yi took a step back, and the expression on the mother rat finally relaxed. Bai Yi and Heloise looked at the bunch of baby rats by the side, feeling stunned in their hearts.


    ¡°They are actually rats!¡± Heloise said with a face of disbelief.


    ¡°They were rats all along.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mean that, I mean¡­nevermind, you are doing this on purpose,¡± Heloise wanted to explain, but looking at Bai Yi¡¯s teasing eyes, she knew that he had understood long ago. Bai Yi wasn¡¯t the dumb idiot that Woolf was, how could he not understand what she meant?


    This rat monster was already more than a meter long. Its size was not too different from a normal human female but it also displayed many characteristics of other animals. Their appearance now wouldn¡¯t let anybody think of a rat, but the 8 baby rats that she gave birth to were¡­really just baby rats, without any characteristics of other animals.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Bai Yi couldn¡¯t continue disturbing the mother rat as well, so they left after leaving some food as a compensation for disturbing it.


    At this time, both Bai Yi and Heloise were thinking, why was it that the baby rats that were born did not have any characteristics of other animals? Would these baby rats fuse with genes from other lifeforms and grow into monsters too or would they stay in this form forever? All in all, with the abrupt interception of the activated cells into the ecosphere of New Zealand, no one truly knew what this country would become like in the future.


    Going back to their place, Bai Yi continued grinding his fang sword. However, after more than a week of grinding, Bai Yi finally gave up.


    This fang sword was really made of some mysterious material, its hardness wasn¡¯t even inferior to the broadsword that Bai Yi owned previously. The grinding wheel grinded its surface but all it could do was to polish it. It was completely impossible to grind the fang sword into the shape that he wanted. However, Bai Yi felt quite happy about this even in his disappointment, the more it was like this, the more it proved the quality of this fang sword. It was just that without grinding the fang into the shape of sword, it felt more unwieldy.


    Mavis had already completed her research into the medicinal properties of the Black Wisteria. After combining a few other plants with it, she had finally managed to develop a sleeping drug that was relatively safer. Bai Yi filled a few test tubes with this drug and passed the rest to Wuzhi.


    At this time, due to Bai Yi hypnotising them to enter a deep sleep to rebalance their body and soul every night, Woolf and Sharpei finally seemed to be more normal now.


    It was time to leave!


    Bai Yi thought in his heart. In more than a month, nobody had actually passed through this city of Taihape at all, so they couldn¡¯t afford to continue staying in this city.


    After knowing that Bai Yi¡¯s group was going to leave, Wuzhi was seemingly quite reluctant for them to go. However, he was only somewhat reluctant, there weren¡¯t any other emotions. When Bai Yi¡¯s group left, practically every rat monster in the city came to send them off. This kind of grand farewell ceremony actually made them feel overwhelmed by the favour they were receiving.


    ¡°Wuzhi, if you trust me, find a safe place every night and drink a bit of the Black Wisteria fluid,¡± Bai Yi said softly to Wuzhi when he was leaving. Black Wisteria fluid of course referred to the drug developed through the combination of the Black Wisteria and several other plants. This drug had a strong ability to induce sleep. Although its effect wasn¡¯t as good as Bai Yi¡¯s hypnosis, it still had a certain level of effect on rebalancing the body and soul.


    Wuzhi looked at Bai Yi in puzzlement. Bai Yi didn¡¯t explain more either, waving his hand and leaving with the rest of his team.


    Although Wuzhi knew that Bai Yi¡¯s group valued the Black Wisteria greatly, he didn¡¯t understand what use it had exactly. Wuzhi was smarter now, but if Bai Yi tried to explain to him things about the physical body or soul, Bai Yi would probably think that he had become retarded. Although Wuzhi didn¡¯t understand these things, it still didn¡¯t obstruct his admiration and learning from Bai Yi¡¯s group.


    Drink a bit of Black Wisteria fluid every day!

 Chapter 102

    Chapter 102: Reverse Flower Eye


    In this one month, Bai Yi¡¯s group scavenged many useful things from the city like a compass, maps, solar battery powered flashlight, semiconductor radio, and more¡­there were many things that were very useful to them in their journey.


    ¡°Bai Yi, is this thing spoilt?¡± Woolf fiddled with the semiconductor radio.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe it¡¯s spoilt,¡± Bai Yi patronized Woolf lazily.


    The semiconductor radio wasn¡¯t damaged in the least, but nobody could get it to receive any signals after fiddling with it for very long. If this item wasn¡¯t small and didn¡¯t take up much space, Woolf would have probably thrown it away long ago.


    Bai Yi was teaching Momo how to write in both English and Chinese right now. Although the environment in New Zealand was currently extremely cruel, Bai Yi did not think that they would stay in this kind of world forever. There would definitely be a day where Momo would enter a peaceful and safe society. Obviously, he wouldn¡¯t let Momo be illiterate when that day came.


    It had been a week since leaving Taihape, and they had walked a long distance as well. After leaving the city, Bai Yi¡¯s group realized that the New Zealand of now had not become dead and silent. Instead, it became even brighter and more vibrant, while various gene-fused monsters were being very active. Of course, if they did not have sufficient power, this kind of activeness was actually fatal.


    After a short while, Heloise, Warner, and Pupu returned, carrying with them many prepared ingredients. It wasn¡¯t just meat, they had recently discovered some fruits and vegetables that were edible. Next would be for Woolf to display his cooking skills. That¡¯s right, it was Woolf cooking now. In conditions like this now, it didn¡¯t make too much of a difference who cooked and without ingredients, Bai Yi couldn¡¯t produce any special delicacies either. After spending such a long time in the wild, it wasn¡¯t just Bai Yi cooking all the time, everyone could create not too bad food now.


    Woolf threw the semiconductor radio into the monster skin bag and ran over.


    Just when the radio fell into the monster skin bag, a human voice suddenly came from it. This sudden voice immediately made everyone jump in fright. Woolf almost thought that he had somehow produced a human from throwing the radio. After a while, everyone looked at the radio inside the bag.


    Bai Yi walked over, picking up the radio. He carefully adjusted the frequency and the initially muffled voice gradually became clear.


    ¡°Humans have gathered and banded together at Huntsville. This place is very safe and there are sufficient weapons as well. No matter how you look like now, as long as you were human before, you can come to this place. Everyone will continue to survive together in this world¡­¡± This was the general message that the voice through the radio transmitted.


    Bai Yi opened the map and searched for a while, finally finding this place called Huntsville. It was a very small place, a small town in New Zealand before and it couldn¡¯t even be considered a city.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go and take a look,¡± Bai Yi said.


    Nobody had any objections, looking for other humans was their goal all along. After getting to know information about other humans, everyone¡¯s mood instantly became great. No matter what, more humans surviving also meant greater hope for everyone. In his joy, Bai Yi decided to cook again and prepared a bunch of food. Although Woolf could cook as well, there was still some difference between the food that he and Bai Yi cooked.


    ¡­¡­


    Huntsville was south of Taihape, they could reach this place just by walking along the Rangitikei River. Moreover, this was the direction that they were headed in all along. Perhaps it was because they were quite close to Huntsville that they managed to receive that radio signal. In less than a day, they managed to reach Huntsville.


    Suddenly, they heard the sounds of fighting and screaming in the distance, before they had even entered the small town.


    What happened?


    Bai Yi¡¯s group still thought that monsters had attacked this place, and immediately increased their speed, sprinting toward the small town. From the looks of it, the people here did not manage this place much, and the entire town was in ruins. They really couldn¡¯t see how this place was safe at all. However, now wasn¡¯t the time to think about this, and they rushed into the small town and found two groups of people fighting against each other.


    One of the groups had more than 20 people, and they all looked very ferocious. Meanwhile, the other side only had 5 people, and they similarly looked very ugly. Overall, there wouldn¡¯t be a single normal human left in New Zealand by now.


    3 of them from the group of 5 had already died, lying on the floor as the remaining 2 fought desperately. Especially the guy that looked like he had the head of a horse, he fought against his enemies without any regards for his life. However, the difference in numbers was just too huge, and the more than 20 people on the other side behaved like they were watching a show. If no accidents happened, then the 2 remaining people would be killed very quickly.


    The sudden appearance of Bai Yi¡¯s group made everyone surprised or a moment and a man more than 2 meters tall walked out from the group of 20.


    This guy looked like a bipedal tiger. The patterns of a tiger appeared all over his body, and there was even a giant pair of wings on his back. They knew with a glance that this pair of wings was completely different from Woolf¡¯s wings that were just for show. In other words, he should be able to fly. This guy looked very fierce, but he was very polite when speaking.


    ¡°I¡¯m very sorry, are you guys humans that came here after hearing the broadcast? We are hunting a few monsters that barged into the town. It really can¡¯t be helped, although we have decent battle power, the defence of this little town is still incomplete,¡± the tiger-headed man said.


    ¡°¡­¡­!¡±


    Bai Yi and the rest of his team looked at the people on the ground and the 2 still standing. The 3 people on the floor and the 2 still standing really didn¡¯t seem to be human at all. However, were there still any ¡®normal humans¡¯ in New Zealand now? If they were to talk about monsters, this group of more than 20 people standing on the side fooling around seemed even more sinister.


    ¡°Hnnnn, they¡­are not!¡± The horse-headed man immediately wanted to say something, but apparently, his transformation included even his throat. As such, he couldn¡¯t even produce a complete sentence. In this moment of anxiousness and urgency, his voice even carried a horse¡¯s neigh and other sounds.


    ¡°They are¡­!¡± At this moment, the other person still standing immediately started shouting loudly. However, he had only managed to speak half of his sentence before his opponent that already had an advantage behind him crunched his huge pincer together around his neck. Before he could finish his sentence, his head already flew into the air. This kind of covering up behaviour only made them more suspicious, but Bai Yi¡¯s group was too late even if they wanted to save him.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. Red Crab is too agitated, every time when hunting monsters, he would only be at ease if he finishes them off completely. That left hand of his was precisely bitten off by a monster due to his carelessness,¡± The tiger-headed man said. At this time, this guy that ripped the head off the other guy off took a step to the side. Indeed, he only had a huge pincer for his right arm, and his left arm was completely missing.


    ¡°That¡­¡±


    ¡°Perhaps we came at a bad time and happened to see the scene of you guys killing them. There¡¯s no need to continue with this kind of low-quality lie. It¡¯s very obvious that you guys used the broadcast to spread lies to attract humans seeking safety over here. Needless to say, your goal wasn¡¯t to provide a safe place but just to treat them as your prey, right?¡± Bai Yi massaged his temples lazily, seemingly not worried about the scene in front of him at all.


    The tiger-headed man heard Bai Yi¡¯s words and started laughing arrogantly. That¡¯s right, they would seem like clowns if they continued acting. Just like Bai Yi had said, their arrival was really too coincidental, or else they really could have continued acting.


    ¡°Looking at your attitude, you don¡¯t seem to be appalled by this behaviour, you guys killed people too, right? How is it, do you guys want to stay here? From time to time, there will always be idiots coming to this place. Compared to searching for food outside, this is much safer.¡± The tiger-headed man saw that Bai Yi had 5 people and 2 pets at his side. That group didn¡¯t seem to be easy to deal with. Although they had more than 20 people on their side, he didn¡¯t dare to say that he could kill all of them for sure, so he decided to change his attitude.


    The horse-headed man had initially thought that his saviour had arrived, but after hearing the tiger-headed man¡¯s words, he couldn¡¯t help but fall into despair.


    ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Bai Yi slowly exhaled a breath of air.


    Bai Yi opened his mouth. Just when everyone thought that he would agree, he suddenly revealed an incredibly innocent smile to the opposite side. That kind of innocence, freeness, and brightness instantly made the people on the other side feel like they had seen flowers blooming in spring but in the next instant ¨C ¡°Sorry!¡± Bai Yi¡¯s simple apology made everyone¡¯s face stiffen.


    ¡°HAHAHAHA!¡± On Bai Yi¡¯s side, everyone started to laugh without any regard for the danger in front of them.


    ¡°Hmph¡­that¡¯s too bad then.¡± The tiger-headed man got played by Bai Yi¡¯s actions, and he couldn¡¯t help but feel extremely angry when Bai Yi had suddenly rejected him like that. The tiger-headed man waved his right hand and the group of more than 20 people instantly charged toward them. Although they didn¡¯t manage to trick them and make them eat those herbs, would they be unable to deal with these few people with more than 20 of them?


    Bai Yi looked at this tiger-headed man, while an icy smile lingered on his face. When he charged toward him, Bai Yi didn¡¯t even flinch and went head-on against him.


    Reverse Flower Eyes!


    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes officially had a new name, the mimicry eyes before could only describe Bai Yi¡¯s eyes at the start. Moreover, the name of mimicry eyes too easily let others think of the source of Bai Yi¡¯s powers. After much discussion, Bai Yi officially changed the name of his eyes from mimicry eyes to the reverse flower eyes. When Bai Yi used his eye powers, it did look like a multi-colored flower blooming in reverse. Additionally, this name was sufficiently mysterious and domineering.


    The tiger-headed man charged toward Bai Yi, but with just a look from Bai Yi¡¯s eyes, his consciousness fell into a daze for a split second. After that, he didn¡¯t have a chance to wake up again. Bai Yi walked passed his body just like he was strolling, and the tip of his sharp fang sword pierced into the earhole of his opponent. In the New Zealand of now, normal vital areas could no longer be considered vital areas, so Bai Yi directly attacked the brain instead.


    With a soft ¡®puchi!¡¯, this tiger-headed man fell to the floor mysteriously, even until his death, he still did not understand what had happened.

 Chapter 103

    Chapter 103: The Hope Within


    The results were completely out of all of their expectations. The moment they clashed, the group of people who thought they had an advantage felt like they had kicked a steel board. Bai Yi¡¯s group all possessed incomparably shocking speed and strength. If they really had to compare, all of their strength could be compared to their Boss Tiger. However, just when this group of people tried to look for their Boss Tiger, they realized that he was already lying on the floor. The blood and brain matter flowing out of his earhole told them that he couldn¡¯t be more dead.


    So fast!


    There were still a few of them who saw the battle between Boss Tiger and Bai Yi. However, seeing it wasn¡¯t the same as understanding it. The guy with soft fur all over his body and still retained his human shape seemed like he was just strolling through a park.


    Elegance¡­that¡¯s right it¡¯s elegance!


    This thought suddenly arose in everyone¡¯s head. Bai Yi¡¯s actions were totally incongruent with battle and there wasn¡¯t any cruelty or bloodiness in it. That kind of sauntering gave everyone a feeling of elegance as if the entire battlefield was his backyard. Some of them couldn¡¯t believe their eyes and charged at Bai Yi. Despite this, all of them stopped just before reaching Bai Yi, waiting for him to walk past and take away their lives.


    Demon! At this time, everyone except those in Bai Yi¡¯s team thought this. Even though everyone had turned into monsters now, they didn¡¯t really have any special abilities. Bai Yi¡¯s powers just now had completely exceeded the realm of their understanding. This wasn¡¯t some fantasy world!


    In just a few dozen seconds, 7 or 8 people died from the opposing side. The rest of them started to mentally break down. Some guy who thought that he was smart saw that there was a little kid in the group and quickly rushed toward Momo. No matter if it was choosing an easy target to pick off or to take Momo as a hostage, both seemed to be the right decision now.


    His decision was actually correct, just like Bai Yi, Momo had only fused with butterfly genes and there weren¡¯t any changes in her body either. She was really the weakest in the team now, even weaker than a normal evolved human. However, Momo was the precious baby in the team. Everyone liked Momo a lot so how could they let something happen to her? Looking at this guy rushing toward Momo, nobody tried to stop him but revealed a look of sympathy.


    This guy charging toward Momo still wasn¡¯t aware of his pitiful fate. Bai Yi wouldn¡¯t protect Momo in his arms completely because he felt that she should learn how to fight as well. However, Bai Yi still wouldn¡¯t let Momo take too many risks, and some safeguards were still necessary. Right after he started charging toward Momo, Sharpei immediately ripped off one of his arms and crunched down on his thigh with his huge jaw. Sharpei had turned him into a practice partner for Momo. Now, he really couldn¡¯t run even if he wanted to. He didn¡¯t want to die but he couldn¡¯t harm Momo either. That huge, fierce-looking dog was still staring at him like a tiger watching its prey.


    Very quickly, the rest of them broke down mentally and started to run away. They couldn¡¯t see even the smallest possibility of victory in this battle. Obviously, they wouldn¡¯t just wait for their deaths here.


    ¡°Those who want to run away¡­die first!¡± Bai Yi said.


    Heloise immediately flew over and stopped the one who ran the fastest. After more than a month of practice in the open, she was already very proficient at flying. As if proving Bai Yi¡¯s words, the guy that ran the fastest was beheaded from behind by Heloise while he was defenseless. The strangely shaped head immediately flew into the air and the malodorous blood spurted out high up.


    The hearts of the people trying to escape squeezed tightly at this moment. They couldn¡¯t help but stop in their tracks


    These people didn¡¯t have a strong will from the start, and Bai Yi¡¯s voice had a bewitching effect now as well.


    ¡°What do you guys want?¡± one of them said in a panic. The remaining 10 plus people stopped and leaned their backs against each other, forming a defensive circle. So many of them had died even though they had the numerical advantage, it was really humiliating. However, the most important thing was that looking at how Bai Yi¡¯s group had killed people, they knew that they weren¡¯t some kind and na?ve souls, it was hard to say if they could live through this.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good question, what can a bunch of scum like you do even if I let you live?¡± Bai Yi pulled the fang sword out from the last resisting opponent and slowly walked over.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t pay attention to the group of people being surrounded at the center and walked toward the horse-headed guy.


    ¡°Can you still move?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you guys come earlier!¡± the horse-headed man shouted himself hoarse. His voice sounded very strange now but the speech still flowed. Tears flowed continuously from his eyes as he hugged his dead companions in great sorrow. ¡°Leeds, Faust¡­¡± This guy hugged the corpses of his companions, murmuring non-stop.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to blame you guys.¡± After a long while, this guy realized that his attitude at the start wasn¡¯t right and explained.


    ¡°No, we did come a little too late.¡± Bai Yi shook his head.


    ¡°Can you tell us what happened here exactly?¡± Bai Yi asked. Although he had some guesses, they were still guesses after all.


    The horse-head stabilized his mind and slowly told them everything that had happened. Actually, it wasn¡¯t too different from what they had guessed. This place wasn¡¯t some safe residence, it was just a trap. A bunch of desperate scum occupied this place and spread their lies through the radio.They tricked people who were hoping for safety and protection here. After tricking them into eating something, they would kill these monsters who were originally humans and use them as their food.


    Nobody would be able to tell if they were humans before in the New Zealand of now, these people probably wouldn¡¯t feel too bothered in their hearts over it.


    ¡°What did they feed you guys?¡± Bai Yi asked, but the horse-headed man apparently didn¡¯t know.


    ¡°Speak, what did you guys feed them?¡±


    Reverse Flower Eyes!


    Seeing that nobody spoke, his eyes changed in a moment and stared directly into the eyes of the person right in front of him. This guy immediately fell into a daze but he didn¡¯t answer Bai Yi¡¯s question. After a few seconds, Bai Yi closed his eyes and they returned to normal. Sure enough, his eyes hadn¡¯t become such a cheat yet. He did have a simple ability to befuddle and hypnotize people, but his ability still wasn¡¯t strong to the point that he could control others. Such as now, he wasn¡¯t able to hypnotize others to do as he wished.


    Anyway, it didn¡¯t matter if they didn¡¯t want to answer, they just had to investigate themselves.


    When Bai Yi was questioning the horse-headed man, Woolf and the rest tied the remaining 11 people up. It was quite funny when they thought of it. These nets and ropes were prepared by this bunch of scum themselves, but now it became the thing used to tie them up. Nobody resisted except for one who wanted to take Woolf by surprise when he came to tie him up, but Woolf ended up biting his head off in one mouth.


    Warm blood sprayed all over them, and the bloody scene in Woolf¡¯s mouth let all of them understand that this group of people in front of them weren¡¯t some kind souls. They might even be crueler than them.


    After tying everyone up, they entered the center of the small town and carefully investigated the area.


    Most of the houses inside were quite normal and were tidied up quite well too. After all, this group of people still needed to trick their original fellow humans, making them think that this was a safe place and making them lower their guards. However, following a faint smell of blood, they walked to a remote location. Bai Yi immediately saw a building that was originally a processing plant. More than 10 corpses of monsters that were originally human were slaughtered and placed on the meat racks. On top of the chopping board, there even a corpse of a young boy who hadn¡¯t changed much, looking to be around the same age as Momo.


    ¡°Kill them!¡± Bai Yi said icily.


    ¡°Yes!¡± At this time, nobody had any objections.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t love killing. If he really did, then he wouldn¡¯t have kept that bunch of people alive just now. However, it was hard to spare this kind of people. Seeing Bai Yi¡¯s group walking back out again, the 11 people opposite immediately felt extremely uneasy. They hoped that Bai Yi¡¯s group hadn¡¯t discovered their doings at the processing plant.


    ¡°A pity, but I can¡¯t allow you guys to continue to live,¡± Bai Yi said.


    After being stunned for a moment, the remaining 11 people immediately started to resist with all their strength. Despite this, what could they do at this point in time? They lost to Bai Yi¡¯s group from the start. Now that they were all tied up, how could they stop them? It couldn¡¯t be considered a battle, just judgment.


    All of them killed a scum each, even Momo sent her short sword into the chest of one of the scum.


    These guys roared ferociously, wanting to bite Momo. They probably never imagined that they would die at the hands of a small child. They suddenly felt that these people were really even more vicious than them. It was true that they were bad people, but Bai Yi¡¯s group had even trained a little kid to have the courage and resolution to kill people.


    Blood spurted out from the wound. Momo slowly pulled back her short sword and flicked it, getting rid of the dirty blood before she sheathed her sword again.


    Seeing Momo¡¯s solemn and composed look, Bai Yi actually felt a sense of helplessness and heartache. If he could, he really didn¡¯t want to bring Momo up like this either.


    ¡­¡­


    After burying all the corpses, Bai Yi¡¯s group asked the horse-headed man what plans he had now. Under this situation, they couldn¡¯t abandon him in this place alone like this either. If they did, then he would definitely die in this place.


    ¡°I initially wanted to go to Palmerston North. Leeds said that he had a relative staying there. Of course, finding your relatives at a time like this is quite useless, but that relative of his is extremely rich. In fact, he owns a few private jets. If possible, we wanted to try and go to Australia,¡± the horse-headed man explained.


    ¡°You guys wanted to leave New Zealand?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s probably what the majority of people currently in New Zealand are thinking, to leave this dangerous country. However, it may not be safe even if you managed to leave New Zealand,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    Apparently, in New Zealand now, the majority of the people didn¡¯t have information about the outside world like Bai Yi¡¯s group previously. In reality, even if they didn¡¯t know any information, they should still be able to guess the result. Turning into a monster like this, how could the people from the outside world accept them? However, humans needed to hold onto a hope inside their hearts to have the strength to continue living, especially in desperate times like this.

 Chapter 104

    Chapter 104: A New Year


    The date was now the 1st of January 2021, a new year!


    Nine months had passed since the proliferation of the activated cells through New Zealand. Over this period of time, the changes in New Zealand were rapid and varied. In the first four months, the physical bodies of all lifeforms underwent massive changes and these lifeforms battled for food in this period. Nobody could resist the hunger of the Binging Phase. After the activated cells stabilized, the vegetation in New Zealand grew rapidly as well. The vegetation became the staple food for lifeforms and supported the food chain of New Zealand.


    However, this period of stability didn¡¯t even last for a month.


    Starting from the fifth month, lifeforms gradually entered the LV1-2 Brutal Phase. The incongruence between the body and soul caused them to become possessed with abnormal brutality. Even if they weren¡¯t lacking in food, they would still go around seeking death and destruction for no reason. These lifeforms that had already changed greatly became even more dangerous. Moreover, the Brutal Phase still had one more massive effect¡ªthe original evolved humans in New Zealand would completely lose their rationality if they couldn¡¯t control themselves and fell to their brutality multiple times.


    Because the activated cells all proliferated at the same time, all lifeforms were now in the LV1-2 Brutal Phase. This was the cruelest phase, while the mindless death and destruction left no safe place in New Zealand anymore. The saddest thing was to see their initial companions¡ªthe companions who had persevered through everything together with them fall into desperate battles to protect them. However, as a result of these desperate battles they fell into a berserk state and became mindless monsters in the end.


    However, based on the information that Bai Yi and Yu Han had revealed, there were fortunately a few solutions to this stage.


    Plants that can calm and relax the mind.


    The activated cells not only caused animals to evolve but plants as well. Although a large portion of the plants became very dangerous too through the evolution, many plants still evolved to become very useful. Some plants had the ability to calm and relax the mind. Additionally, from the very beginning, the human race¡¯s research into medicine and drugs had begun from plants and animals. The New Zealand of now only returned to the very beginning, starting to understand and research these new plants from scratch.


    Physical Arts that can calm their spirit and nourish the soul.


    From the information that Bai Yi had released, the soul did indeed exist. Despite this, no one could sense it yet. When progressing into the LV1-3 Hypersomnia Stage, the lifeform would naturally sense the existence of the soul.


    Humans couldn¡¯t sense the soul and they didn¡¯t know how to train the soul as well. However, through the use of some exercises that could calm the spirit and nourish the soul, the cultivation of the soul could be brought about. It would also speed up the rebalancing of the body and soul, cutting short the duration of the Brutal Phase. So far, due to the inability to sense the existence of the soul, nobody could confirm this. Nonetheless, anybody who knew of this information believed that it was true.


    No matter what, that Bai Yi and Yu Han had revealed so much information, there was really no need to hide this bit of information or trick them. Nobody could think of any ulterior motives or plots that they might have by intentionally making people practice the Tai Ji Fist.


    Treasures that can nourish the soul.


    The natural world was a harmonious whole. Since there was a soul, then there must be something that can nourish it. However, even if an object could nourish the soul, nobody could detect it before anyway. Of course, they hadn¡¯t discovered any so far, but Bai Yi and Yu Han hoped that everyone would consolidate and record all their findings. One day, humans would make a complete encyclopedia of their changes.


    ¡­¡­


    Lastly, it was to call for everyone still living courageously in New Zealand to search for a way to return to the normal world. So far, everyone understood that the outside world was still generally safe as the infection had not spread to other countries. However, nobody from the outside would be willing to accept them without them settling the problems of their mindless brutality and their currently monstrous appearances. Even if they headed to other countries now, they would only be treated as experimental subjects.


    There were quite a few talented people in New Zealand; everyone already knew by now that the outside world had changed New Zealand¡¯s name to¡ªDevil Island!


    This name was also accepted by the surviving humans in New Zealand. Nobody else could understand better than them just how suitable this name was.


    Although so far, most lifeforms were in the LV1-2 Brutal Phase, some of the experimental subjects that escape from the research facilities confirmed the truth of the LV1-3 Hypersomnia Stage and the LV2 Metamorphose Stage that Bai Yi had talked about. Then, how can the humans in New Zealand now get past their greatest obstacle now¡ªMetamorphosis!


    Bai Yi!


    Yu Han!


    These were both Chinese names, and they were also the ones that circulated the information about the activated cells to everyone else during this period. So far, both of them had a certain amount of reputation and fame among the evolved humans in New Zealand. However, comparatively, most people wished to meet with Yu Han. This was because there was a rumour that Yu Han held the drug that could roughly let people regain their original human form ¨C Prototy drug! Moreover, Yu Han had also called for all the learned people in New Zealand to come and work together, hoping to improve and mass produce the Prototy drug.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Just what kind of people are they?¡±


    A young lady closed her notebook and looked at her hands that were covered with scales. Then, she glanced at the Horror Bird flying across the sky outside. This giant Horror Bird was ferocious but she wasn¡¯t afraid. It was actually easier to hide from because of its giant size. She was more worried about the colony of Giant Devil Mosquitos living close to her. This bunch of Giant Devil Mosquitos were around half a meter in size, with a long sucker in front of their heads. They were the natural enemies of many animals.


    The rapid-dissolution fluid secreted from their suckers could very quickly dissolve the blood, flesh, and even the bones within a lifeform¡¯s body. They would turn into a piece of skin in just a few minutes once the fluid got injected into their bodies.


    This was precisely the origin of the name Giant Devil Mosquitos.


    However, even if this place was so dangerous, she still kept on staying here. That was because there wasn¡¯t any nearby place safer than here. If she were to say why, then it was because there was something that everybody had heard of but never seen before here¡ªghosts!


    That¡¯s right, ghosts!


    This young girl had not seen them before, but she could be sure that there was something on that level of intangibility existing here. Every human and animal that came here could be sure of this. Moreover, the ghost or spectre here had protected her more than once. Otherwise, how could she manage to survive in this place?


    This young girl walked out of her place. When taking the wide view into account, one would find that this place was once a gigantic flourishing city. The place that this young girl stayed was a skyscraper more than a 100 meters tall. However, this city was now completely covered in countless layers of emerald-green; even this tall skyscraper was covered with flesh-eating vines.


    _____________________________________________________________________________


    At this time, Bai Yi¡¯s group came to this exact place¡­Wellington, the previous capital of New Zealand!


    There weren¡¯t many changes to the members of the team; it was still those few people. Even the horse-headed man they met along the way had left the team as well, staying in a small human settlement.


    Horse-head Austin was very grateful for their magnanimity and contribution to the people of New Zealand. Despite this, he did not wish to continue wandering around. Even if it was because Bai Yi¡¯s group wanted to tell others of the information regarding the activated cells and the change in New Zealand. As for Austin choosing to stay at that settlement, they didn¡¯t try to dissuade him either. They wouldn¡¯t tell others of their promise to the Progenitor within the research facility. They would just do what they felt they were supposed to do.


    However, the reason why they came here was not just for that.


    ¡°What is he doing at this place?¡± Woolf asked.


    9 months had passed and the Prototy drug that Bai Yi¡¯s group had injected had some effects. However, it was naturally only ¡®some¡¯ effect. It wasn¡¯t possible to reverse the huge changes they had experienced before, such as Woolf. His doughty body that was taller than 4 meters showed no signs of shrinking at all. However, they still regained some part of their human appearance. Although they still had characteristics of other lifeforms on them, people could at least tell with a look that they were humans.


    The rest of them weren¡¯t too different. Although they still had some non-human characteristics, at least other people wouldn¡¯t think that they were monsters with just a look.


    ¡°Who knows what he is doing here. He obtained many things from the research facility, and he seemed to have gained something during this period as well. Maybe he would know some other unique things,¡± Bai Yi said.


    The ¡®he¡¯ that Bai Yi referred to was of course Yu Han. Ever since they left the research facility, Bai Yi¡¯s group discovered that Yu Han had spread the information about activated cells to the remaining survivors even quicker than them. Perhaps, other people wouldn¡¯t understand why Yu Han would do this kind of good deed. Only Bai Yi¡¯s group would understand, Yu Han, this guy¡­changed!


    Just by taking this step gave him a great reputation. Although they couldn¡¯t see what the use of this reputation for now, they believed that it would show its usefulness for him sooner or later.


    At this time, Yu Han was really at the other side of the city, looking at this city shrouded in darkness. Beside Yu Han was 9 other people, and none of them had the body shape of a human anymore. Other than Ning Xue who had followed Yu Han all along, the other 8 all seemed very unique and very powerful as well. The most important thing was that they all seemed to trust Yu Han a lot.


    At this time, Yu Han also carried a warm and gentle smile with him. From the looks of it, he really did seem different.


    At the same time when Bai Yi unreservedly circulated the information about activated cells to everyone, Yu Han also did the same. It could be said that among all the evolved humans in New Zealand, Yu Han had a really good reputation, even better than Bai Yi¡¯s. If they didn¡¯t know Yu Han¡¯s past and just looked at him now, probably nobody could guess how despicable he was previously.


    This was the change in Yu Han¡¯s attitude from his previous experiences.


    Of course, Yu Han knew that Bai Yi¡¯s group was looking for him but he didn¡¯t fear them at all. He was waiting!


    Yu Han didn¡¯t deny that he was a bad person, a despicable person. He wouldn¡¯t even deny the things he did in the past but that was in the past. If they thought that he would be like those dumb antagonists in novels and get killed off dim-wittedly, then they would be gravely mistaken. He was a man that was also learning and growing continuously, desiring to ascend to the peak of this world.

 Chapter 105

    Chapter 105: Fear Comes From The Unknown


    ¡°I heard that there are ghosts in this city!¡± Woolf stared at the city from a distance. Even in the day, this city was shrouded in shadows.


    ¡°En, ghosts!¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    The New Zealand now was extremely dangerous. Despite this, it wasn¡¯t to the point where evolved humans couldn¡¯t survive. It was still possible to walk around outside at least. Of course, there were still dangers around; it was possible to meet some powerful monster and lose their lives if they were careless. Even so, various information and news were still continuously being circulated around. This included information regarding activated cells or how the ex-capital of New Zealand, Wellington, had reports of ghosts.


    ¡°We really can¡¯t do anything about things like ghosts.¡± Heloise ran her fingers through her hair.


    ¡°Have you a seen ghost before?¡±


    ¡°Nope, I¡¯ve never seen one.¡±


    ¡°Why are you acting like you know everything when you¡¯ve never seen one before!¡±


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t pay attention to the bickering between Woolf and Heloise. Instead, he led them into the originally bustling city. The capital of New Zealand was previously a really bustling city. Even now, they could still see the form of the city. However, the Wellington now gave everyone an eerie feeling, and anyone who walked in here would feel abnormally uncomfortable.


    Woolf shivered and goosebumps rose all over his body.


    Suddenly, a giant glass panel fell down from the building beside them by the street. The glass panel fell very quickly, and it practically landed without any notice on their heads. In that instant, all of them lightly tilted their bodies and stepped aside, continuing to walk forward like nothing had happened. Although the sound produced by the falling glass panel was very soft, they had still discovered it the moment it started falling. As such, none of them actually minded it. Only Momo looked toward that direction, seemingly looking at something.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    Momo looked toward that side, her eyes blinking. Then, she shook her head. Momo thought that she saw something. However, since even her daddy and the rest didn¡¯t detect anything, then she should have seen wrongly. Bai Yi patted her shoulder but didn¡¯t realize that an incredibly small red dot slowly spread outward in her eyes.


    Momo¡¯s eyes weren¡¯t good since a young age, and she had a congenital visual disability. But after assimilating with the activated cells, her vision hadn¡¯t gotten worse anymore. On the contrary, her vision had even improved. Based on this, the activated cells weren¡¯t bad for Momo but a great fortune. However, Momo¡¯s eyes had changed and became very different from the others. Her pupils had disappeared, only leaving the whites of her eyes. After that, the Progenitor¡¯s source blood fell onto Momo¡¯s eyes. It¡¯s just that after so long, they still didn¡¯t see any changes in her and they had all forgotten about it.


    Everyone continued to walk toward the center of the city. Suddenly, a transparent and vague figure appeared beside the broken glass panel.


    The more they walked, the stranger the atmosphere became. Additionally, Momo was rubbing her eyes from time to time as well.


    ¡°Momo?¡± Bai Yi finally realized that something was wrong and squatted down, looking at Momo¡¯s eyes.


    Momo raised her head and looked at her daddy; Bai Yi immediately noticed that something was wrong. There was like a drop of blood falling into a clear pool of water within her eyes, which slowly spread outward. This kind of spreading wasn¡¯t limited to just her eyes, and there seemed to be an additional layer of dark mist around it.


    Bai Yi immediately squatted down nervously and looked at her eyes carefully. Mavis also jogged over, intending to give Momo a check-up. But in the end, she didn¡¯t move hastily. No matter how she looked at it, Momo¡¯s eyes now were just too strange. It would be bad if she acted recklessly and caused some abnormal change in her eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I have never seen this kind of change before.¡± Mavis apologized.


    ¡°Momo, do you feel that anything is wrong?¡±


    ¡°Just that my eyes are swelling, a bit like the feeling when I want to cry but I¡¯m unable to,¡± Momo replied. ¡°AHHH!!¡± Momo suddenly shot out backward, drawing the short sword behind her back with a clear ¡®shink!¡¯. Her eyes then stared at an area in front.


    The group was instantly surprised and looked at the spot in front of them. However, it was just an empty patch of land without anything there.


    Ghost!


    This thought immediately shot through everyone¡¯s minds. They knew of the reports of ghosts in Wellington long ago, and so they had all mentally prepared themselves before coming here. However, they really didn¡¯t know how they should face a lifeform that they had never seen before.


    Nevertheless, from the abnormality in Momo¡¯s eyes and her actions, it seemed that her eyes were triggered by something after coming to this place and changed. As a result, she became able to see ghosts or maybe lifeforms like spectres.


    Momo¡¯s eyes abruptly contracted and she shot out fiercely. The short sword quickly sliced through the air before she stopped.


    That soul-lifeform that had just emerged from the ground wasn¡¯t aware of what was happening. Suddenly, it saw a blade flashing across her eyes and slicing through her neck. Even though she knew that she was already dead, she still instinctually jumped in shock at this moment. Ever since it became a ghost, only other people got frightened by her. This was the first time that she got frightened instead.


    Momo stopped and squinted her eyes. She held her short sword vertically in front of her and stared forward seriously.


    ¡°Momo, calm down!¡± Bai Yi reminded.


    Although they didn¡¯t know why, Momo could apparently see ghosts or other spectre-like lifeforms. The spectre that had suddenly appeared gave Momo a fright so she instinctively counterattacked. One must know, even Momo had been trained to have that kind of vigilant subconscious reflex.


    The atmosphere slowly turned heavier. Bai Yi suddenly felt that something seemed to have climbed onto his back. The inside of his neck suddenly felt cold, as if he had sucked in a breath of cold air.


    ¡°Scram, you aren¡¯t allowed to climb on top of my daddy!¡± Momo shouted toward Bai Yi like a frenzied little cat.


    ¡°Calm down.¡± Bai Yi said calmly, silently sensing the change in temperature on his back.


    The spectre apparently didn¡¯t give up and its body distorted. Bai Yi immediately felt the temperature around him falling in an instant. This wasn¡¯t a real drop in temperature but a feeling in his heart. It was like the heat around him was sucked away by something. At this moment, a translucent shadow also appeared in Bai Yi¡¯s eyes. The translucent figure in front of him had blood flowing from her eyes, her long hair covered most of her face, while her figure was blurry and out of focus, and her body floated softly in the air.


    Shit, I saw a ghost!


    A normal person would probably get a heart attack if he came here at night.


    However, since they knew long ago that there would be ghosts in Wellington, they weren¡¯t surprised at all but rather¡­curious. Anyway, with her horrible looks now, she could probably scare normal people. Despite this, it was actually nothing much in New Zealand. Bai Yi himself had killed scums in a much crueler way.


    ¡°Oh~? I can see it now too,¡± Bai Yi said lazily.


    ¡­¡­!


    The ghost was probably stunned too. Normally, she just had to tease them a while and no matter if they were evolved humans or not, they would definitely be frightened out of their wits. However, no matter Momo, Bai Yi, or the rest, they all appeared very calm. They were not frightened by her in the least.


    ¡°Fear comes from the unknown, humans have never truly seen a ghost before, so most of the times they were just scaring themselves. However, my daughter apparently can see you now. With your appearance, maybe I would have been scared in normal times but in the environment we are living in now, there¡¯s nothing scary about it.¡± Bai Yi actually took a step forward to go face to face with the spectre, mysterious patterns blooming in his eyes.


    The spectre dodged again, disappearing from Bai Yi¡¯s eyes. Suddenly, Bai Yi felt that something had wrapped around him and he somehow felt that it was difficult to breathe.


    At this moment, Momo looked at Bai Yi¡¯s body.


    Needless to say, everyone knew that the spectre had most likely wrapped itself around Bai Yi¡¯s body. If it was before, they would immediately be alarmed to see the sudden appearance of a ghost. Moreover, with the sudden difficulty in breathing, they would definitely panic even more. After that, they would scare themselves more and more, letting the fear grow in their hearts before finally scaring themselves to death. This was also quite a common storyline inside those horror movies.


    ¡°You are so shameless! I told you to come down!¡± Momo said angrily as her face flushed red.


    ¡°What happened Momo?¡±


    ¡°She became a normal woman and is hanging on my daddy now!¡± Momo said furiously.


    ¡°Oh, a woman? Is she pretty¡­it¡¯s very similar to the storyline in the movies though, the sin of lust? Or is it that Momo is getting jealous even at such a young age?¡± Heloise even had the mood to tease Momo now. Everyone else looked at Bai Yi teasingly. Although there was clearly nothing on Bai Yi¡¯s body now, all of them still had a weird look in their eyes.


    ¡°Hey hey, don¡¯t look at me like that, I didn¡¯t do anything to her,¡± Bai Yi retorted.


    At this time, none of them had any looks of worry on their faces, they were just chatting nonchalantly. Just like Bai Yi had said, fear came from the unknown. Now that they could see it, there was no need to be afraid anymore. They were all not normal people anymore, it would definitely be useless trying to frighten them. At most, it would just make things more troublesome for them, and they would have to think about how to deal with spectres like this in the future.


    ¡°Your muscles are under pressure from a mysterious source, causing difficulty in breathing. But don¡¯t worry, this won¡¯t have much influence on you. That is to say, although this spectre has the ability to affect reality, her ability is very weak just like in the movies. More of it is just those normal people scaring themselves to death,¡± Mavis didn¡¯t care so much either and said seriously after helping Bai Yi to do a check of his body.


    ¡°Oh ok, we can continue on our way then,¡± Bai Yi said after he tried moving his body and realized that there were really no problems.


    Is it really ok like this? There¡¯s still a ghost hanging onto you!


    The spectre shouted inside her heart and looked at Momo angrily. To think of it, this was all this little girl¡¯s fault. If not for Momo being able to see her, then something illogical like this wouldn¡¯t have happened. At this time, this group of people should be hiding in some place in fright, being afraid of getting possessed by ghosts.

 Chapter 106

    Chapter 106: Dead Soul Flower


    ¡°Hey although I can¡¯t see you, Momo can. Can your posture be a bit better? A small kid is looking at you, you know? Can you be a bit wary of your influence on her?¡± Bai Yi touched his back, but apparently, he couldn¡¯t feel anything.


    ¡°Daddy, your hand passed through her head,¡± Momo said loudly.


    ¡°Oh, sorry!¡± Bai Yi apologized without any sincerity.


    The spectre lying on Bai Yi¡¯s back felt his heartbeat and helplessly drifted backward. Bai Yi¡¯s heartbeat was very stable, so apparently, he really wasn¡¯t scared at all. Being able to stay so calm even when a ghost was on you, what an abnormal man. However, the spectre knew that ever since New Zealand had changed, it became harder and harder to influence the humans that entered this place. It was almost as if their souls were continuously getting stronger¡­that¡¯s right, their souls were getting stronger.


    Especially this group of people, the connection between their bodies and souls were very tight. It was very difficult to actually affect them.


    Initially, this spectre wanted to conceal itself and reappear when the lighting was darker to scare them again. However, when it saw that Momo¡¯s line of sight was always on her, she knew that she would just be inviting humiliation if she did so. But this was really frustrating, there was actually a girl that could see ghosts, and most importantly this group of people wasn¡¯t afraid at all.


    ¡°Ah¡­she left!¡± Momo said.


    ¡°Is it? It¡¯s good that she left too. Honestly speaking, the feeling of a ghost hanging on you isn¡¯t too comfortable,¡± Bai Yi said and rubbed his neck. At this time, Woolf came close to him and immediately made a mountain out of a molehill.


    ¡°Bai Yi, there¡¯s a handprint on your neck!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the ghost, what¡¯s so strange about it?¡± Bai Yi said.


    Just like Bai Yi had said, fear came from the unknown. If they didn¡¯t have Momo, who could see ghosts, then they would probably be in another state now. They would definitely be frightened out of their wits by this thing. Events such as glass windows falling occasionally, blowing a breath of cold air on their necks from time to time, revealing a scary appearance and disappearing again would definitely cause everyone to be on their toes at all times.


    Such as how Yu Han¡¯s group was like now.


    At this time, Yu Han¡¯s group acted like they had met their greatest enemy. These small things obviously couldn¡¯t harm them, but it was difficult to curb the fear of the unknown in their hearts.


    ¡°Calm down, even if it¡¯s a ghost, from the looks of it, it¡¯s just playing with us¡­¡± Yu Han just wanted to calm them down. Suddenly, he felt the back of his neck go cold as if something had wrapped around it. However, there wasn¡¯t anything there. Although he said not to be worried, Yu Han still reacted subconsciously and the snake from his left arm fiercely bit behind him.


    Hisss~!


    The snake was now as thick as a thigh. There was a small horn growing out from its head and it appeared to be very sinister. The snake head abruptly shot out and gave Ning Xue who stood behind him a fright. However, after the snake head realized that there was only Ning Xue behind him, it stopped in mid-air.


    ¡°What is it, Yu Han?¡±


    Yu Han closed his eyes and slowly felt the changes in his body. Especially the eyes of his snake that gradually focused and stared behind him. After a while, through the shared vision with his snake, he vaguely found something lying on his back. Without a need to guess, Yu Han knew what it was ¨C a ghost! The appearances of ghosts in Wellington wasn¡¯t a secret. Normally, it would be very rare that people came here to seek a thrill.


    ¡°There¡¯s something on my back,¡± Yu Han said, and instantly all the people in his team froze in fear.


    ¡°But so what? Other than making me feel slightly cold, there¡¯s pretty much no other influence on me. Is it that after coming so far, you guys are frightened of some ghosts that can¡¯t even be seen?¡± Yu Han said again. Putting it this way, these people who were initially quite nervous immediately blanked for a moment, and their minds gradually regained its calm. He was right, there were countless strange monsters in New Zealand now. Blood and death were just daily happenings. So what if there really were ghosts? The worst they could do was to kill them, just like what they had been facing all along.


    ¡°We will become ghosts too when we die, why the heck would we be scared of them,¡± a crude guy in the team said.


    ¡°You are right, if they really are ghosts, then we would become ghosts when we die as well. When that time comes, I really want to see which bastard dared to mess with us,¡± another guy rubbed his knuckles and said viciously. After their jesting, Yu Han¡¯s group very quickly calmed down.


    However, the moment Yu Han¡¯s group calmed down, one of them suddenly looked toward the left. Seemingly, he could hear a faint buzzing sound.


    ¡°There seems to be a sound?¡±


    After this guy spoke, the rest of them looked over as well. After a short while, their faces suddenly changed greatly. Giant Devil Mosquitos, enough of them to blot out the sky!


    Giant Devil Mosquitos ¨C evolved from mosquitos, there weren¡¯t any major changes to their physical shape. They still looked like a mosquito, but they were extremely terrifying. Its size varied from the size of a normal mosquito and up to half a meter wide. They normally moved together in a giant swarm. Unless the person could defend all 360 degrees around him, he could say goodbye to the world once one of the mosquitos manage to plunge its sucker into him. The sucker of the Giant Devil Mosquito could secrete a powerful dissolution and numbing fluid. Once the sucker stabbed into the victim, they would turn into a big piece of skin within minutes.


    Honestly speaking, the reputation of the Giant Devil Mosquitos outside was even more terrifying than any ghosts or spectres.


    ¡°Move!¡± At this time, none of them cared about any ghosts anymore. They only wished to have two more legs so that they could run faster now.


    Luckily, there were no mediocre people in Yu Han¡¯s team. They were all the cream of the crop that Yu Han had gathered, so they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about safety for now. However, Yu Han looked at the city shrouded in shadows and his eyes became more and more solemn.


    Dead Soul Flower¡­Just where did it grow here?


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°What did Yu Han come here for?¡± Heloise asked again.


    ¡°Who knows what he came here for.¡±


    ¡°Pupu, don¡¯t run about!¡± Warner shouted at Pupu. Pupu now was getting even fatter. He was 2 meters tall when he stood on his four legs, appearing to be very strong. However, his lazy and gluttonous personality hadn¡¯t changed at all. Pupu ran toward the shadows, and after a while, Warner finally managed to drag Pupu back. At this time, Pupu was still struggling, his eyes looking in that direction.


    Bai Yi felt slightly curious and looked in the direction that Pupu was gazing.


    Bai Yi had realized long ago that Pupu had an unimaginable intuition toward many things. He didn¡¯t know where Pupu¡¯s intuition came from, but this guy always seemed to be able to discover danger a step ahead of others. Don¡¯t tell me that Pupu has discovered something again?


    The group walked into an alleyway, and after a while, they found two small white flowers in a collapsed building. At this time, Bai Yi didn¡¯t look at the flowers but where they were growing from.


    Skeletons!


    Although they were buried by the soil and heavily worn away, it was still very obvious that there were more than 10 skeletons of animals and humans in the concave part of the ground. This small white flower grew on top of one of the giant thigh bones. It was unclear what had happened in Wellington at the start, but many people seemed to have died in this ex-capital of New Zealand. It was a very ominous place, and that was probably why there were ghosts appearing here.


    ¡°Pupu you really are so curious about everything, aren¡¯t you afraid of getting cursed coming to a place with so many skeletons?¡± Woolf saw the pile of skeletons and couldn¡¯t help but jibe at Pupu.


    ¡°No.¡± Bai Yi¡¯s eyes changed slightly and immediately refuted Woolf¡¯s words.


    ¡°Do you guys remember that piece of information we chanced upon last time, someone seemingly found a plant that could nourish the soul,¡± Bai Yi suddenly turned his head and said to everyone.


    ¡°A plant that can nourish the soul!¡± Everyone was incredibly taken aback.


    Based on the information they had obtained from the research facility, humans and animals do have souls, and they could clearly sense it once they entered the LV1-3 Hypersomnia Stage. Other than that, Wellington had become a ghost city and there were frequent reports of ghosts. The spectre that they had seen before could also prove the existence of the soul. If the soul really existed, then the other hypothesis should be valid as well ¨C the world was a harmonious whole. Since the soul really existed, then there must be something that could nourish it, regardless if it was a plant or animal.


    Unfortunately, even if this was the case, the evolved lifeforms in New Zealand were still unable to sense the existence of something like a soul. As such, they were unable to ascertain if something that could nourish the soul really existed or not.


    However, they had heard a rumor before this ¨C Dead Soul Flower!


    Dead Soul Flower ¨C It was rumored to grow in places where a great number of living things had died and where the space was weak and strange. That place was also known as the mythical underworld, where the flower absorbed souls to grow. These flowers had the ability to nourish the soul.


    This was originally a rumor that came from nowhere, but now Bai Yi suddenly felt that this thing could very likely be the rumored Dead Soul Flower. No matter the eerie location where the flower grew, or the environment of Wellington now, it both seemed to prove that this was the rumored flower. Bai Yi wanted to stretch out his hand to pluck the Dead Soul Flower, but Momo suddenly drew her short sword and blocked in front of Bai Yi.


    ¡°Daddy be careful!¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a crying face on this flower,¡± Momo said.


    When they looked over, they only saw a big and a small flower swaying lonelily in the wind. Where was the crying human face? However, from the situation just now, all of them knew that something changed in Momo¡¯s eyes as well. She could see things that they couldn¡¯t. Moreover, the place where these two flowers grew was really too strange. This was really an underworld where ghosts appeared, and there was a pile of skeletons below as well.


    ¡°Be careful Bai Yi, I seemed to remember that everyone that plucked this flower died for mysterious reasons,¡± Mavis reminded.


    ¡°There really was such a saying along with the rumors about the Dead Soul Flower.¡± Heloise nodded as well.


    The few of them looked at each other, then at Momo. If there was somebody who was more special and more suitable for picking the Dead Soul Flower, then that person could only be Momo. After all, she had changed only when she entered Wellington. However, would Bai Yi let Momo take this risk?

 Chapter 107

    Chapter 107: Giant Devil Mosquito


    Bai Yi shook his head!


    As expected, he wouldn¡¯t let Momo take this risk. Even though Momo¡¯s eyes became strange after entering Wellington, he wouldn¡¯t bet on this change that had happened for unknown reasons.


    ¡°Forget about it!¡±


    ¡°Daddy, I can do it.¡± Momo thought that Bai Yi was worried about her. The smaller the age, the more she wanted to prove herself.


    ¡°No need, there¡¯s really no need to force yourself. Momo, I¡¯m afraid even you yourself haven¡¯t figured out what happened to your eyes, so we can¡¯t place our hopes on this mysterious transformation. Moreover, we don¡¯t really need this Dead Soul Flower either, or at least for now, we don¡¯t need it. As such, we don¡¯t need to take the risk to test the characteristics of this plant,¡± Bai Yi explained. A part of it was Bai Yi trying to protect Momo, but it wasn¡¯t a mindless over-protection.


    During this period of time, the whole of New Zealand had been developing and researching. This research ranged from the most basic medicinal properties to the characteristics of every single plant, to the powers and species of evolved animals. It even encompassed every single change in themselves, the method to regain their original human form yet retain their current powers¡­and many more.


    Moreover, it wasn¡¯t just the evolved humans but all the researchers from other countries were also looking into this. Just like Doctor Wang guessed at the start, the other countries did not try to control New Zealand but let it develop naturally, becoming a true natural ecosphere for researching activated cells.


    No matter the things that the evolved humans were studying or the experiments of the humans in the outside world, they were all extremely dangerous. This was a completely new ecosphere, everything in it was unfamiliar to everyone.


    The characteristics, medicinal properties, and attacking methods of every single plant or animal¡­were traded for in blood by evolved humans and animals.


    Such as this Dead Soul Flower, Bai Yi did not think that they were the first to discover this plant. Despite this, there had been no wide-spread information regarding this plant, information such as the method to harvest it, store it, prepare it, or use it. This proved that this was an extremely dangerous plant. No matter if it were the humans outside or the evolved humans themselves, they all had to pay a huge price to truly understand and use these things.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a bit selfish, but let¡¯s wait for others to figure out the way to use the Dead Soul Flower first. We aren¡¯t the ones that need it the most.¡± Bai Yi stroked Momo¡¯s little head.


    Momo didn¡¯t understand that much, but the rest of them all nodded their heads.


    If the Dead Soul Flower really had the ability to nourish the soul, then it was really very useful to other people. The reason behind the Brutal Phase was the incongruence between body and soul. As long as this incongruence was rebalanced, then it could shorten the Brutal Phase and reduce its effect.


    However, if it was just this usage, then it wasn¡¯t really a necessity to Bai Yi¡¯s group.


    Right now, the balance between their bodies and souls were quite stable. After entering a deep-level sleep, their body and soul became even more harmonized. It was much better than using any calming drugs or practicing the mysterious Tai Ji Fist.


    This was to the point that after they tried those new drugs that could calm and relax the mind, they immediately abandoned them.


    It was like how some people could eat supplements every day and not be healthy, but other people could just eat normal food every day and still remain very healthy. The body of a living thing was a complete and harmonious whole from the start, and it had its own ability to adjust and balance itself. Even if it was something very different like the body and soul, the being would also continuously adjust itself automatically. Outside assistance was only one of the factors and not a necessity. On the contrary, there was an old saying that said ¡®medicine is 30% poison¡¯; as long as the body could adjust and recover itself, Bai Yi felt that it was best to not use these new plants that they had not fully understood yet.


    The better sleep they got, the more it could smoothen the process of the lifeform¡¯s self-adjustment.


    Everyone knew this by now, but most of them still relied on these new drugs to fall asleep. After all, those with the ability to hypnotize were among the minority within the minority. So far, they had not met another person that had this kind of hypnotic ability like Bai Yi.


    ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, Yu Han¡¯s goal in coming here should be this Dead Soul Flower,¡± Heloise said.


    Bai Yi nodded. Along their journey¡ªother than trying to help all the evolved humans in New Zealand by releasing information about the activated cells¡ªthey were also trying to track Yu Han down. Earlier, they had finally chanced upon the information that Yu Han wanted to head to Wellington. That was also why they decided to come him to this place.


    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes were very calm, but the killing intent hidden inside could freeze people¡¯s hearts!


    ¡­¡­


    Yu Han naturally knew that Bai Yi was looking for him, and there was no need to explain why explicitly. However, Yu Han didn¡¯t have the time to think about this now, because his team was miserably running away from the swarm of Giant Devil Mosquitos. The fatty who ran the slowest was left behind. Very quickly, they heard a pitiful scream.


    Yu Han stopped, but a guy beside him immediately pulled him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go, even if you go now, you can¡¯t save Doss!¡± The man said.


    ¡°Damn it¡­!¡± Yu Han¡¯s body trembled, and he gripped his left fist very tightly. From the looks of it, he seemed like he was in great pain over not being able to save his companion. There was indeed some pain in his heart. After all, the fatty was a very capable subordinate, but it definitely did not reach the level of being sad over it.


    At this time, the fatty being surrounded by the Great Devil Mosquitos waved his limbs around continuously. He shouted powerfully as he fought back. However, his powerful strength, tough skin, and armored shell were really not too useful now. The Great Devil Mosquitos were really unable to pierce his shell, but they didn¡¯t need to attack these hard places. In a few seconds, the fatty felt a numb pain coming from his eyelid. Apparently, a small mosquito had already plunged its sucker into his body.


    The fatty killed more than 10 small mosquitos with a slap to his face, but many more came flying to him continuously. Most importantly, the hemolytic poison had already invaded his body.


    Very quickly, at an unimaginable speed!


    The poison contained a numbing agent, and in a few minutes, the fatty lost his ability to move. The hemolytic poison also rapidly dissolved all his flesh and blood into juice, causing his body to twitch rapidly from the immense pain. However, due to the numbing agent, he couldn¡¯t scream even if he wanted to. Just from the look of despair in the fatty¡¯s eyes, everyone knew just how painful and terrible this way of dying was to any lifeform.


    Furthermore, it wasn¡¯t just his blood, but even his bones rapidly dissolved. Fortunately, this dissolution was very rapid as well, so the fatty didn¡¯t suffer for too long.


    The other Giant Devil Mosquitos surrounded him. Within a few minutes, this fatty that was more than 4 meters tall and even bulkier than Woolf started to deflate. The only parts that remained of him were a hard armored shell, his claws, and the human skin sticking to the harder bones that had yet to dissolve.


    Yu Han¡¯s team were looking back as they ran, and they instantly shivered inside when they saw this scene.


    Giant Devil Mosquitos!


    They definitely did not let down the name of a ¡®devil¡¯. They were definitely many times more terrifying than those nonsensical ghosts or spectres. After all, this kind of terror could be seen right in front of them; it was much crueler and direct than those intangible ghosts.


    ¡°Yu Han, over here! There¡¯s a sealed hall beneath this lake!¡± A hoarse voice came from one of his teammates in front. The head of this guy seemed just like an octopus, and gills grew from the sides of his neck as well. Apparently, he had fused with the genes from some sort of aquatic animal.


    ¡°Go in!¡± Yu Han immediately said as they saw how the Giant Devil Mosquitos were getting closer and closer; they didn¡¯t have the time to think so much now.


    The group dived into the lake and swam inside through the ruined aqueduct. They all climbed out from the ruined aqueduct after they swam for half a minute. They looked at the hall, at the exit of this aqueduct. This hall was apparently the building they saw submerged in the lake earlier on. Wellington was a port city, it was close to the sea and this lake was the relatively famous Oriental Bay Lake.


    All of them panted heavily after they entered the hall. That desperate run for their lives just now didn¡¯t just tire their bodies but the pressure on their minds was the most severe.


    Everyone was dripping wet, and the lake water dripped onto the floor from the bodies. None of them spoke as they were all in a lousy mood. The scene of the Giant Devil Mosquitos feeding just now still shook their hearts.


    ¡°It¡¯s my fault, if only I didn¡¯t make everyone come here, Yu Han lowered his head and said in a voice full of remorse.


    ¡°No, it isn¡¯t your fault. You already told us from the start that it was going to be very dangerous to come here. In reality, is there still any safe place in New Zealand? Even if it was us, we are still facing various threats to our lives at every moment. Doss just left a step earlier than everyone else.¡± Sinclair patted Yu Han¡¯s shoulders and consoled him.


    ¡°That¡¯s just how it is, all of us here have that level of awareness about the situation we are in. The reason we are here is not just because of you. On the contrary, all of us wanted to come to this place. If we don¡¯t find a solution for the Brutal Phase, we would all become mindless monsters sooner or later. I really don¡¯t want to become a monster, so even if I knew that searching for the Dead Soul Flower would be very dangerous¡­¡± Another man said as well.


    ¡°Wait¡­what is that?¡± Suddenly, a woman interrupted him and pointed toward a palm-sized white flower in the middle of the hall.


    Everyone instantly turned their heads and found that there was a pile of corpses at the center of the hall. Even underneath their feet were countless human bones scattered around. After getting a clear look at the scene inside the hall, all of their hearts involuntarily skipped a beat. Nobody knew what had happened at Wellington initially, but it didn¡¯t seem to be as simple the outbreak of the activated cells. In brief, a huge number of people had died in Wellington.


    However, there was no meaning in searching for the cause of this abnormality in Wellington now. Everyone stared at the white flower growing from the eye socket of a skull ¨C Dead Soul Flower!

 Chapter 108

    Chapter 108: Ghost City Wellington


    All of them couldn¡¯t help but stare at the plain white flower at the center of the hall. What used to be known as New Zealand and now known as Devil Island was extremely different from the peaceful outside world. Any plant that mutated and evolved was extremely unfamiliar to everyone. It was still okay if the plants were normal, but on Devil Island, more than a third of the new plants were immensely dangerous. Every time somebody tried to consume a new plant, that person would very likely die of mysterious and unknown reasons.


    In addition, because of the inconveniences in circulating information on Devil Island and selfishness, any complete information wouldn¡¯t be released and known by everyone so quickly. Many people still died today due to this lack of information.


    ¡­¡­


    Yu Han slowly walked toward the white colored flower.


    ¡°Be careful Yu Han!¡± Ning Xue immediately cautioned.


    ¡°I know.¡± Yu Han nodded. The group had already forgotten about the Giant Devil Mosquitos as they stared at the white flower blankly. Their goal was this Dead Soul Flower, so they naturally knew more about this plant. In reality, when Yu Han released the information about the activated cells and obtained great fame, he had also gained the trust of many people. From somebody that Yu Han saved, they got to know of the way to pick the Dead Soul Flower that the person had discovered by chance.


    Yu Han stretched out his left hand, and another person beside him immediately took out a leather suitcase. Yu Han took out a small bottle from the suitcase and sucked a bit of solution from it using a pipette.


    This solution contained the green fiber of some plant and apparently wasn¡¯t something well-made. However, this was the thing extracted from a plant that could expel soul fragments. They had obtained this method from that person.


    Dead Soul Flower, this flower grew by absorbing souls and could also nourish it. However, it was extremely dangerous if somebody recklessly used their hand to pick this flower. The soul fragments of the souls that the Dead Soul Flower absorbed would possess the person who picked it. Although there wouldn¡¯t be any effects in the short term, all those who directly used their hands to pick this flower died of mysterious causes. Yu Han did not want to die so meaninglessly like that.


    A thick drop of solution fell on the petals of the Dead Soul Flower. Everyone seemed to hear a clear jingle in their ears, just like a drop of morning dew falling.


    All of them saw that drop of solution spreading on the Dead Soul Flower, and a black smoke started to appear from the bottom of the flower. What got released was probably the soul fragments that the Dead Soul Flower had yet to absorb. These soul fragments weren¡¯t like those ghosts or spiritual bodies. If they had to describe it, then it was the pollutants in the soul.


    All of them took a step back in fear of getting contaminated by this thing.


    After a while, the black smoke dissipated, and the Dead Soul Flower suddenly appeared to be incredibly bright and alluring. It was almost as if the entire flower was enveloped in a layer of light. In this eerie and dim atmosphere, a white flower grew from the eye socket of a skull. It seemed to stand alone in this world as it gave off a faint glow. This initially plain and ordinary flower actually turned out to have an entirely different air to it now.


    This was the Dead Soul Flower, the rumored plant that could nourish the soul.


    Everyone stared at the flower dumbly. After a while, Yu Han finally stretched out his hand and lightly pinched the stem of the Dead Soul Flower.


    The moment Yu Han lightly used force to pluck the Dead Soul Flower out from the eye socket, a black shadow suddenly shot out from within the skull. Everyone was caught off guard in that moment. Although the snake on Yu Han¡¯s left arm shot out in a split-second, it was still too late. The black shadow still bit Yu Han¡¯s hand in the blink of an eye. Yu Han¡¯s hand instantly became numb, and the reddish-black beetle-like creature that was only about the size of a thumb flew out instantly.


    One of the guys standing in that direction tilted his body slightly and drew his long sword from the sheath with a ¡®shing!¡¯. Instantaneously, he hacked toward this reddish-black beetle.


    However, the beetle didn¡¯t split in half like what everyone had expected. Instead, the reddish-black beetle was smacked away by the edge of the sword with a ¡®dang!¡¯. It flew out again and the rest of them reacted by now as well. They immediately focused their attention, preparing to capture this unknown beetle.


    ¡°Don¡¯t smack it into the ground!¡± Ning Xue shouted when she saw the person closest to it preparing to smack the beetle to the ground. From the hardness of this beetle, smacking it into the ground would not only fail to kill it but also let it escape.


    After a messy and chaotic chase, Ning Xue¡¯s right index finger shot out instantaneously toward the beetle when it flew in her direction. Her nail was now a full 10 centimeters, and the tip was even sharper than the tip of a needle. In that instant, Ning Xue¡¯s irises contracted like that of a cat and the sharp nail pierced outward.


    ¡®Puchi!¡¯, the incomparably sharp fingernail pierced through the mouth of this beetle and went all the way through it immediately.


    The moment she pierced the beetle, Ning Xue fiercely swung her hand downward. Sure enough, even though it was pierced by the fingernail, the beetle was still alive. It desperately tried to gnaw on the metallic-black colored nail.


    ¡°Yu Han, are you ok?¡± Ning Xue immediately ran toward Yu Han the moment she finished off the reddish-black beetle.


    At this time, the doctor in Yu Han¡¯s team, Purian, had already started doing an emergency checkup on Yu Han. Living at the stem of the Dead Soul Flower, it was easy to guess that this reddish-black beetle wasn¡¯t some benign creature. There was a big bite on Yu Han¡¯s left hand, and only the heavens knew what would happen to him. Of course, the biggest possibility was that Yu Han would die immediately.


    However, when Purian checked Yu Han¡¯s left hand, he did not see any signs of poisoning.


    ¡°Yu Han, do you feel unwell anywhere?¡± Purian asked.


    ¡°I think I¡¯m fine now.¡± Yu Han moved his left hand, and the cold feeling from the wound rapidly receded. On the contrary, his entire left arm felt very warm now, and extremely comfortable. He moved his left hand around and gripped it, while the snake wrapped around the tortoise shield.


    ¡°You¡¯re really ok now?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m really ok.¡± Yu Han nodded.


    ¡°You scared us to death! I really thought something had happened to you. I heard from Ning Xue that your left arm is the Xuan Wu from ancient Chinese mythology, it¡¯s really different huh,¡± one of the men in the team said with some praise and envy.


    ¡°Nah, it just looks similar,¡± Yu Han said humbly but the pride in his heart couldn¡¯t be hidden. His left arm didn¡¯t just look like the Xuan Wu, its ability was also very strong in reality. Yu Han could be sure that the beetle definitely carried some poison but it wasn¡¯t effective on him. That¡¯s right, it wasn¡¯t effective! On the contrary, Yu Han found that the power in his left arm seemed to be gradually growing stronger.


    A blessing in disguise?


    Only, was it really ineffective?


    The rest of them saw that Yu Han was fine and let out a breath of relief. Then, they carefully stored that beetle and the Dead Soul Flower. Ning Xue finally relaxed after seeing that Yu Han was fine, and she snuggled up against Yu Han just like a little girl. There wasn¡¯t a single trace of the persona she had when she pierced the beetle so sharply in an instant.


    Seeing Ning Xue like this, Yu Han couldn¡¯t help but feel a flow of warmth inside his heart. After so long, Yu Han had truly fallen in love with the Ning Xue that had followed him all along. Over such a long period of time, Ning Xue had undergone great changes as well. She was no longer the weak little white flower from before but was now extremely calm and sharp in battle. However, after the battle ended, Ning Xue would turn back into her warm and submissive self. This was what Yu Han loved the most.


    ¡°Hey, can you guys get a room.¡± Somebody by the side immediately teased.


    ¡°Ha, if you guys aren¡¯t happy then find a wife of your own.¡± Yu Han smiled with a hint of arrogance. Not only did the others not find Yu Han to be arrogant, they actually felt that he had the bearing of a team leader now.


    ________________________________________________________________________________


    Bai Yi¡¯s group was different from Yu Han¡¯s group that had complete information on the Dead Soul Flower. They had no idea how to pluck the Dead Soul Flower, so they abandoned the two big and small flowers. To speak of it, their goal wasn¡¯t this flower but to kill Yu Han.


    However, even though they knew that Yu Han had come to Wellington, this place really had some paranormal activity going on. Although Momo could see ghosts and helped them remain composed, the atmosphere in this place was still really uncomfortable. Not only was it eerily cold and creepy, they felt indescribably tense the more they walked toward the center of this place.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go take a look up in the sky.¡±


    ¡°En.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    Heloise spread her wings out and flew into the sky. She flew higher and higher. Initially, she thought that the higher she flew, the further she could see. However, after reaching the sky, the ground became extremely blurry. The dark clouds seemed to be everchanging while the sun couldn¡¯t be seen at all.


    How ominous!


    Wellington was previously the capital of New Zealand! No matter what, its appearance shouldn¡¯t turn this ominous? Unless the activated cells could even affect the climate? Only the heavens know what happened here¡­ Heloise said in her heart and flew back down. However, Heloise stared blankly when she landed¡­She had flown straight up just now, so where was Bai Yi and the rest of her teammates?


    Something was wrong, the scenery here was totally different from before! Did she fly to the wrong place?


    Bai Yi and the rest waited for a while, but Heloise still didn¡¯t come back. They realized that something was wrong. Bai Yi¡¯s eyes squinted for a moment and guessed what had probably happened. Seemingly in ghost stories, things like this happened too. It seemed to be called ghost hitting the wall? (TN: It means to lose your way for mysterious reasons in Chinese culture, though I¡¯m not too sure of the origin.)


    ¡°Momo, tell us if you see any ghosts later. We must ask them what exactly happened in Wellington, and where did Heloise go,¡± Bai Yi said to Momo.


    ¡°Orh.¡±


    ¡°What happened to Heloise?¡± Woolf asked.


    ¡°Wellington is a ghost city, so maybe Heloise encountered something and accidentally split apart from us. We must be careful from now on as well, luckily Momo can see ghosts so it¡¯s not the worst case scenario yet,¡± Bai Yi slowly explained.

 Chapter 109

    Chapter 109: Interacting With Ghosts


    After looking around for a while, Heloise realized that she was really lost and flew up into the sky again. Although she got lost because she flew into the sky, there was no harm in doing so now since she was already lost. This time, Heloise didn¡¯t stop and continuously flew up all the way.


    After reaching a height of more than 10000 meters in the sky, she seemed to finally break through something and sunlight appeared in her eyes.


    Sunlight!


    Heloise hovered in the air, feeling the warms rays of the sun on her body. It felt completely different from the cold and dark environment she was in before. At this time, Heloise looked around, and she could see places extremely far away through the gap in the clouds. The towering mountains in the distance, and the emerald-green sea of trees. Everything seemed to be full of life.


    When Heloise looked downward, she realized that Wellington seemed to be covered by a layer of dark clouds, and not a single ray of sunlight could pass through.


    What a weird phenomenon!


    If somebody told her that this was all caused by the activated cells, Heloise would never believe it. How could it be possible that the activated cells could change even the climate? No matter how powerful it was, it couldn¡¯t do this kind of magical thing. Heloise had wanted to fly outside of Wellington and go in again from the place they entered, but she suddenly stood still in shock.


    This is!


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Did you scare away that bunch of people?¡± When that female ghost returned to her usual hangout location, another extremely handsome ghost suddenly appeared out of nowhere.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t, there¡¯s a little girl with them that can see me. Don¡¯t talk about scaring them away, they weren¡¯t scared in the least! Just what kind of people are they!¡± The female ghost complained with a face full of unhappiness. ¡°Hey grandpa, can you turn back to your original self? Who are you trying to impress with this appearance?¡± The female ghost said again after complaining.


    ¡°Very handsome right, I told you I was very good-looking when I was young, but you never believed me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re already dead.¡±


    ¡°Eh¡­¡­!¡± The ghost was immediately shut down and his face became full of resentment.


    ¡°Ah right, you said that there was a girl who could see us?¡± The ghost who turned back into an old man said after a while.


    ¡°En.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go take a look then, maybe there¡¯s no need to scare them away, we can just tell them to leave.¡± The old ghost drifted away. The female ghost hovered in the air for a while before drifting after him helplessly. Really, grandpa was already dead but still always worried about the living humans, fearing that they would enter the center of the city.


    ¡­¡­


    Momo suddenly stopped; from her expression, Bai Yi knew that she had definitely seen a ghost again. Bai Yi followed Momo¡¯s line of sight, but the dim street in front of them was completely empty.


    ¡°A male ghost and the female ghost from before,¡± Momo said.


    ¡®Hello! So you can really see us, little girl.¡¯ The old ghost immediately floated over.


    Bai Yi looked at Momo¡¯s actions, but he couldn¡¯t see any ghosts. As such, he tried to guess what was going on. He came to Momo¡¯s side, and from her actions, he could tell that these ghosts were nearby and in front of them. At this time, the old ghost drifted close to him, seemingly still not believing that Momo could really see them.


    I¡¯ll test if you can really see us!


    The old ghost was up to make some mischief, but the moment he moved Momo drew her short sword with a ¡®shing!¡¯. She pointed the half a meter long sword at the center of the old ghost¡¯s eyebrows, and he immediately jumped back from her actions. Although he knew that normal physical attacks wouldn¡¯t be effective on him, this little girl was still a little bit too agitated.


    ¡®Hahaha, grandpa got scared too right! The first time I came out I got ¡®beheaded¡¯ by this little girl too. New Zealand has only changed for 9 months, I really didn¡¯t expect that even a little kid would be so alert and ruthless now. That strike was really without any hesitation.¡¯ The female ghost saw her grandpa¡¯s dumb look and couldn¡¯t help but laugh at him.


    Of course, she wouldn¡¯t know that among all the little kids, Momo was an exception.


    ¡°The two of you are in front of me, right? Can you guys hear me?¡± Bai Yi spoke. After a while, everyone seemed to hear some voices beside their ears, yet it also seemed like there weren¡¯t any voices. If they really had to describe it, it seemed to be the so-called ¡®ghost murmurs¡¯.


    ¡°Momo, did they talk? Can they hear our words?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°They¡¯re talking but I can¡¯t hear clearly, it¡¯s so noisy.¡± Momo seemed to hear some voices but she couldn¡¯t hear them clearly either. This made her abnormally uncomfortable.


    ¡®Hey, what do you mean noisy you little beansprout!¡¯ The female ghost immediately blew her top. If she could, she wouldn¡¯t want to be like this either. However, there were some rules binding the body and soul, so their words couldn¡¯t be heard by the people in the physical world. The only way to interact was for the ghost to possess the body, entering a dream-like state.


    Bai Yi swept his eyes across the surroundings and found a messy stretch of sandy land. This was the place where the glass window before was pushed off by the ghosts! That also meant that ghosts could affect the physical world to a certain degree.


    Bai Yi went toward the sand and flattened it before writing down a simple greeting.


    After Bai Yi finished writing, he followed Momo¡¯s line of sight and looked in that direction. After a while, the soft sand beside Bai Yi gradually concaved inward, forming a simple ¡®hello!¡¯.


    Ha~!


    Bai Yi¡¯s group immediately laughed in their hearts, it was really their first time interacting with ghosts. Afterwards, Bai Yi communicated with the ghosts through writing on the sand. Although it was very slow, it was still better than being unable to communicate at all. Luckily, Momo could see the ghosts and the group had strong nerves as well. If it were normal people they would have fainted from fright long ago. Wasn¡¯t this a real run-in with ghosts?


    ¡®Can I ask, what exactly happened in Wellington? Why did it become like this?¡¯


    ¡®We aren¡¯t sure either. After the activated cells proliferated in New Zealand, the beginning stages were very chaotic. Since Wellington was the capital, many people nearby rushed to this place. A lot of them suddenly established their own religions, hoping to be saved. Despite this, the intangible Gods would never come and save them. I don¡¯t know when it started, but Wellington was slowly engulfed in a mad self-destructive emotion¡­everyone went crazy!¡±


    ¡®Crazy?¡¯


    ¡®That¡¯s right, crazy. Everyone thought that they would die soon and started to kill and destroy in their madness.¡¯


    ¡®So it¡¯s like that.¡¯ The intense madness and self-destructiveness were easily infectious within a mass of people.


    ¡®But how did you guys turn into ghosts? The number of people that died in other cities wasn¡¯t small either, but none of the other places experienced changes like Wellington.¡¯


    ¡®That I don¡¯t know, when I regained my awareness, I was already like this.¡¯


    ¡®Forget about it since you don¡¯t know. But do you know how many ghosts are there here? Also, why are there so many incidents of ghosts here? What are your goals?¡¯ Bai Yi continued writing. Everyone else looked at the patch of sand being wiped clean, and words mysteriously appeared on it again. They all felt that this kind of experience was very novel.


    ¡®It¡¯s of course to frighten you guys away, this place is very dangerous.¡¯


    ¡®Why do you say that?¡¯


    ¡®We aren¡¯t very clear as to why Wellington became like this, but since it¡¯s hard to meet someone that we can communicate with I¡¯ll just tell you what I know.¡¯


    ¡®There are probably more than 100,000 ghosts in Wellington now, but there aren¡¯t a lot of ghosts that retained their self-awareness, the number is probably less than 10,000. These ghosts are all staying in the outer area of the city. Also, even if they retained their self-awareness, in reality, all of the ghosts have some missing gaps in their memories and emotions. As for why this is the case, we don¡¯t know either.¡¯


    ¡®Other than these 10,000 ghosts that still retained their self-awareness, the remaining ones have lost all of their rationality and minds. If I really had to describe them, they could be considered to be vengeful spirits. These vengeful spirits usually resided in the center of the city, and that place is extremely eerie and ominous. All the ghosts feel extremely comfortable in that place, just that it is very easy to lose your way.¡¯


    ¡®Other than that, we tried to exit Wellington once before. However, it seemed that we can only exist inside Wellington. Once we exit this place, we would rapidly disappear. Many of our companions thought that this was ascending to heaven and insisted on leaving. The other portion thought that this meant their complete erasure from the world and decided to stay in the city. No matter what, even though we are ghosts now, we still have family and friends that we knew initially.¡¯


    ¡®I¡¯m really thankful that I did not lose my memories of my granddaughter!¡¯


    ¡®Granddaughter?¡¯


    ¡®That¡¯s right, we are grandfather and granddaughter.¡¯


    ¡®Oh, so the main reason you guys tried to frighten us was to prevent us from entering the center of the city?¡¯


    ¡®That¡¯s right, those vengeful spirits are different from us. Once any living thing enters that place, they would surround the living thing crazily. Based on our understanding, in the underworld-like environment of Wellington now, ghosts have a small ability to affect the physical world. But the most crucial thing was that they could directly pollute the soul. Don¡¯t think that you are fine when it¡¯s just one vengeful spirit because once the number increases the outcome can only be death.¡¯


    ¡®Ah, I¡¯m sorry, this little girl is called Momo, right? She can indeed see the vengeful spirits, but there¡¯s nothing much a little girl can do either.¡¯


    Bai Yi¡¯s group communicated with the two ghosts about many things, while Mavis seriously recorded all of these things down. Souls, ghosts, vengeful spirits¡­All of these things were extremely foreign to the humans in New Zealand now. This seemingly simple information might become something very valuable in the future.

 Chapter 111

    Chapter 111: Spirit Devouring Butterfly


    ¡°He¡¯s fine but doesn¡¯t your other companion need help? Since this Ocote is your companion, you should know how to neutralize the corrosion from that pus, right?¡± said Bai Yi as his eyes returned to normal. After hearing Bai Yi¡¯s words, the two of them finally realized that their teammate had been sprayed by Ocote¡¯s pus earlier and many small holes had appeared on him.


    ¡°Samuel!¡±


    The two of them immediately became anxious, and hurriedly took out a powder they extracted from some plant. They immediately poured this powder over Samuel. Since Ocote was their companion, they knew long ago how to neutralize the pus inside the meat lumps on him. However, Samuel just used his hand to stop the two of them and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to, I¡¯ve already applied the medicine on myself.¡±


    His tone was very plain and subdued!


    Bai Yi could hear a faint anger in the voice of this person called Samuel. He wasn¡¯t wrong to be angry either. They were similarly companions, and he got injured because he tried to stop Ocote. Despite this, nobody thought about him first. However, this wasn¡¯t something Bai Yi wanted to care about, he obviously didn¡¯t want to bother about the relations in other teams.


    At this time, the Ocote that Bai Yi had hypnotized slowly climbed up, still seemingly in a daze.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t use his hypnosis to its greatest extent; he wasn¡¯t that kind-hearted. Making the person enter deep-level sleep using hypnosis had great benefits to the balancing of the body and soul. Bai Yi would rather save these benefits for his own teammates than to help strangers for no reason. One must know, Bai Yi¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t be used without limitations, especially the reverse flower eye that consumed special energy.


    ¡°What did I¡­what happened?


    ¡°Ocote, you¡¯re awake?¡± The leader of the other team said in shock.


    Although Bai Yi didn¡¯t hypnotize him deeply, this was already enough to shock the other team. One must know that the things everyone were most afraid of now was to enter battle or receiving any big stimulations. If they accidentally fell into the berserk state, then whether they could wake up again was really up to luck. Even for their companions, it was rare for people to go through danger to stop somebody in a berserk state. To put it more accurately, nobody had an effective way to stop somebody in a berserk state, and the plants that the evolved humans had found so far weren¡¯t powerful to the point of instant results.


    ¡°Momo, where are those vengeful spirits?¡±


    ¡°They didn¡¯t follow us, but I don¡¯t know where they are either,¡± Momo looked over and said.


    Hearing their conversation, everyone focused their attention again and observed their surroundings. Honestly speaking, they didn¡¯t feel good at all staying in this cemetery; especially in a city with ghosts. Fortunately, none of them were normal people, and after the initial panic, all of them started to calm down. Even the four newcomers followed Bai Yi¡¯s group into the cathedral.


    After entering the cathedral and having the cemetery out of their sights, they finally felt a bit better.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, very sorry, we were too anxious just now.¡± The team leader felt quite embarrassed at himself, the difference between them was really too much.


    ¡°I am the leader of this team, my name is Xiao!¡±


    ¡°Bai Yi!¡±


    ¡°Bai Yi?¡±


    ¡°You are really Bai Yi?¡± The few of them asked in surprise.


    ¡°Do I have a need to lie?¡±


    ¡°No no, we just didn¡¯t expect to bump into you at this place. But really, thank you so much. If not for you and Yu Han releasing the information about activated cells, a lot more people would have fallen into the berserk state and not be able to recover from it,¡± Xiao immediately said excitedly. Bai Yi and Yu Han had good reputations among the majority of evolved humans in New Zealand. The feeling was just like meeting a movie star in the world before, but of course, they might have other expectations from him as well.


    ¡°The method you used just now, is it a new way to deal with the brutal urges?¡± Xiao continued to ask excitedly.


    This was the reason behind his excitement and expectations. Perhaps in the eyes of many people, Bai Yi and Yu Han definitely knew of more detailed and effective ways to deal with the Brutal Phase. This was a common mindset that people had. After all, why would a person share something good with everyone else so unreservedly and selflessly?


    ¡°En.¡± Bai Yi looked at Xiao and nodded.


    ¡°Really?! What is this method?¡±


    ¡°Hypnosis!¡±


    ¡°Hypnosis?¡±


    ¡°How do you hypnotize people?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably due to the genes I fused with giving me a basic hypnotic ability, but as for the details of how it happened, I don¡¯t know either. Just like how you guys aren¡¯t clear about how your abilities came about, you guys aren¡¯t able to recreate your abilities either. Of course, if you guys could hypnotize through other methods, it¡¯s worth trying as well,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Is it really like that? You won¡¯t keep it from us intentionally, right?¡±


    Bai Yi glanced at Ocote and didn¡¯t bother saying anything else. He was already being very generous by explaining so much. If this group of people didn¡¯t know what was good for them and continued asking, Bai Yi didn¡¯t mind showing them what was called appropriate behavior. Fortunately, Xiao didn¡¯t let down his role as the leader and pulled back his companion. He knew that it wasn¡¯t appropriate to ask anymore.


    Suddenly, Momo drew her sword nervously again.


    ¡°Vengeful Spirits!¡±


    A simple reminder instantly put everyone on full alert. However, before anyone could think of how to deal with these vengeful spirits, a continuous fluttering sound suddenly came from above them and gave everyone a fright again. All of them saw a large bunch of unknown lifeforms flying out toward the main entrance of the cathedral. These lifeforms seemed like bats at first glance, but they realized that they were butterflies after a more careful observation. However, they were still different from the butterflies they normally saw. But none of them was surprised by this, there weren¡¯t any normal lifeforms left in New Zealand by now.


    A huge bunch of blackish translucent butterflies flew out, surrounding a side of the main door as they danced around lightly and gracefully.


    Momo saw the scene over there and her body relaxed slightly.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°They are eating, the vengeful spirits are getting eaten by these butterflies.¡± Momo¡¯s face was full of surprise. At this time, Xiao¡¯s group was even more surprised than her. They had already guessed that this little girl could see ghosts from her words before, but after hearing Momo¡¯s words now they didn¡¯t have to guess anymore.


    ¡°She can see ghosts?¡±


    However, before Bai Yi¡¯s team could reply, the bunch of butterflies started to fly toward them. Everyone instantly became nervous again, but only Bai Yi and Momo didn¡¯t feel nervous. On the contrary, they felt very close and dear. The feeling was just like the joy they got from seeing somebody similar to them. Bai Yi¡¯s team could guess the reason, this was definitely because Bai Yi and Momo had fused with only butterfly genes.


    This big bunch of butterflies of an unknown species surrounded Bai Yi and Momo and danced around them. Finally, they stopped on Momo¡¯s body. There were some on Bai Yi¡¯s body too, but comparatively, the majority of the butterflies had landed on Momo¡¯s body. Moreover, they seemed to be even more intimate with her. These butterflies could consume vengeful spirits, and Momo¡¯s eyes could see ghosts, so it made sense that Momo had better compatibility with them.


    ¡°Hahahaha, so itchy!¡± Momo laughed happily, twisting her body.


    ¡°Daddy can we bring them with us, I like them a lot.¡± Momo suddenly turned and looked at Bai Yi.


    Bai Yi could only smile bitterly in his heart after hearing her words. He could tell that these butterflies were very useful as well, but taming them wasn¡¯t as easy as talking about it. Whether they would follow them or not, where they would keep them, and what to feed them with, these were all difficult questions to solve.


    At this time, these butterflies started to fly toward Xiao¡¯s team instead.


    Xiao¡¯s team became slightly nervous. However, they very quickly felt an extremely comfortable feeling as if they were ascending to heaven. The few of them immediately thought that these butterflies were healing their injuries for them. Even if they couldn¡¯t see it, they knew that they were injured by those vengeful spirits before.


    However, only Momo could see the clearest. These butterflies weren¡¯t healing their injuries for them but clearly sucking out their souls!


    While their souls were being consumed, Xiao¡¯s team suddenly felt an immense pleasure like they were ascending to heaven, and they were all completely lost in that feeling. If these butterflies flew toward them from the start they might still be quite cautious, but they had surrounded Bai Yi and Momo for so long. This made them think that these butterflies were harmless. Just that bit of change in their mindsets caused them to be completely defenseless, and very quickly they were completely lost in that ecstatic feeling.


    All of sudden, the four of them all fell to the floor with a ¡®pat!¡¯.


    Even Bai Yi¡¯s team were stunned by this, what just happened?


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Their souls were consumed,¡± Momo said.


    ¡°AH!¡± Bai Yi, Woolf, Mavis, and the rest of them stood on the spot in shock. Their thoughts were actually not too different from Xiao¡¯s team. These butterflies had flown around Bai Yi and Momo for so long and nothing had happened to them. As such, they really thought that these butterflies weren¡¯t dangerous. However, after they flew toward Xiao¡¯s team, why did the butterflies suddenly consume their souls?


    At this time, the bunch of butterflies flew back again, and all of them instantly went on full alert.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Bai Yi stopped Woolf and the rest from moving. These butterflies didn¡¯t seem to consume people¡¯s souls without a reason. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have just surrounded the 4 people in Xiao¡¯s team earlier. Moreover, the person that could sense everything the clearest here should be Momo. Sure enough, Momo didn¡¯t stop the butterflies and the butterflies around flew past their bodies and stopped on her again.


    ¡°Probably, these butterflies would only consume those vengeful spirits, ghosts, and those souls that are damaged or polluted. This is also probably the reason why there aren¡¯t any ghosts or vengeful spirits around this cathedral.¡± A butterfly stopped on Bai Yi¡¯s hand, and he looked at Momo. Momo could see anything that happened with their souls; since she didn¡¯t say anything, it proved that these butterflies weren¡¯t sucking their souls.


    ¡°Shit, lucky I didn¡¯t get caught by those vengeful spirits, otherwise, I would be in so much danger now.¡± Woolf was frightened out of his wits.


    ¡°Dead!¡± At this time, Mavis also checked for the vital signs of Xiao¡¯s team.


    ¡°What a pity.¡± Bai Yi shook his head slightly. However, all he did was shake his head slightly. With how dangerous New Zealand was now, any new thing could prove to be fatal to anybody. If Bai Yi¡¯s team had suffered some damages from the vengeful spirits earlier on, they probably couldn¡¯t have escaped this fate either.


    ¡°Give a name to these butterflies,¡± Mavis took out her notebook and said. When they discovered something new, most people would immediately record it down. All this information would prove to be extremely important in the future. Many people were willing to pay a large price to buy new information. After all, the more they understood the safer they would be.


    ¡°Spirit Devouring Butterfly!¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t think about it much and immediately gave it a name.


    Spirit Devouring Butterfly ¨C A mutant butterfly that grew in the underworld. It fed on dew, ghosts and vengeful spirits, and the souls of normal lifeforms if the soul was damaged or polluted.

 Chapter 112

    Chapter 112: Underworld


    Bai Yi¡¯s group carried the four corpses outside and dug a simple hole to bury them. Anyway, there was a big cemetery outside. As for the circumstances of Xiao¡¯s team, they couldn¡¯t be considered to be sad either, but Bai Yi¡¯s group just felt that it was quite pitiful. Perhaps they just had some sympathy for people who had persevered through the same thing as them.


    That¡¯s right, pitiful!


    In New Zealand now, the initial estimates of the number of surviving evolved humans was not even 1 million. The population of New Zealand before wasn¡¯t a lot either but it was still around 5 ¨C 6 million people. In this short 9 months, more than 80% of the people had died. Moreover, even now all the surviving evolved humans lived in fear every single day. They feared meeting some dangerous evolved lifeforms and getting killed in a moment of carelessness. Other than that, they still had to worry about when they would fall into the berserk state and not be able to wake up again, becoming truly mindless monsters.


    In New Zealand now, all the evolved humans lived on the edge in fear, and every step they took could be their last.


    Even Bai Yi¡¯s team met with numerous dangers over these few months as well. However, they were lucky enough and very adaptable. As such, none of them had died during this period. One would be wrong if they thought that Bai Yi¡¯s team could move around fearlessly and recklessly. Hence, when they witnessed the death of Xiao¡¯s team, they also felt much sympathy for them.


    The Progenitor had asked them to do something to make up to the entire world for her mistakes, but they still couldn¡¯t see any trace of hope yet.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Momo, can you get those Spirit Devouring Butterflies to follow us?¡± Bai Yi asked. There were another two vengeful spirits that chased all the way inside, but they were swiftly devoured by the butterflies. The other vengeful spirits seemed to naturally feel afraid of the butterflies and they didn¡¯t enter this place anymore. Their journey would be a lot smoother in this ghost city if they could move with this bunch of Spirit Devouring Butterflies.


    ¡°Daddy are you willing to feed and take care of them?¡± Momo asked happily.


    ¡°I said if we could bring them along. As for food, I really don¡¯t know how to feed these things,¡± Bai Yi explained. It wasn¡¯t so easy to understand new things like this, and Momo¡¯s eyes had also changed after entering this city. They didn¡¯t know what would happen to her after leaving the city, so Bai Yi was also very worried about her.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡­¡± Momo said with some resentment, seemingly quite unhappy.


    ¡°En, we can try to raise them if you can make these butterflies follow us of their own will.¡±


    ¡°Really?!¡± Momo jumped happily.


    ¡°Really.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°My daddy said I can bring you guys along. Do you want to follow us¡­?¡± Momo immediately said joyously to the butterflies surrounding her.


    Woolf and the rest of the group were instantly speechless. You shouldn¡¯t pamper your daughter so much, no?Without even talking about how they were supposed to bring so many butterflies with them, just the danger of these butterflies was enough to keep all of them on guard. This danger wasn¡¯t just talking about their ability to consume souls. After all, who knew what other dangers these butterflies posed. However, since Bai Yi had already made the decision, the rest of them didn¡¯t object either.


    Bai Yi saw Momo talking to those butterflies and felt like laughing. Could those butterflies even understand her words?


    In New Zealand now, practically every plant and animal had assimilated with activated cells, and their intelligence had grown greatly. However, it was still the intelligence of mammals that had increased more in comparison. Maybe it was because the Progenitor was human and thus a mammal as well.


    ¡°En en, oh ok, you guys can¡¯t leave this place for now? This is the environment that you guys mutated and adapted to huh.¡± When those butterflies stopped on top of the feelers on Momo¡¯s head, she started talking to herself. It was like she really was communicating with the butterflies.


    Can she really understand them?


    Bai Yi suddenly recalled that in the past, Momo communicated with Sharpei in this way too, but he just thought that it was because Sharpei and Momo grew up together since they were young. From the looks of it now, it didn¡¯t seem to be just because of that.


    Animal bond?


    That doesn¡¯t seem right either, Momo didn¡¯t seem to be so close to all animals.


    Bai Yi couldn¡¯t guess the reason, but he thought that it probably wasn¡¯t a bad thing.


    At this time, 11 butterflies flew out from the swarm. The butterflies were all packed quite tightly together just now. As such, they couldn¡¯t tell that these butterflies seemed to be black and almost transparent. They only realized this when these 11 butterflies flew out. If they didn¡¯t look carefully, they almost thought that these butterflies were just a projection and didn¡¯t possess a real body. These 11 butterflies stopped on Momo¡¯s body and stuck to her closely.


    ¡°You guys can leave with me? It¡¯s ok, Momo likes you guys a lot!¡± Momo said happily.


    Just when they were trying to understand what had happened, these 11 butterflies just stuck to Momo¡¯s body like this and slowly merged into her. They went in¡­! Bai Yi immediately got a big shock and wanted to stop Momo. They only saw these butterflies for the first time, and even their name was just given. They didn¡¯t know the characteristics of these butterflies at all. If something really happened, then it would be too late for Ba Yi to feel regret.


    ¡°Momo!¡±


    ¡°En daddy, what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°What is this? Why did these butterflies merge into your body?¡± When Bai Yi put his hand on Momo¡¯s shoulder he had already forced himself to calm down. In a situation like this, nobody knew what was going on, so it was best to deal with it calmly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either, they just said that they could leave with me!¡± Momo said and stretched out her right hand.


    From her fingertips, a butterfly spread its wings and flew out. Everyone dumbly looked at this butterfly that carried a slight glow. There definitely wasn¡¯t any butterfly on Momo¡¯s hand just now, so how did this butterfly appear? Wait¡­If they could still tell that the butterflies before had a real body, then this butterfly was completely transparent without a physical body.


    ¡°Ah I can¡¯t do this anymore, I¡¯m hallucinating.¡± Woolf smacked his head. Pupu beside him shook his head vigorously too, his whole body shaking about.


    Bai Yi also massaged his forehead. Even though they saw countless new and strange lifeforms in New Zealand so far, this kind of change was really still beyond their imaginations.


    ¡°Momo, what just happened? Explain slowly,¡± Bai Yi said gently to Momo.


    ¡°En!¡± Momo nodded.


    After Momo used her simple and kiddy words to explain for a long while, the rest of them finally understood more or less what was going on.


    ______________________________________________________________________________


    Underworld ¨C A special environment where a large number of living things had died. Spiritual lifeforms can directly exist in this place.


    The underworld existed in many legends around the world, but in reality, nobody had truly discovered any place that had ghosts so far. There were no ghosts discovered even in those ancient battlefields or ancient tombs. In truth, the world had a natural ability to repair itself, and Earth was a world that existed mainly in the physical dimension. Without outside forces to maintain it, an underworld that was born through chance like this would be gradually eroded by the main world before it eventually disappeared.


    This was why people now couldn¡¯t find any ghosts in places that reportedly had ghosts in the past like ancient battlefields or tombs.


    Other than in the case of coincidence of coincidences, the underworld required somebody to maintain it so that it could continue to exist. Examples of this would be like the formations in ancient eastern legends, the Terracotta Army of Qin Shi Huang, the pyramids of Egypt, Easter Island, and the like¡­


    The things in the legends weren¡¯t just legends. Instead, they really had a purpose to it, and that was to maintain the environment and energy field of the underworld.


    Unfortunately, the humans after always thought too highly of themselves and entered these places with the goal of exploration. However, their reckless actions changed the setup of the systems in place to maintain the underworld. As a result, the main world swiftly eroded the underworld in these places away and it eventually became a normal physical environment.


    Hence, when those tomb raiders, thieves or explorers entered a place for the first time, they would commonly encounter some hard to believe things. The system maintaining the underworld hadn¡¯t been damaged yet so the spirits really existed then. When the underworld disappeared afterward, the spiritual lifeforms weren¡¯t able to exist in the physical world for an extended period of time. Naturally, people subsequently didn¡¯t notice any abnormalities. The people after didn¡¯t manage to find anything abnormal and still shouted shamelessly that their predecessors were just deluding themselves, or that it had no scientific evidence.


    Although science was really becoming more and more advanced, humans were also increasingly losing their reverence and devotion, becoming more and more arrogant!


    Foolish¡­!


    ¡­¡­


    A large number of people dying in addition to the unique construction of Wellington had caused this place to become the mythical underworld.


    In this special environment, the lifeforms that still survived in Wellington either left or adapted and changed because of this place. The other lifeforms only adapted to the special environment and energy field of the underworld, but the Spirit Devouring Butterflies had changed even more thoroughly and started to feed on souls.


    This characteristic caused a small portion of the Spirit Devouring Butterflies to undergo a drastic change, that is¡­Half-Spiritual Body!


    These 11 butterflies were the ones that adapted the earliest and had already had half-spiritual bodies They lied on the boundary between the physical and the spiritual. That was why they could adhere themselves to Momo¡¯s body, and maintain their existence through feeding on the excess energy that her soul gave out. Moreover, these butterflies roughly judged the strength of Momo¡¯s soul now, and they didn¡¯t let too many butterflies adhere themselves to Momo. They only let a number of butterflies that Momo¡¯s soul could withstand to adhere to her.


    11 Spirit Devouring Butterflies, that was the limit of Momo¡¯s soul.


    The rest of them looked to the swarm of butterflies and realized that there indeed were more butterflies that were at a similar level as the 11 butterflies in the swarm.


    ________________________________________________________________


    Momo only used simple words to describe the special environment of Wellington, as well as why those Spirit Devouring Butterflies had changed and why they adhered themselves to her body.


    As for the underworld, not just Momo, but the rest of them couldn¡¯t wrap their heads around this idea either. Even if Wellington was a ghost city now, they still couldn¡¯t figure out why.


    Wellington was an underworld formed by chance. Nonetheless, as time passed, it would be eroded away by the main physical world and return to normal. At that point in time, all the lifeforms living in Wellington now would either have to adapt to the normal world again or truly die. When that time came, other than people like Bai Yi¡¯s team who had really seen the ghosts, everyone else would probably think that everything was an exaggerated rumor.


    In truth, Heloise had fallen into a slight daze and shock when she looked at the scene of Wellington below her in the air.


    So Wellington looked like this from the top, but why is it the more I look at it, the more¡­how do I describe this?


    Heloise couldn¡¯t describe this weird feeling that she had, but she felt that the topography and environment of this place was a little strange. She decided to stay there and think about it for a while. She also drew down the appearance of Wellington since she wasn¡¯t in a rush to look for Bai Yi and the rest. However, Heloise at this point in time didn¡¯t understand the importance of the drawings in her hands.

 Chapter 113

    Chapter 113: Mad Ghost Anna


    After simply communicating with the Spirit Devouring Butterflies, they understood their request and were willing to move with Bai Yi¡¯s team.


    From the simple communication between Momo and the Spirit Devouring Butterflies, they learned that these butterflies already had the habit of going out to hunt at a set time. The ghosts and vengeful spirits were just food to these butterflies. With just a big swarm of Spirit Devouring Butterflies opening the way for them, Bai Yi¡¯s team didn¡¯t have to fear vengeful spirits anymore. Momo was still the most popular with the butterflies. The rest of them were quite envious when they saw her smiling happily being surrounded by a big swarm of butterflies.


    Bai Yi¡¯s team walked out of the cathedral again, and beside Momo was a big swarm of Spirit Devouring Butterflies.


    ¡­¡­


    They walked back along the path that they ran from, and without walking too far they saw the old ghost Johnny and his granddaughter, Nessa, again. Apparently, the two ghosts were quite worried about them after they got split up from each other.


    When Momo saw the two ghosts, they also saw Bai Yi¡¯s group. However, once Johnny and Nessa saw the swarm of Spirit Devouring Butterflies next to them, they immediately revealed a look of terror. With a ¡®sou!¡¯, they started to fly away like green smoke. As ghosts who had lived here for more than half a year, how could they not know the power of these butterflies?


    The Spirit Devouring Butterflies beside Bai Yi¡¯s team immediately started chasing the ghosts as if they had seen their prey.


    ¡°Momo, tell the Spirit Devouring Butterflies not to harm them.¡± The rest of them couldn¡¯t see ghosts, but after Momo said that the butterflies went to chase Johnny and Nessa, they immediately asked Momo to stop the butterfly swarm. Bai Yi did not know how Momo communicated with the butterflies. Although they had both fused with butterfly genes, Momo seemed to be comparatively closer and more intimate with animals.


    When they finally caught up with Johnny and Nessa, these two ghosts were surrounded in the middle of the street by the butterflies. They were unable to even move an inch.


    The bodies of the Spirit Devouring Butterflies were actually very fragile, not too different from a normal butterfly¡¯s. If they were released outside, these butterflies would just be free food for other lifeforms. However, facing these simple ghosts and vengeful spirits who didn¡¯t have any physical form of attacks, the Spirit Devouring Butterflies were their natural bane. It could only be said that every evolved lifeform countered another, the Spirit Devouring Butterflies were born with the activated cells as a catalyst and the special environment of Wellington.


    Moreover, these ghosts seemingly couldn¡¯t use their ability to go through physical objects when faced with these butterflies. Their bodies seemed to be restricted by some attractive force that rooted them to the spot.


    ¡°Oh, we meet again.¡± Bai Yi looked at the two vague ghostly figures in the middle of the street.


    ¡°Oh¡­!¡± Johnny couldn¡¯t even make himself laugh bitterly when he heard Bai Yi¡¯s words.


    ¡°Eh? You guys can speak?¡± Bai Yi¡¯s team were all extremely surprised. Although the voice was quite muffled, they could still hear it.


    ¡°Can you get these butterflies to go away, I¡¯ll explain to you guys,¡± Johnny said.


    Bai Yi gestured for Momo to make the butterflies disperse. After the butterflies left Johnny and Nessa, they immediately disappeared into thin air. However, seeing that Momo still looked toward the same place, they knew that the two ghosts hadn¡¯t left the place. It was just that they couldn¡¯t see them anymore. Recalling the situation a while ago, Nessa had even suddenly revealed her appearance to Bai Yi¡¯s team to scare them. They didn¡¯t think of asking about this incident earlier, so they must get things clear now.


    After Johnny and Nessa¡¯s explanation, they finally understood what was going on.


    The underworld was a special environment. In the underworld, these ghosts could maintain their existences for a long time. The stronger the energy field of the underworld, the more influence the ghosts could exert on the real world. If Bai Yi¡¯s team entered the center of Wellington now, they could completely see those vengeful spirits with their own eyes. Another way to increase their influence on the outside world was to increase their personal strength. If the ghost was strong enough, then they could still reveal their bodies in places with weak energy in the underworld. They would also be able to communicate with other living lifeforms.


    An example would be how Nessa revealed herself to frighten them earlier.


    However, Nessa wasn¡¯t powerful enough and she was simply releasing the power of her soul. This kind of state couldn¡¯t be sustained for long, or she would cause great damage to herself.


    So, it wasn¡¯t that Johnny didn¡¯t want to directly interact with them, it was just that they couldn¡¯t do it at their current level.


    After hearing Johnny¡¯s explanation, Bai Yi didn¡¯t blame them either. He just asked questions about any relevant information and clarified things, recording them all down for later.


    ¡®Have you seen this person?¡¯ While asking about the ability of ghosts to appear and disappear, Bai Yi finally asked about their true goal for coming to Wellington.


    ¡®You guys came here to look for people? Is it a friend? It¡¯s really dangerous to come to this place.¡¯


    ¡®Friend¡­absolutely not!¡¯ Bai Yi¡¯s expression turned cold.


    Even if they couldn¡¯t communicate directly, Johnny and Nessa could still see Bai Yi¡¯s expression. Looking at his face, they immediately knew that the Yu Han they were looking for wasn¡¯t their friend. The old ghost Johnny could read the situation better and told Bai Yi that they could inform the other ghosts. If any of them saw Yu Han, then they would tell him immediately. Afterward, Johnny brought Nessa and left the encirclement of the Spirit Devouring Butterflies as they continued to shiver in fear.


    ¡°Uncle Bai, you¡¯re letting them go just like this?¡± Warner couldn¡¯t understand it.


    ¡°En, it doesn¡¯t matter even if we let them go.¡± Bai Yi revealed a smile. Actually, what could they do even if they kept them here? They weren¡¯t going to get any information about Yu Han either way.


    ¡°Warner!¡±


    ¡°En?¡± Warner and Pupu looked at Bai Yi.


    ¡°Do you have any complaints?¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m talking about how I brought everyone to this place because of the grudge in my heart. Yu Han would definitely not be alone. From the information we have gathered lately, we know that he has quite a few decent teammates with him. Coming here to find Yu Han this time, maybe we won¡¯t succeed, and some of us may even die in this place. It might be you, it might be Woolf¡­In reality, even before seeing Yu Han, Heloise has already gone missing. Don¡¯t you guys have any complaints?¡± Bai Yi said slowly. At the start, he was just talking to Warner, but toward the end, he looked at everyone else.


    Everyone fell into silence!


    ¡°I believe that Heloise will be fine,¡± Woolf said seriously after a while.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t just your business, don¡¯t put all the responsibility on yourself. You must know, if we did not want to come, we wouldn¡¯t have tried to accommodate and follow you to this place either,¡± Mavis said slowly, while the look in Sara¡¯s eyes when she died appeared in Mavis¡¯ mind. Similarly, the rest of them thought of their companions from before.


    Martin, Sara¡­Hong Qi Hua!


    A sharp murderous aura gradually rose from all of them. This murderous aura even displaced the surrounding energy field of the underworld, and the Spirit Devouring Butterflies on Momo¡¯s body couldn¡¯t endure it and flew away.


    ¡°Then, don¡¯t regret!¡± An extraordinarily bewitching and cold light flashed in Bai Yi¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Of course!¡± All of them replied solemnly.


    Only when the aura around them calmed down did the swarm of Spirit Devouring Butterflies return to Momo¡¯s side. These bunch of butterflies couldn¡¯t understand the changes in the people of Bai Yi¡¯s team. They only naturally felt very close to Momo and could communicate with her. She felt just a companion that looked different from them.


    ¡°Momo, if we really see Yu Han¡¯s team later, immediately make the Spirit Devouring Butterflies leave. These butterflies are the bane of spiritual type lifeforms, but they are actually very weak toward normal lifeforms. If Xiao¡¯s team did not make an error in judgment just now, many of these butterflies would have definitely been killed.¡± Bai Yi started to instruct Momo.


    ¡°En en!¡± Momo did not want her newly-made friends to die like that either.


    ¡­¡­


    After waiting for half a day, just when they thought that Johnny and Nessa weren¡¯t coming back anymore, they finally saw their figures. There were more than 10 other ghosts accompanying these two ghosts.


    ¡®Johnny, what are you trying to do?! Why didn¡¯t you say that there were so many butterflies here!¡¯ One of the female ghosts with them immediately grabbed onto Johnny and scolded him after seeing the swarm of Spirit Devouring Butterflies. The other ghosts also couldn¡¯t help but start to run away in the other direction.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s really fine. These Spirit Devouring Butterflies won¡¯t attack us, they listen to the words of that little girl called Momo.¡¯


    ¡®Spirit Devouring Butterflies?¡¯


    ¡®They will listen?¡¯ The other ghosts were very curious as well.


    Three ghosts shakily and very nervously came in front of Bai Yi¡¯s team, while most of them looked on from afar without daring to approach. Seeing their natural bane dancing around in the sky around them, Anna couldn¡¯t help but feel that she was serving herself on a platter to someone else.


    ¡°I heard that you guys are looking for some people!¡± The female ghost that scolded Johnny just now didn¡¯t hide herself and revealed her appearance with a burst of spiritual power.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, we are looking for some people.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°Enemies?¡±


    ¡°En¡­Talking to us directly like this, aren¡¯t you afraid that your body can¡¯t take it?¡± Bai Yi looked at the female ghost sitting casually on the floor and asked.


    ¡°Hmph, don¡¯t compare me to this bunch of idiots.¡±


    ¡®Anna is more powerful than us.¡¯ A row of words appeared on the sand beside them.


    Bai Yi looked at Anna and couldn¡¯t help but nod his head. Apparently, this female ghost called Anna was the top few among the ghosts. This wasn¡¯t too surprising since there would definitely be differences between every ghost. As long as there was a large enough number of ghosts, then there would definitely be the so-called ¡®most powerful¡¯ group of ghosts after comparing all of them.


    ¡°I have seen the person you talked about!¡± Anna said to Bai Yi.


    ¡°Where is he!¡±


    ¡­¡­


    After talking to Anna for a while, Bai Yi¡¯s team finally learned where Yu Han was. He was actually on the other side of the city. Although they weren¡¯t directly opposite each other, it still wouldn¡¯t be easy to meet him. In addition, Anna didn¡¯t tell them the information about Yu Han so enthusiastically out of good-will.


    ¡°Ooohhhh, I¡¯ve never seen something like a blood feud before! I tell you what, more of you guys must die later, it¡¯s a super good bargain! If you die in the Wellington now, your soul won¡¯t disappear quickly but become a ghost like us¡­¡± Anna said excitedly.


    ¡®I knew it, I shouldn¡¯t have brought her here.¡¯


    ¡®I actually didn¡¯t think of coming back here in the first place, who knew that Anna woman would overhear our conversation.¡¯ Johnny whispered to his granddaughter. Sure enough, after learning that the goal of Bai Yi¡¯s team was to find people, Johnny didn¡¯t have the intention of coming back anymore. However, this madwoman Anna actually heard them and forced them to come back here. The rest of the ghosts here also joined along the way to watch the show. One must know, not many people came to Wellington these days, so these ghosts felt quite bored normally as well.

 Chapter 114

    Chapter 114: Confession And¡­


    An endless parade of ghosts!


    This was the scene around them now, and it was definitely not an exaggeration. There really were an uncountable number of ghosts following them. Due to the ghosts reports in Wellington, fewer and fewer people came here over time, so the ghosts felt extremely bored. Now that there was a melodramatic blood feud coming up, it was a good form of entertainment for these ghosts. However, even if these ghosts were curious, they didn¡¯t recklessly approach Bai Yi¡¯s team. After all, that large swarm of Spirit Devouring Butterflies wasn¡¯t something to be taken lightly.


    ¡°More of you guys must die later!!¡± Anna followed beside Bai Yi and said something like this from time to time.


    However, they completely ignored the curse-like harassment from Anna, because all of them were running rapidly toward Yu Han¡¯s location. A fierce and desolate atmosphere surrounded a few of them and very quickly affected the ghosts around them. Even Anna shut her mouth after a while. This group of people, just what kind of hatred and resolution did they bring with them here?


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°I feel great sorrow over Doss¡¯ unfortunate passing!¡± Yu Han said with his eyes slightly red. At this time, they had just stored the Dead Soul Flower and had assembled together again. Yu Han¡¯s feelings weren¡¯t fake. Maybe he really wasn¡¯t willing to be the subordinate of others, but he still had real feelings toward the teammates below him.


    ¡°Team leader, this isn¡¯t your fault. Now that New Zealand is so dangerous, we have actually all mentally prepared ourselves for this before coming,¡± one of the teammates said.


    ¡°No, the responsibility lies largely with me! You guys only know that we are here for the Dead Soul Flower, but I actually have another selfish motive!¡± Yu Han clenched his fist.


    ¡°Selfish motive?¡± Everyone was shocked.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, selfish motive!¡± Yu Han nodded. The people in Yu Han¡¯s team went silent for a while and looked at him seriously as they waited for his explanation. Only Ning Xue stared at Yu Han. Was he really going to them everything?


    ¡°Actually, I have an enemy all along.¡±


    ¡°Enemy?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, enemy. At the very beginning of New Zealand¡¯s change, we had some conflicts in our strive for survival. Eventually, we grew to become life and death enemies.¡± Yu Han nodded.


    ¡°This enemy must be very bad right. After all, he clashed with a good person like team leader,¡± Gaute said casually. His life was saved by Yu Han, so he trusted Yu Han a lot. He had followed Yu Han for more than half a year and found that Yu Han was a decent leader. He also thought that Yu Han was a good person who thought for all the evolved humans of New Zealand.


    ¡°No, the bad person is¡­me!¡± Yu Han said softly, and everyone was stunned on the spot.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you guys want to know who exactly is chasing me? I think you guys won¡¯t find this name unfamiliar.¡±


    ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°Bai Yi!¡±


    ¡°Bai Yi? It¡¯s actually him?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s him. Due to my immaturity and jealousy before, it caused many things to happen between us. When you guys joined this team, I said that I don¡¯t mind the things you did in your past because everybody makes mistakes. As long as we help each other and unite together after entering the team, then everything is good. Actually, I set this rule because I myself had done wrong things in the past, and I haven¡¯t been able to make up for these mistakes yet.¡± Yu Han slowly told them everything that had happened between him and Bai Yi.


    Of course, Yu Han had been planning these words for very long, and he was very skilled with his words. He did not deny the things that he did, such as trying to kill his teammates or killing Hong Qi Hua. However, the version that Yu Han told them had some slight differences. From the simple jealousy and resentment, it became about them competing over leadership in the team, which eventually resulted in their conflict.


    Yu Han¡¯s words seemed even more genuine precisely because he did not deny these wrongdoings!


    ¡°I admit, I did wrong in the past,¡± Yu Han raised his head and said, staring at the dark sky.


    ¡°Hence, as somebody who did wrong before, I have never asked you guys about your past. I think that what happened before isn¡¯t important. To try and survive in this cruel world and still make sure that your actions do not go against morals or feelings is an extremely difficult thing to do. However, I¡­even after all this, I still can¡¯t completely run away from what I did before,¡± Yu Han said softly, revealing his innermost feelings to his teammates.


    At this time, Yu Han¡¯s teammates listened to him silently, and nobody spoke for a while.


    So their team leader was somebody like this in the past?


    ¡°I could never pluck up the courage to confess these things to you guys and speak of it. After all, I¡¯m such a despicable person, if I told you guys these things, all of you would probably leave me,¡± Yu Han mocked himself.


    ¡°Yu Han, is everything you said true?¡± Athena asked with a cold face.


    ¡°It¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°I really didn¡¯t imagine that you were somebody like this,¡± Athena said, wanting to stand up and leave.


    ¡°Wait, Athena, sit down first.¡± Adams stopped her. After Athena sat down again, Adams looked at Yu Han again. ¡°Team leader, the selfish motive you talked about just now, can you clarify it?¡± Adams asked.


    ¡°En, actually Bai Yi and I are both relatively famous people, so our whereabouts aren¡¯t a secret. When Bai Yi knew that I was nearby, I naturally knew that he was nearby as well. So, I decided to have a final closure with Bai Yi in Wellington. Because this is something between Bai Yi and me, I chose to do it in Wellington so as to not implicate you guys.¡±


    ¡°Why did you choose Wellington?¡±


    ¡°Because Wellington is a ghost city!¡± A bottle of solution appeared in Yu Han¡¯s hands. This bottle of solution and the solution that purified the Dead Soul Flower came from the same source, and both could purge spiritual lifeforms.


    ¡°We learned from Cook that Wellington really had ghosts in it, and we even got the juice from the Soul Purifying Tree. However, Bai Yi¡¯s group probably doesn¡¯t know that. As such, with the power of this ghost city, we might be able to finish him off without directly battling with him. This way, you guys can avoid battling with Bai Yi¡¯s group and there wouldn¡¯t be any casualties either,¡± Yu Han explained.


    ¡°Yu Han, even at this time you are still scheming against Bai Yi?¡± Athena said in anger.


    ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. Because I¡¯m not willing to just give my life up like that.¡± Yu Han nodded frankly.


    Yu Han was also gambling now, gambling whether his teammates would abandon him because of this. If there was any basis to his gamble, it would be the half a year of friendship with these people, and the cruel environment of New Zealand now. Other than a few lucky people, nobody could remain completely kind and pure in this place.


    ¡°Yu Han, you are really hopeless¡­¡±


    ¡°Enough Athena, you shut up.¡± Evelynn who hadn¡¯t said a single word so far suddenly shouted at Athena.


    ¡°Evelynn, you!¡± Athena looked at Evelynn in disbelief. Why, why was she the one told to shut up? Moreover, looking at the expressions of the other people, they didn¡¯t seem to think that Yu Han did anything wrong.


    ¡°Let me share my past then. Before I became a monster, I got captured by a group of guys because of my decent looks and was treated as a plaything by them. In a lucky opportunity, I killed them and escaped. After that, while trying to survive, I stole food from others and even killed other people, I¡­my hands are stained with blood too,¡± Evelynn looked at her hands and slowly said.


    ¡°Me too¡­I used to follow another team. We preyed on and killed other humans for survival, we only did it once but¡­¡± Adams said too.


    ¡°Me too¡­¡± The rest of them slowly shared their stories as well.


    ¡°Does it count if I stole a bone from a dog before? But it chased and bit me for a few streets after that,¡± Ah De said. Their initially low mood was suddenly interrupted by Ah De and they laughed out loud, but this laughter disappeared very quickly.


    ¡°Athena, I believe that you really did not do anything that went against your conscience before. But you must know, from the beginning of the change until now, the world has turned so cruel. People like you who never had to make a moral choice is really in the tiny minority. I think a lot of people probably made a choice that went against their conscience just so they could survive.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that what team leader did was right. In truth, team leader doesn¡¯t think that what he did was right either. However, in the New Zealand now, how many people dare to say that they didn¡¯t do any wrong things, that they have a completely clear conscience?!¡±


    ¡°I¡­don¡¯t dare,¡± Evelynn slowly said.


    ¡°I agree with Evelynn, at least from this period of time that I spent with team leader, I can tell that he isn¡¯t a bad person. I believe my own eyes,¡± Adams said as well.


    ¡°But he¡¯s still trying to scheme against Bai Yi now.¡±


    ¡°That isn¡¯t a mistake either, I don¡¯t think that he is doing something wrong. At least, I¡¯m not able to just give my life up either. As for the selfish motive team leader talked about, I don¡¯t think that it was all selfishness. To look for the Dead Soul Flower, we had to come to Wellington in the first place. Bai Yi definitely doesn¡¯t have an undeserved reputation. If we battle with his team somewhere else, at least some of us would definitely die. Although team leader is scheming by setting the battle here, part of it is still in consideration of trying to protect us,¡± Adams said and looked toward Yu Han.


    ¡°Team leader, I want to ask, what are you planning to do to Bai Yi!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I plan to face Bai Yi directly and ask for a peaceful resolution. If he doesn¡¯t agree, then I will battle with him until one of us falls,¡± Yu Han said seriously.


    ¡°This world no longer has absolute good or evil anymore, maybe team leader¡¯s actions are¡­Forget about it. Anyway, I¡¯m following team leader,¡± Adams said to Yu Han and stood on Yu Han¡¯s side.


    ¡°Me too.¡±


    ¡°Me too, I don¡¯t know how that Bai Yi is like, but at least the Yu Han I know is definitely not a bad person,¡± Evelynn said.


    Success!


    A word rose from Yu Han¡¯s heart. From this moment onward, he had truly captured the hearts of this bunch of subordinates.

 Chapter 115

    Chapter 115: To Meet Again


    Success!


    A word rose from the bottom of his heart. From this moment onward, he had truly captured the hearts of this bunch of subordinates. Yu Han wanted to change. He clearly knew that heroes or ruthless people would be able to gain a following, but nobody would follow a despicable schemer. Regardless of whether he was one deep inside, he must at least convince them on the surface. But his past was just like a ticking time bomb, threatening to destroy this team at any time.


    Yu Han had been planning all the while, looking for a suitable opportunity to tell them everything.


    After his initial uneasiness, after hearing Adams, Evelynn and a few others supporting him, he knew that he had succeeded. As long as he didn¡¯t do anything to make their hearts turn cold in the future, this team wouldn¡¯t be in danger of breaking apart. As for whether Yu Han was a ruthless or despicable person?


    Was this important?


    Who never had dark thoughts in their hearts before? He just had to put on a convincing front to other people.


    Athena was left speechless by her teammates words, so she was actually a lucky person? So, everybody went through so many difficult to bring up memories? At this time, Evelynn looked at her, ¡°Athena, ask yourself. If you did not meet Yu Han, what kind of life would you be living now in that team on the edge of desperate straits? You could live so peacefully for this half a year, and everybody even managed to largely regain their human form. Who do we owe all of this to?¡±


    ¡°I¡­sorry. But, I will still observe you, I will not let you continue to do those despicable things,¡± Athena said to Yu Han.


    ¡°Of course, I welcome the supervision of everyone. I am not a saint. If you guys think anything I do is wrong then you guys must point it out to me.¡± Yu Han revealed a calm smile on his face.


    From the start till the end, Ning Xue didn¡¯t say anything. Ning Xue was smart to remain silent. With her relationship with Yu Han, anything she said would have probably been misunderstood by the rest. However, did Yu Han really change? Ning Xue looked at Yu Han blankly and finally revealed a smile. The storm brewing in the team had dissipated into nothingness just like this.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Just like I said before, I admit that the things I did in the past were wrong, but I can¡¯t possibly just let them kill me. So, I¡¯m prepared to face Bai Yi and talk things out with him. If we can resolve things then that is for the best. But if not, then I will fight back.¡± Yu Han looked at the rest of his team solemnly.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, I will support team leader. In New Zealand now, there is no absolute good or evil. If team leader just decides to give up his life like that, I would just think you are a coward. If that Bai Yi is really too overbearing, then let¡¯s just battle. Since we decided to stand with team leader, then we will not go back on our words.¡± Adams nodded.


    ¡°Thank you!¡± Yu Han nodded seriously.


    Ning Xue played with her nails absent-mindedly, peaceful resolution was obviously not possible. The faces of Khina, Hong Qi Hua, and everyone else slowly appeared in her mind. In slightly more than half a year, their faces had actually started to become a little blurry. Ning Xue turned her head and looked at the side of Yu Han¡¯s face.


    ¡°Then, everyone take a bottle of Soul Purifying Tree sap. We didn¡¯t use this before, but now that we¡¯ve confirmed the existence of ghosts, this can be put to use now. Remember to use it sparingly, this thing is harmful to ourselves too.¡± Yu Han took out a sealed leather briefcase and took out the viscous liquid inside it.


    Soul Purifying Tree ¨C a plant found by a group of people who entered Wellington by chance. Due to the influence of the environment, the sap of this tree actually had the ability to purge spiritual lifeforms. It was probably similar to the saying, ¡®Within 7 steps of the place where a venomous snake appears, there must be an antidote.¡¯ Although there was probably some exaggeration, the natural world was indeed a harmonious body that complemented and countered each other. The kind of lifeform that stood at the peak above all other living things still hadn¡¯t come into existence yet.


    The sap of the Purifying Soul Tree could not only purge spirits, but it was also damaging to the soul of living things. Everyone got a small bottle of this liquid. After leaving this inner lake, they just had to put a drop on their clothes and it could keep the ghosts away.


    ¡°We¡¯ll continue to look for the Dead Soul Flower, that is our main objective here. If Bai Yi¡¯s team really appears, then I¡¯ll talk to them,¡± Yu Han said to everyone.


    The rest of them nodded as well.


    ¡­¡­


    Bai Yi gradually slowed down and the rest of them following him gradually slowed down as well. Anna wanted to ask why weren¡¯t they running anymore, but suddenly felt that the aura around Bai Yi now was quite terrifying. Woolf was puzzled in his heart too, but similarly did not say anything and looked at Bai Yi.


    Slow and gradual, Bai Yi¡¯s actions weren¡¯t hurried at all. His aura had gradually calmed down as the harsh aura around him disappeared completely. However, the Bai Yi now felt even more dangerous, as if a volcano was being suppressed at the bottom of his heart, gathering its power for the imminent eruption.


    Even Woolf understood what Bai Yi was doing and learned from him, suppressing his own killing intent.


    At this time, the ghosts around them were completely silent as well. They feared to provoke Bai Yi¡¯s group. Although people normally felt that the ghosts inside the movies were terrifying, it was actually nothing much when people saw through it. The ghosts inside the movies were terrifying just because normal humans were too weak, and they had little resistance toward many things. Those accidents and disasters brought about by ghosts in the movies wouldn¡¯t be able to kill Bai Yi¡¯s group even if it were repeated dozens of times. Of course, this was also because the people in Bai Yi¡¯s team were individually powerful, and had strong adaptability.


    Moreover, Momo could even see ghosts now, so there was even less reason to be afraid.


    ¡°I tried to scare the people you were talking about before, and ended up luring the Giant Devil Mosquitos there¡­¡± Anna came close, wanting to say something, but Bai Yi stretched out his right hand. He gestured for her to stop talking. A mysterious and inexplicable feeling rose in him, and Bai Yi looked diagonally in front.


    At this time, Yu Han¡¯s team had also just exited the inner lake, preparing to search for the next Dead Soul Flower. Similarly, the snake on Yu Han¡¯s left arm raised its head up and looked in Bai Yi¡¯s direction.


    ¡°He¡¯s here!¡±


    The other people in Yu Han¡¯s team blanked for a moment, before suddenly realizing with a jolt who Yu Han said was here. Was it Bai Yi? Not letting down Yu Han¡¯s description of him, he really seemed like a man with great fortitude and strength. But what was this mysterious ability to sense each other they had, don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s the connection between archenemies?


    Once their group heard Yu Han¡¯s warning, they all stopped, standing on the huge crooked bridge on top of the Oriental Bay Lake.


    Yu Han took out the sap of the Soul Purifying Tree and dripped a few drops on his shoulders and waist. After seeing his actions, his teammates followed him as well. No matter what, the most dangerous thing in Wellington now was still the ghosts that would appear out of nowhere.


    Slowly, in the eyes of Yu Han¡¯s team, a few figures slowly walked out from the dim street. Everyone in Bai Yi¡¯s team seemed to be very calm, but they still had an intimidating aura around them. Without anybody noticing, a crescent moon appeared above the east side of Wellington Port. The dim and pale moonlight shone on everything, foreboding that this night wouldn¡¯t be quiet.


    Momo stretched out her right hand, and two Spirit Devouring Butterflies landed on each of their shoulders. The other Spirit Devouring Butterflies danced in the pale moonlight, appearing exceedingly beautiful. Bai Yi¡¯s team came to the grass patch by the shore of the lake. 100 meters away on the bridge stood Yu Han and his 8 other teammates, each with varying expressions.


    The two sides stared at each other, a strange feeling arising in them.


    ¡°Long time no see!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s really been a long time.¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t spout any arrogant words like Yu Han had lived for too long, this wasn¡¯t his personality.


    ¡°From the looks on your faces, you guys seem to know the conflict between Yu Han and I. Are you guys still supporting him?¡± Bai Yi looked at the other people beside Yu Han. Yu Han¡¯s teammates stood there, appearing to be prepared for battle. If Bai Yi couldn¡¯t even see this, then he would really be letting down all his past experiences.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I have already told them everything. Then, what if I say that I want to resolve this peacefully, and I can make reparations for everything?¡± Yu Han looked at Bai Yi.


    ¡°Ha!¡± Bai Yi sneered and pulled out his fang sword.


    ¡®Shing!¡¯, a clear and prolonged sound rang in everyone¡¯s ears as the sword was drawn. All of them instantly tensed their bodies involuntarily. Yu Han¡¯s team only felt that this sound was too clear as if it was ringing from the bottom of their hearts. However, they didn¡¯t know that Bai Yi¡¯s attack had already begun.


    _____________________________________________________________________________


    His fang sword wasn¡¯t in the shape of a fang anymore but in the shape of a real sword. This was also a new technique that the evolved humans had discovered recently. A monster known as Corroding Fluid Beast contained a kind of fluid inside the meat lumps on its body that had very powerful corrosive properties. Metals would be corroded away and turned into scrap, but biological materials like teeth and bones would become softer after soaking in this corroding fluid for a certain period of time. After becoming softer, it became possible and easier to process these biological materials.


    Some of the more talented people became the new ¡®artificers¡¯.


    These ¡®artificers¡¯ were also known as Weapon Armor Makers or ¡®WAM¡¯ for short. Of course, the so-called ¡®artificers¡¯ weren¡¯t like the ones in cultivation novels, but just used the claws, teeth, bones, or other materials of evolved lifeforms to create weapons or armors. No matter in which age, making use of tools had always been a strong point of humans.


    Similarly, ¡®healers¡¯ had appeared during this period as well.


    These ¡®healers¡¯ were known as Medicinal Makers or ¡®MM¡¯ for short. Similarly, they weren¡¯t like the healers in the novels. The various evolved plants and animals in New Zealand were all incredibly dangerous and unfamiliar. Although many plants and animals had effective medicinal properties, there wasn¡¯t any modern medicine production factory in New Zealand now. In the end, it was rare to see any two plants that were completely the same. Even if they were largely similar, there were still some differences between them. The assembly line processes of modern factories couldn¡¯t work in New Zealand now.


    Medicinal Makers were those with decent talent and proficiencies in extracting medicinal products from biological materials. They were people who to a certain extent, could extract useful components of different plants and further process them to produce medicinal products.


    The naming for these new jobs was just because of familiarity. After all, these two jobs appeared frequently in novels and video games. However, there was no need to bring in these elements of novels and video games here.


    (TN: For some reason the author gave the english translation of the classes in the raws, which was really ¡®Weapon Armor Maker¡¯ and ¡®Medicinal Maker¡¯, so i¡¯ll just put it as that from now on.)

 Chapter 116

    Chapter 116: Voice Hypnosis


    ¡°Understood!¡± Yu Han didn¡¯t try to be long-winded. In truth, he knew long ago that there was zero possibility of a peaceful resolution. He only said this to complete his acting in front of his teammates. This clearly told them that it wasn¡¯t that he wasn¡¯t willing to resolve things peacefully, but it was Bai Yi who was being too overbearing and aggressive.


    ¡°What about you guys? Are you guys really going to fight for a person like Yu Han?¡± Bai Yi looked at the people around Yu Han.


    ¡°Bai Yi team leader, is it really not possible to resolve this peacefully?¡± Adams asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s too bad then!¡±


    ¡°Then we are very sorry too. No matter what, Yu Han is still our leader now. Moreover, I don¡¯t think that he should give up his life as well. If Bai Yi team leader wants to be so overbearing, then don¡¯t blame us for what¡¯s about to come,¡± Adams said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t blame me if you die.¡± Bai Yi¡¯s voice was like a low mutter.


    Hypnosis ¨C Using actions, colors, sounds, and so on¡­to transmit erroneous signals to the five senses. Through such influence, the user befuddles their opponent¡¯s perception and judgment.


    Bai Yi drew the fang sword from its sheath. The edge of the sword and the sheath ground against each other, releasing a clear ring!


    Almost as if the sound came from the bottom of their hearts, the metallic cry rippled through the air from Bai Yi¡¯s sword!


    ¡°Come!¡± Bai Yi¡¯s eyes focused as he said a single word viciously.


    The moment Bai Yi said this word, 3 people from Yu Han¡¯s team immediately burst out from their spots toward the lake shore without being cautious that it was easy to get attacked while in the air. The metallic ring of Bai Yi¡¯s sword just now had caused an intense battle lust to grow from their hearts. At the same time, they understood that a peaceful resolution was just a complete joke. Of the two teams standing here today, only one will make it out alive.


    Woolf¡¯s mouth cracked open into a mocking smile, Idiots, you guys got influenced by Bai Yi¡¯s sword ring so easily and jumped out at us.


    One must know, that there were more than 100 meters of water between the two groups.


    ¡°Be careful, Kremer, Gaute¡­!¡± Yu Han¡¯s emotions were still quite calm; he didn¡¯t impulsively jump out like the 3 of them. After all, Bai Yi was still in the process of developing the method of using sound to influence his opponents¡¯ emotions. It could only be considered a shallow-level hypnosis that he had figured out how to apply recently.


    The jumping power of humans now was really incomparable to the normal humans before. From high up, the three of them jumped fiercely. They had really jumped across the 100 meters separating them and the shore, landing toward the ground.


    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes widened slightly as he held his fang sword diagonally. Terrifying killing intent rumbled in his eyes. Even if Bai Yi didn¡¯t know these people before, he had already passed the death sentence on them the moment they chose to side with Yu Han. After going through so many things, Yu Han was not the only one who changed and Bai Yi was changing as well. However, the difference between him and Yu Han was that Bai Yi had buried his kindness and gentleness deeply in his heart.


    DIE!


    Not just Bai Yi, but Woolf and rest also made their preparations to attack. These 3 people were fated to be the first to die in this place.


    The people in Yu Han¡¯s team couldn¡¯t understand why their 3 teammates were so impulsive, but they could tell anyway that the situation wasn¡¯t good. They immediately sprinted rapidly from the two sides of the bridge, rushing to intercept the 3 of them. Adams also spread the wings on his back and immediately chased after them but none of them expected¡­


    Suddenly, sounds of water splashing came the dark surface of the lake.


    Two giant tentacles more than 10 meters in length abruptly burst out from the depths of the lake. They wrapped themselves around Kremer who was still in the air and dragged him down viciously. Both groups got a fright, nobody thought that something unexpected like this would happen.


    However, in the blink of an eye, all of them reacted. The New Zealand now wasn¡¯t the New Zealand in the past, the name of this place was ¨C Devil Island!


    There was an uncountable number of twisted and powerful monsters on Devil Island and this was just on land. It was ever scarier closer to the sea. Unfortunately, this inner lake of Wellington actually connected to the seaport. Only heaven would know what type of aquatic monster this lifeform hiding under the water surface was. Without waiting for Bai Yi¡¯s team to act, the unlucky Kremer was already locked on by this monster.


    ¡®Putong!¡¯, this guy that was as large as Woolf got dragged into the bottom of the lake.


    Yu Han¡¯s team instantly stunned for a moment, and after that, they saw a scene that rendered them speechless. Their eyes became wide open in shock.


    Gaute and Evelynn charged toward Bai Yi¡¯s team. Gaute was fine, but when Evelynn charged toward Bai Yi, his Reverse Flower Eyes suddenly appeared and caused a momentary lapse in Evelynn¡¯s consciousness. In that short lapse, Evelynn lost any chance that she had.


    ¡®Puchi!¡¯, Evelynn¡¯s head flew up, and bright red blood sprayed into the sky.


    Yu Han¡¯s left hand slowly paused in the air. He looked at Evelynn¡¯s head as it flew along with the bright red blood falling down. Beside Evelynn¡¯s corpse that had yet to fall down was Bai Yi¡¯s bewitching eyes. They looked like a flower blooming in reverse and Yu Han¡¯s team felt like it was seemingly sucking all of their minds into it. Yu Han¡¯s team completely blanked out as they looked at his eyes.


    Yu Han¡¯s team were not the only ones stunned, even Woolf and the rest were stunned for a moment. Why was Bai Yi so ruthless from the start? The few of them had ganged up on Gaute and only crippled one of his arms. It wasn¡¯t that they didn¡¯t have the ability to kill him but it just wasn¡¯t necessary. However, Bai Yi had immediately killed that woman with his first strike.


    Don¡¯t blame me if you die!


    At this time, Yu Han¡¯s team suddenly recalled Bai Yi¡¯s words before the start of the battle. He wasn¡¯t joking when he said that. This was true revenge, a life and death battle.


    ¡°BAI¡­YI!!¡±


    Yu Han¡¯s eyes suddenly bulged wide open and he roared ferociously. At this instant, Yu Han¡¯s heart even paused for a moment. At this moment, he could finally understand the pain that Bai Yi felt back then.


    Looking at the Bai Yi that stood there silently, only Ning Xue could feel that¡­Bai Yi had changed! This was definitely not that warm-hearted Uncle Bai that was always gentle and smiling.


    The Bai Yi that had buried all the kindness and gentleness in his heart was damn frightening!


    ¡°Be careful of Bai Yi¡¯s eyes!¡± Ning Xue saw Yu Han charging toward Bai Yi and immediately reminded him. In reality, the rest of them were already on guard against Bai Yi¡¯s eyes and did not need this reminder. Evelynn wasn¡¯t considered weak in the team, but even she had no ability to fight back in front of Bai Yi. In addition to Bai Yi¡¯s unique eyes, a phrase rose in all of their minds¡­Eye Techniques!


    Bai Yi tilted his head, abruptly putting power on his feet and bursting out with a ¡®sou!¡¯ toward Yu Han.


    The bunch of ghosts that watched the show by the side were quite shocked as well. Wasn¡¯t this too intense? To speak of it, this bunch of ghosts had died at the beginning of New Zealand¡¯s change, and they were just a bunch of normal people. They had never seen such a bitter and intense battle.


    Only Anna drifted around the battlefield excitedly, only hoping that more blood would fly.


    ¡°Oooh, OH¡­well done! Awesome Bai Yi! You killed one right from the start!¡± Anna was extremely excited as if she had eaten some aphrodisiacs. Her spiritual form changed constantly, and she revealed half her head beside Bai Yi. Yu Han got a fright the moment Anna appeared. This half a head that appeared out of nowhere would give anybody mentally sound a jump.


    After hearing Anna¡¯s words, other than feeling pain in his heart, he also felt a ball of resentment and jealousy rise inside.


    That is a ghost right!


    Why could these ghosts actually communicate with Bai Yi!


    ¡°It¡¯s always like this, it¡¯s always like this! You always meet with all the good things!¡± However, Yu Han never stopped and thought about how the number of fortunate encounters he had wasn¡¯t necessarily lesser than Bai Yi¡¯s. Yu Han¡¯s heart hurt crazily and he burned with jealousy at the same time. At the same time, the eyes of the snake on his left arm released a frightening light.


    I get all the good things?


    Bai Yi laughed mockingly and his face turned malevolent instantly. Even joking has to have a limit! He wasn¡¯t like the protagonist people commonly saw in novels where good things always gathered around him. Every bit of power that he and his friends obtained had been earned through their own efforts and struggles! Or was it that you were always having these kinds of fantasies? That¡¯s why you were always so jealous of others, that¡¯s why you schemed against others, and that¡¯s why you were so despicable?!


    This pair of eyes, do you know under what kind of circumstances I awakened them?! Do you know?!


    Reverse Flower Eyes!


    The reversed flower in Bai Yi¡¯s eyes instantly bloomed. Even though Yu Han knew long ago that Bai Yi¡¯s eyes were very suspicious, he still subconsciously looked into it. This was because an overwhelming majority of lifeforms on Earth relied too heavily on their vision. Naturally, humans were also among these. In this moment, Bai Yi swung his fang sword at Yu Han viciously.


    ¡°Yu Han!¡± Ning Xue saw that something bad was about to happen to Yu Han by the side and instantaneously shot out two fingernails. Her fingernails were about 10 centimeters in length. They were black and sharp and shot toward Bai Yi¡¯s face with a ¡®sou!¡¯. Right behind her fingernails, Ning Xue was already dashing toward Yu Han.


    Bai Yi lifted his fang sword slightly, and with two ¡®dangs!¡¯ he parried the fingernails. In that split second of pause, the snake on Yu Han¡¯s left arm hissed and he immediately awoke from the hypnosis.


    In the moment he regained consciousness, Yu Han rapidly stepped back twice and pulled Ning Xue away at the same time.


    ¡°Your eyes, what is its name?¡± Yu Han had a dark look on his face, his eyes looking diagonally away. He did not dare to look into Bai Yi¡¯s eyes. Yu Han didn¡¯t ask about the principle behind his eyes because he knew that it was impossible for Bai Yi to tell him. However, if it was just the name, Bai Yi shouldn¡¯t reject him.


    ¡°Reverse Flower Eyes!¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s like that!¡± Yu Han raised his left arm, and the python slowly wrapped around the tortoise shield and flicked its tongue. ¡°My left arm is now called Xuan Wu Arm.¡± Yu Han wasn¡¯t shaken by Bai Yi¡¯s eyes and raised his left arm toward Bai Yi as he thought, But this is really so infuriating, Bai Yi, this guy clearly only fused with butterfly genes, so how did he get such a powerful ability!


    ¡°Be careful, don¡¯t look into his eyes. It seems to be a hypnosis ability, and not an illusion like we imagined. As long as we focus our attention the influence on us should be much smaller,¡± Yu Han said after retreating backward and pausing for a while.


    Illusions, Yu Han had apparently thought of the ability in Bai Yi¡¯s eyes like the special abilities in animes. However, Yu Han was right. A notable characteristic of hypnosis was that the effect on people with strong wills was very small. Bai Yi had discovered this point long ago as well. Bai Yi¡¯s eyes now were indeed very powerful, but it wasn¡¯t unbeatable. In reality, it was very simple to resist Bai Yi¡¯s eyes; they just had to have a strong will. The first time people encountered Bai Yi¡¯s eyes would always be the time when it was the easiest to fall under his hypnosis.


    The effect of the Reverse Flower Eyes would indeed be reduced by a lot on those with strong wills but it wouldn¡¯t be completely ineffective!


    Even if the individual¡¯s will was strong and they could wake up from the hypnosis very quickly, a momentary lapse in concentration during battle was fatal. If not for Ning Xue just now, even if Yu Han hadn¡¯t died, he would at least be heavily injured.


    ¡°Are you prepared to receive your death!¡±

 Chapter 117

    Chapter 117: Right And Wrong?


    As of now, although the lifeforms on Devil Island were strange, they just had powerful strength in addition to the special energy. To normal humans, these lifeforms would be incomparably dangerous. Although these lifeforms were very strong, most of their strength came from abilities that they already had. Examples included their tentacles, venom, spider silk, sharp fangs and claws, immense physical strength, or other parts of their bodies. Only a very small portion evolved based on their initial abilities and acquired special abilities.


    Such as Bai Yi¡¯s Reverse Flower Eyes!


    Although his Reverse Flower Eyes seemed to be very powerful, it had not completely exceeded the range of transformation possible to living things.


    Yu Han¡¯s Xuan Wu arm was the same. Although he named his own arm as Xuan Wu, in reality, it had nothing to do with the mythological Xuan Wu. In the end, it was just him fusing with the genes of a golden python and a tortoise; his arm had transformed into this form by chance.


    However, just like the changes in Bai Yi¡¯s eyes, Yu Han¡¯s left arm was a little different as well.


    Decomposition!


    Yu Han had been injured several times. Although the changes in his left arm weren¡¯t as obvious as Bai Yi¡¯s, he still had more or less figured out some of the principles behind it. Decomposition, this was the power that Yu Han¡¯s left arm had now.


    This couldn¡¯t be considered to be some special ability either as every lifeform possessed the ability to regulate their bodies. For example, after a normal human gets bitten by a mosquito, a slight toxin would invade their body. A bump may appear on the spot where the person was bitten but he definitely wouldn¡¯t die because the body is capable of breaking down that toxin. However, if the person was bitten by something more deadly like a venomous snake, then a normal human would be in big trouble.


    Yu Han¡¯s Xuan Wu Arm magnified this decomposition to the utmost. Any random thing that invaded his left arm would seemingly be completely broken down. An example would be the reddish-black beetle that bit his left arm. This allowed him to be fine after that. Yu Han had even thought about the mythology behind the Xuan Wu.


    Xuan Wu, also known as Xuan Ming, was a combination of a snake and a tortoise. It was a Water God that lived in the Eastern Seas. It possessed unfathomable power and contained the Four Directions and Yin Yang within it.


    This was the reason for Yu Han¡¯s internalt pride and arrogance. He himself knew that his left arm had nothing to do with the so-called Xuan Wu, but he just couldn¡¯t help but feel pleased about it. Who knew if his Xuan Wu Arm would evolve to really become able to break down anything. Perhaps not just toxins, but maybe even various forms of special energy could be absorbed for his own use in the future. It could be just like the Eastern Underworld Divine Techniques in those novels.


    ¡­¡­


    When Yu Han was hypnotized by Bai Yi¡¯s Reverse Flower Eyes just now, his Xuan Wu Arm had sent out a warm flow thatt circulated around his body instantly. This woke him up from the dazed state. It wasn¡¯t the first time that Yu Han had experienced this kind of situation either Apparently, this uncontrollable warm flow was the special energy inside his body. Whenever any fatal compounds accidentally entered his body, this warm flow would appear.


    Unfortunately, it could only appear passively. If he could actively manipulate it, then maybe he wouldn¡¯t have to be worried about Bai Yi¡¯s eyes anymore.


    However, he still felt very dissatisfied. Bai Yi had only fused with butterfly genes, how did it change to become such a demonic pair of eyes?


    This was Yu Han¡¯s attitude at the bottom of his heart. He just couldn¡¯t bear to see other people being better off than him. In this twisted world now, this attitude of his became even more obvious. He didn¡¯t think about how his left arm had already helped him be a step ahead of so many other people. This world wasn¡¯t one that only revolved around one person. Why was it that only he could gain good things while others must be inferior to him?


    Including himself, there were a total of 10 people in Yu Han¡¯s team. The Giant Devil Mosquitos ate one, the aquatic monster drowned another, and Bai Yi killed the third one. Leaving aside Yu Han and Ning Xue, the 5 remaining people just happened to coincide with the number of people that Bai Yi had on his team. Apparently, these teammates of Yu Han weren¡¯t randomly picked, they all seemed to have decent strength.


    ¡°Are you ready to receive your death!¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t care about the battles of other people. He only stretched out his left hand and gestured invitingly. It was an invitation of death.


    ¡°The person to die will be you, Bai Yi!¡±


    Yu Han roared viciously and abruptly charged at him. He raised his left arm and the golden python pounced at Bai Yi ferociously. At the same time, Ning Xue hesitated for a moment but charged toward Bai Yi too. At this point in time, even Ning Xue couldn¡¯t keep herself out of this the moment she resolutely decided to stick with Yu Han.


    Bai Yi opened his eyes wide and raised his fang sword slightly!


    They had already imagined that they would have a difficult battle with Bai Yi earlier on. However, they didn¡¯t expect that it would be tough to this extent. The two of them didn¡¯t dare to meet Bai Yi¡¯s eyes at all. Doing so would leave them wide open and almost certainly invited death. However, how could it be easy to not look at the other person? 99% of the lifeforms on Earth were used to employing their eyes to look at this world. They couldn¡¯t just suddenly choose to avoid using their eyes anymore.


    When they crossed each other, the python on Yu Han¡¯s left arm bit toward Bai Yi.


    At this moment, Bai Yi¡¯s fang sword shot out, cutting through the air and slicing into the python¡¯s body. Because they didn¡¯t dare to cross their gazes with Bai Yi, neither Yu Han or Ning Xue saw the way Bai Yi¡¯s sword moved. Bai Yi¡¯s Reverse Flower Eyes was indeed his most useful ability, but that didn¡¯t mean that Bai Yi would only rely on this.


    Blade Force!


    ¡®Puchi!¡¯, Yu Han felt through the python a heart-piercing pain, and the python also screamed pitifully in a high-pitched tone. This strike was completely different from the clash before, it directly hacked into the hard scales of the python and almost split the python into half.


    Suddenly suffering from this immense pain, Yu Han instinctually turned his head slightly to look at that side.


    Reverse Flower Eyes!


    The Reverse Flower Eyes this time was different from before, and blood instantly started flowing down from Bai Yi¡¯s eyes. It was clear that the Reverse Flower Eyes this time had reached the third stage, and the special energy rapidly moved inside his body.


    Shit!


    The moment Yu Han turned around, he saw Bai Yi¡¯s bewitching eyes, and a word arose in his mind. As their gazes crossed, Yu Han immediately felt like he had descended into a kaleidoscopic world and lost himself in a short while. Even if he had just experienced something like this moments before, Yu Han still couldn¡¯t react properly. Yu Han screamed crazily in his heart, hoping that his Xuan Wu Arm would send out the special energy and break through the hypnosis like it had done so previously.


    However, this time, the more panicked Yu Han became, the more he couldn¡¯t wake up. It was just like having a nightmare while experiencing a sleep paralysis. He clearly felt terrified, but he just couldn¡¯t wake up.


    Suddenly, a warm drop of liquid fell onto Yu Han¡¯s face. In addition to the rolling of special energy in his body, Yu Han¡¯s eyes regained their clarity again.


    However, what Yu Han saw utterly stunned him.


    Ning Xue was blocking in front of him with Bai Yi¡¯s sword pierced through the center of her chest. She had used all her might to grab onto the sword with her hard claws and did not let it move. Warm blood spurted out continuously from the front and back of Ning Xue¡¯s body, splattering onto Yu Han¡¯s face.


    Idiot!


    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes shook for a moment as well, and a word rose in his heart. However, Bai Yi still didn¡¯t stop and slowly tried to pull his fang sword out from her body. However, Ning Xue grabbed onto the fang sword tightly and refused to let go. At the same time, her right hand shot out and 3 sharp black nails aimed at Bai Yi.


    Bai Yi had witnessed before how powerful her sharp nails were. Since he couldn¡¯t pull his fang sword out at the moment, he had no choice but to release his right hand and jump backward.


    Seeing Bai Yi let go of the fang sword, Ning Xue didn¡¯t continue to shoot her nails out either. Instead, she snuggled against Yu Han¡¯s body just like that and slowly fell.


    ¡°Doctor, where¡¯s the doctor?! Athena!!¡± Yu Han hugged Ning Xue tightly, watching as her blood gushed out continuously. Bai Yi¡¯s sword had really pierced through the center of her heart, this was evident just from looking at the gushing blood. However, when Yu Han looked around in panic, he realized that all his teammates were engaged in their own difficult battles. The Athena he was calling for was being chased brutally by Sharpei. Her clothes were all ripped to shreds and there was blood everywhere on her body. She appeared to be incomparably miserable.


    ¡°Yu, Yu Han¡­Our child.¡± Ning Xue¡¯s right hand slowly caressed her lower abdomen.


    ¡°En, en, our child.¡± Yu Han held Ning Xue close, his tears flowing down profusely from his eyes.


    Yu Han knew that he had done many wrongs, and many people couldn¡¯t accept the things that he did. But Ning Xue still followed him all the while, precisely because she carried his child in her tummy. Maybe it was due to the activated cells, but this child didn¡¯t have many changes even after 9 months. They didn¡¯t know when the child would be born either. Precisely because of Ning Xue, Yu Han wanted to change. If he couldn¡¯t be a hero then a ruthless character was fine too, but¡­but¡­!!!


    Bai Yi stopped on the spot as the blood from his eyes flowed profusely down his cheeks as it left two bright-red lines on his face.


    Child!


    Ning Xue was actually pregnant? Then it must be Yu Han¡¯s, so it was like that. This was the reason why Ning Xue would never leave Yu Han.


    Bai Yi looked at the life slowly departing from Ning Xue¡¯s face. He did not know how to describe his feelings now. The kindness and gentleness that he had buried deep inside his heart gradually started to float back up again. In the past, they were all actually good friends. Bai Yi thought of the times back in Waikato University, and the lively scenes of these youths playing together.


    However now¡­How many of them were still alive, and how many of them died in each other¡¯s hands?


    Bai Yi looked at his hands, and closed his eyes.


    ¡°AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH¡­.!!!!!¡± Yu Han suddenly roared toward this sky, his voice containing a heart-rending sorrow. He was apparently hurt to the limit. The intense soundwaves rippled across the air surrounding them, resonating in everyone¡¯s hearts. The two sides that were initially battling with each other immediately looked over, and saw the scene of Yu Han hugging Ning Xue on the floor.


    KILL, KILL THEM!


    The eyes of Yu Han¡¯s teammates immediately turned red, and their expressions gradually turned berserk. The reason they came to Wellington to search for the Dead Soul Flower was precisely to nourish their soul. After all, nobody else had a hypnotic ability like Bai Yi¡¯s that could help to balance the body and the soul yet. After suffering through so much shock and agitation, Yu Han¡¯s team all started to fall into the berserk state.


    Yu Han slowly stood up as his body swayed. He suddenly raised his head and stared at Bai Yi with incredible malevolence in his eyes.

 Chapter 118

    Chapter 118: Death Battle


    Yu Han slowly stood up as his body swayed. He suddenly raised his head and stared at Bai Yi with incredible malevolence in his eyes.


    At this time, Bai Yi reopened his eyes. In those eyes, there was no sympathy or pity!


    Bai Yi wouldn¡¯t continue to make mistakes again. Nobody could tolerate making mistakes over and over. Just like what Ning Xue had sensed just now, the Bai Yi who had buried his kindness and gentleness was incredibly terrifying. It wasn¡¯t just about strength, but also a change in his mental state.


    Reverse Flower Eyes!


    Just when Yu Han looked at Bai Yi malevolently, Bai Yi¡¯s eyes widened again and blood continued to flow down from his eyes. It was still okay to use the Reverse Flower Eyes at the first and second level, but once he used the third level that was coupled with the assistance of the special energy, Bai Yi¡¯s eyes would bleed. After much research and studying by all of them, they thought that this was because Bai Yi¡¯s eyes hadn¡¯t changed gradually. The few sudden mutations and evolutions had caused his eyes to have some hidden injury.


    Anything is fine, even if my eyes goes blind, I must kill this guy!


    Bai Yi walked toward Yu Han. Yu Han just stood there blankly on the spot, seemingly not seeing Bai Yi walking toward him. While walking, a small willow leaf knife appeared in Bai Yi¡¯s hand. This wasn¡¯t the one that he gave to Hong Qi Hua but it was the same type. In reality, Bai Yi didn¡¯t even get the chance to retrieve the willow leaf knife he gave to Hong Qi Hua, so he could only choose another identical one as a replacement.


    ¡°Yu Han! Yu Han wake up! Shit!¡± Gaute shouted loudly, charging toward Bai Yi immediately. However, Woolf immediately stopped him and the two of them went into a deadlock.


    ¡°Don¡¯t even think of going over!¡± Woolf¡¯s body was stained with blood, and a baleful aura emitted from his body.


    ¡°Bastard!¡± Gaute looked at Woolf viciously, and gritted his teeth so hard that they almost broke.


    Yu Han said that everything was his fault, but from what Gaute saw it was clearly Bai Yi¡¯s team being overly aggressive and forceful. Just look at their cruel way of killing. Evelynn got beheaded in one strike, and Ning Xue, who should be considered their friend, also got her heart pierced mercilessly. Yu Han said that it was his fault before, but they didn¡¯t know all the history between them. However, from the looks of it now, Bai Yi seemed more like the murderer, the devil!


    It¡¯s like that! It¡¯s definitely like that!


    Gaute looked at Woolf who blocked his path and roared ferociously. He ripped off his clothes, and the muscles on his left arm that were partially ripped before suddenly wriggled. A giant tentacle rapidly grew out just like that. The other 4 of them were not too different from Gaute. They also saw Bai Yi¡¯s team as evil people who were wicked beyond redemption. Not looking at anything else, just from the things that had happened since they met, their team were definitely not the ones in the wrong.


    Who was right and who was wrong?


    Bai Yi held the willow leaf knife as he walked toward Yu Han, his eyes never breaking away from Yu Han¡¯s as they bled continuously. All the shouting and screaming around them seemed to be completely unrelated to the pair. Even if the other 5 teammates of Yu Han had now fallen into the berserk state, they couldn¡¯t help but feel their heart pause. They wanted to scream and awaken him.


    Yu Han!


    It ends here!


    Bai Yi said this in his heart as he stabbed the willow leaf knife forward. However, at this time, Bai Yi suddenly noticed the python that was still bleeding profusely. At this time, the eyes of the python that laid on Yu Han¡¯s left arm were almost closed, but a cold light could be seen from it in a few instances.


    Bai Yi suddenly shot backward; the moment his body started moving, Yu Han moved as well viciously. The python shot toward Bai Yi at an unimaginable speed. ¡®Sou!¡¯, Bai Yi threw the willow leaf knife out immediately. Although the python avoided getting pierced in its mouth, the willow leaf knife still stabbed into its original wound.


    At this moment, Yu Han had already stepped forward forcefully and smashed his tortoise shield brutally toward Bai Yi¡¯s face.


    ¡®DANG!¡¯, a heavy and dull collision sounded; Bai Yi¡¯s hands heavily slammed against Yu Han¡¯s tortoise shield, hitting the shield away.


    Body Parrying Blow!


    One of the movements in the Tai Ji Fist.


    However, Yu Han similarly used a strange movement to dissipate the strength and counterattacked toward Bai Yi mercilessly. Inside the research facility, Yu Han had spent a lot of time in the upper section as well, so the information he had acquired wasn¡¯t less than Bai Yi¡¯s. While Bai Yi¡¯s team was practicing the Tai Ji Fist, Yu Han was also practicing it. Moreover, he had combined it with his special left arm and made some unique adjustments to it.


    The Xuan Wu Arm and his now sorrowful and hysterical emotions helped him resist Bai Yi¡¯s hypnosis. Bai Yi had determined this from the moment he saw the state of the python on Yu Han¡¯s left arm. This was because, Bai Yi understood his Reverse Flower Eyes very deeply. Hypnosis wasn¡¯t some magical power. The more on guard and alert the other person was, the harder it was for it to be effective.


    The two of them fought at close quarters. Yu Han was missing a left arm, but he had an additional agile python with him. Moreover, honestly speaking, the butterfly genes that Bai Yi had fused with didn¡¯t give him any bonuses other than in vision. Very quickly, Bai Yi fell to a disadvantage in this close quarters battle. However, Bai Yi did not retreat. Instead, he ferociously continued his battle with Yu Han.


    You think this is painful?! Do you finally understand pain?! Do you understand what feelings I held back then, how it feels to bury my true self inside, and how I felt when I pierced Ning Xue with the fang sword! Do you think I wanted to do this! WHO DO YOU THINK IT WAS THAT CAUSED THINGS TO BECOME LIKE THIS!


    Bai Yi gripped onto the neck of the python tightly with his left hand, as his right hand mercilessly stabbed inside the wound caused by the fang sword, viciously tearing into it.


    ¡°HISSSS¡­!!!¡± The python cried out loudly, and Yu Han roared violently as well. Sharing the same body as the python now was really inconvenient, and Bai Yi locked him down with his body at this point in time. However, Yu Han did not give up and used his mouth to crunch down on Bai Yi¡¯s left arm, brutally using all the force he could muster to bite off his left arm first.


    KILL, KILL HIM!


    Not just Yu Han, but all Bai Yi thought of now was this.


    The two of them completely gave up on using any techniques. Instead, they just tore away at each other based on their instincts. This wild battle was even crueler and bloodier. The ghosts who came to watch the show were completely stunned, and even Anna was shocked for a long while. Not just Bai Yi and Yu Han were battling like this, the battles of the others weren¡¯t any lesser in intensity as well. Even the small kid Momo had a look of viciousness and cruelty.


    ¡°AHHHHH¡­!!¡± Bai Yi brutally pulled and roared subconsciously, his hand grabbing onto the wound of the python. He pulled forcefully and directly tore the upper half of the python¡¯s body off.


    ¡°ARGHHHH!!¡± At the same time, Yu Han similarly bit down with all his strength. A tearing sound likewise came from Bai Yi¡¯s left arm, and a more than 20 centimeters piece of flesh was torn off from his lower arm. Bai Yi¡¯s shattered bones could be seen in his arm.


    The instant he tore the python¡¯s body off, Bai Yi twisted his body and brutally kicked toward Yu Han.


    Gathering Whip Kick!


    In the exact same way, Yu Han kicked at Bai Yi with the same posture and movements. It was not only Bai Yi who had learned to used Tai Ji Fist in battle. Two powerful forces collided, and a ¡®kacha!¡¯ sound came from both their legs. Their legs broke at the same time. The immense force from the collision then sent both of them flying backward at the same time.


    Both of them fell heavily on the ground and slowly climbed again. It wasn¡¯t going to end until one of them died!


    Yu Han roared loudly at the sky, and blood gushed out from the lower body of the torn python profusely. Suddenly, on the back of Yu Han¡¯s left arm, the flesh and bones quickly closed on itself. It formed a new head, the head of a tortoise. The mythical Xuan Wu had two heads all along, and the tortoise had always been the main body. It was just that Yu Han had always thought that the transformation in his body stopped there. Unexpectedly, a new tortoise head actually grew out in a situation like this.


    Bai Yi¡¯s left arm hung by his body, blood dripping down continuously from the wound to the floor. All the flesh on a side of his arm was gone, going all the way until the back of his palm.


    ¡®CHI~~!¡¯


    A metallic grinding sound other rang out. Bai Yi happened to be standing beside Ning Xue at this moment, and his right hand grabbed onto the fang sword again and he slowly pulled it out from her body. The blade and Ning Xue¡¯s sharp nails grinded against each other, giving off a slow and prolonged grinding sound. However, this time, Ning Xue didn¡¯t grab onto the blade anymore and silently laid on the ground.


    ¡°You are not allowed to hurt Ning Xue!¡±


    ¡°Not allowed, DID YOU HEAR ME!!¡± A trace of clarity appeared in Yu Han¡¯s savage eyes, but in the next instant he became even more furious.


    At this time, the other people around them fell into bloody battles too. At this point in time, nobody cared about who was right and right. There was only one notion in everyone¡¯s hearts¡­Kill! Kill them! This desperate and cruel atmosphere made all the ghosts nearby retreat backward involuntarily. They initially thought that this was just a melodramatic revenge show, but the scene in front of them had long exceeded their imaginations.


    At this time, Anna also subconsciously retreated backward, but she suddenly turned to the east, then to the southwest direction.


    Shit!


    This sound meant that they had alarmed all the Giant Devil Mosquitos and vengeful spirits in the city. Their bloody and desperate battle, their furious roars, and the stench of blood had spread very far through this quiet ghost city.


    In reality, it wasn¡¯t just the Giant Devil Mosquitos and the vengeful spirits that were alarmed, just that these two groups were the largest here. The other various lifeforms and humans in the ghost city of Wellington also gathered toward this location.


    ¡°Bai Yi, the Giant Devil Mosquitos and vengeful spirits are heading here!¡± Anna immediately showed herself and shouted at Bai Yi. One must know, those who were killed by the vengeful spirits wouldn¡¯t even have their souls left. Unfortunately, Bai Yi didn¡¯t care about Anna at all but pointed his fang sword at Yu Han in front of him.


    At this moment, none of the others had any intentions to stop. This battle wouldn¡¯t stop unless one side was killed off completely!

 Chapter 119

    Chapter 119: Who¡¯s Right and Who¡¯s Wrong


    All of them had heard Anna¡¯s voice. After all, their five senses were incredibly acute now. However, none of them had any intentions of stopping; on the contrary, they fought even harder.


    Bai Yi and Yu Han didn¡¯t care about their injuries at all and charged toward each other again.


    The tortoise shield and the fang sword collided, both of their eyes carrying intense cruelty and killing intent. It could be seen that Bai Yi and Yu Han had mostly regained their calm now but not completely. They could judge the situation and use weapons to fight now, unlike moments before where the fought like brutal beasts that just tore into each other.


    Anna realized that she couldn¡¯t stop them and didn¡¯t bother anymore either.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°If you want me to die, then you better have the resolution to die with me!¡± Barritt looked at Warner opposite him, as Barritt¡¯s eyes continuously flashed between brutality and rationality. Not many people could keep their brutal urges under control now in Yu Han¡¯s team.


    ¡°Of course I had that resolution long ago,¡± Warner pushed Barritt back and said sinisterly.


    It was Khina who told him to join Bai Yi¡¯s team, and let him follow Hong Qi Hua. During this period of time where he followed them, Hong Qi Hua had also taken care of Warner a lot. To Warner, Hong Qi Hua took up the role of a parent to him during the period of insecurity and uneasiness when he lost his parents. This caused him to develop familial feelings toward Hong Qi Hua, just like a child to his parents.


    Hence, the shock that Warner received when Hong Qi Hua died was also extremely huge.


    9 months had passed since then, and it was enough time for the small kid back then to grow rapidly. No matter in strength or mentality, the Warner now couldn¡¯t be compared to the Warner 9 months ago. In these 9 months, although Bai Yi never said much about it, all of them had been steadily increasing their strengths. They did this all for the sake of ripping Yu Han apart with their own hands one day.


    Warner¡¯s fat body rapidly spun. He used the momentum to swing his sword at a fast speed and clashed with Barritt.


    Barritt didn¡¯t know that Warner was still a kid, and even if Warner was still a kid, he couldn¡¯t treat him like one at this time. He had to admit that Warner was very powerful. If Barritt wasn¡¯t quite strong as well, he would have already died at Warner¡¯s hands. ¡®Ding!¡¯, the weapon in Barritt¡¯s hands suddenly broke, and Warner¡¯s sword directly hacked into his waist.


    ¡®Kacha!¡¯, the sword hacked in deeply into Barritt¡¯s body. However, Barritt didn¡¯t move back but used his left hand to grab onto Warner¡¯s sword viciously, while his other hand grabbed onto Warner¡¯s arm.


    ¡°I said before, you must have the resolution to die together,¡± Barritt said with a muffled voice as he bit into Warner¡¯s shoulder. Barritt had no choice but to admit that he wasn¡¯t Warner¡¯s match. After all, although the genes that Bai Yi¡¯s team fused with at the start didn¡¯t have any direct effects, they were all genes that enhanced their basic battle abilities greatly.


    At this time, the Giant Devil Mosquito swarm was flying over to their location with a loud buzzing sound. Barritt looked at that dark cloud of Giant Devil Mosquitos, and his eyes went bloodshot. He suddenly pushed with all his strength and rushed toward that direction, carrying Warner with him.


    Warner struggled vigorously, but Barrett¡¯s strength exploded at this time with his resolution of death. His strength became shockingly incomparable. Everyone looked as the two of them moved rapidly toward the swarm of Giant Devil Mosquitos and pushed their way inside. Pupu saw the situation and immediately wanted to go and save Warner, but within two steps he stopped again. Warner and Barritt were already completely surrounded by the Giant Devil Mosquitos.


    ¡°HAHAHAHA¡­I told you. We are going to die together!¡±


    A laughter full of pain and screaming came from the gaps in the Giant Devil Mosquito swarm. This maniacal and painful laughter made everyone¡¯s hearts shiver uncontrollably. The agitated and malevolent faces of those people stimulated by the continuous battle suddenly regain clarity as well.


    Yu Han and Bai Yi just happened to see this scene as they moved apart, and they both stopped at the same time.


    ¡°Run, run away! We mustn¡¯t die in this place!¡±


    An instant after they paused, both of them shouted at the same time. The words they shouted were actually the same, and their expressions were extremely similar. However, their moods at this time were somewhat different. At this moment, Yu Han felt intense grief, indignation, and hatred in his heart. I must definitely not die here, definitely not! I must survive and come back again! As for Bai Yi, he didn¡¯t want all his teammates to die in this place just because of revenge.


    They felt Bai Yi and Yu Han¡¯s hoarse voices reverberate in their eardrums and transmit into their hearts. All of them who had become extremely hot-blooded from the battle paused slightly.


    Only now did they realize their miserable state. None of the people who were still standing now remained uninjured. Although Bai Yi¡¯s team had fused with genes that inclined more toward battle from the start, the teammates that Yu Han had gathered couldn¡¯t be underestimated as well. After all, they weren¡¯t the only ones who were lucky, and the people who thought of fusing genes selectively couldn¡¯t be just them either.


    All the people in Yu Han¡¯s team had almost fallen into the berserk state, but after hearing Yu Han¡¯s voice at this time they suddenly awoke.


    Sharpei chased after Athena and bit off her left leg. He didn¡¯t just break her leg, but ripped it off compeletely, as Sharpei¡¯s strength now was just that immense. Gaute¡¯s left shoulder was ripped into pieces. Although the octopus genes let him rapidly regrow a tentacle, it was hacked off by Woolf again. Gaute now seemed to be bathing in a pool of blood, swaying and almost falling. Mavis had ripped off one of Adams¡¯ wings, but Adams still bore with his severe injury and bit Mavis¡¯ neck and injected a powerful poison into Mavis¡¯ body. Harold faced Momo and Pupu. Initially, he thought that a small kid would be easier to deal with, but he still suffered some injuries in the end.


    Evelynn¡¯s headless corpse laid on the floor and had already started to cool down. Ning Xue¡¯s body similarly laid on the floor, and blood still slowly flowed out her wound profusely. Barritt and Warner had wrestled with each other and rolled into the Giant Devil Mosquito swarm, and they could only hear low groans coming from there now.


    Dead, all dead!


    The people in Yu Han¡¯s team all looked at him. They discovered that his python was already ripped off, and half of the python¡¯s body hung limply from his shoulder.


    ¡°Run, all of you run!¡± Yu Han roared loudly in sorrow and anger as tears fell from his eyes. The hoarse and painful voice instantly made these people who were almost in the berserk state regain their consciousness.


    They had to run, they couldn¡¯t die in this place, they had to get revenge for their comrades that died! At this time, everyone in Yu Han¡¯s team felt a camaraderie from their fury toward a common enemy, and a stubbornness in desperation rose inside. They would never die here, no matter what they had to make Bai Yi¡¯s team pay in blood for everything!


    ¡°Run, leave this place! Don¡¯t sacrifice yourselves meaninglessly!¡± Bai Yi similarly shouted loudly. He wanted to kill Yu Han, but if they continued to stay in this place nobody would survive. Everyone knew just how powerful the Giant Devil Mosquitos were. They weren¡¯t something the lifeforms at the current stage could contend with.


    From the looks of it now, Yu Han¡¯s team seemed to be the victims. Their sorrowful emotions and their screams of despair, everything shook the hearts of all those present.


    Were they wrong? Just who was right and who was wrong?!


    The two groups ran toward the vengeful spirits at the same time unanimously. There was definitely a reason why the vengeful spirits and the Giant Devil Mosquitos stayed in the center and outskirts of the city respectively. Other than that, all of them hoped that the vengeful spirits at the center of the city would kill off the other side. Yu Han¡¯s team relied on the sap of the Soul Purifying Tree, while Bai Yi¡¯s team relied on the Spirit Devouring Butterflies.


    ¡°Be careful of the vengeful spirits!¡± Yu Han reminded his teammates while he ran.


    ¡°Xu~~!¡± Momo pursed her lips and gave a slight whistle. This sound was very soft, but incredibly clear. The penetrating power of this sound was incomparable, as if it rang from the bottom of their hearts. Once the whistled sounded, the Spirit Devouring Butterflies that stopped nearby before flew over in groups, surrounding the people in Bai Yi¡¯s team.


    Although Yu Han¡¯s team didn¡¯t know what abilities these butterflies had, they could still guess some of it. Letting these butterflies come out at this time, it was definitely related to dealing with the vengeful spirits.


    The two groups didn¡¯t stop their attacks on each other even while they ran. Suddenly, although they couldn¡¯t see clearly, all of them felt like they ran into wave of people, and countless black distorted figures appeared in the air as well. This was the center of Wellington, where the vengeful spirits congregrated, and where the energy field of the underworld was the densest. In this place, even normal people could see the vengeful spirits with the naked eye.


    These mysterious and brutal vengeful spirits rushed past the two groups of people. Sounds of pained screams rang continuously around Yu Han¡¯s team, and they could see black smoke rising from places where they had dripped the Soul Purifying Tree sap. Yu Han¡¯s team immediately panicked, they couldn¡¯t afford to care if the sap would harm their own souls and immediately dumped the remainder of the sap on their bodies.


    Similarly, Bai Yi¡¯s team weren¡¯t without injuries either. Although they had the Spirit Devouring Butterflies surrounding them, these butterflies had never entered the center area either. Although they indeed fed on spiritual lifeforms, the number of vengeful spirits here was really too many. They only saw countless Spirit Devouring Butterflies flying around their bodies, mixing together with those black shadows. Despite the black vengeful spirits being continuously devoured, the Spirit Devouring Butterflies similarly fell down continuously and died.


    There had never been a clear boundary between predator and prey!


    Behind them, the vengeful spirits and Giant Devil Mosquitos clashed together, their collision rippling through the center of the city. Just like they had guessed, although the vengeful spirits and Giant Devil Mosquitos were completely different types of lifeforms, they treated each other with hostility for some reason. That was why they lived separately in the center and the outskirts of the city.


    ¡°This is!¡± The young girl writing in her notebook at the very start paused at the top of the skyscraper, looking at the Giant Devil Mosquitos and the vengeful spirits that clashed together. She couldn¡¯t help but suck in a breath of cold air. Just who could have brought about this intense clash? The few people that she saw entering this city had probably all died long ago.


    Similarly, the other lifeforms in the city also seemed to be curious about this huge commotion, but none of them dared to be too curious. If they got embroiled in this clash between the vengeful spirits and the Giant Devil Mosquitos, the only outcome for them could only be death.


    At this time, both teams looked at the scene at the center simultaneously. They all stood stunned on the spot. This was probably the first time that humans had entered the center of the city ever since Wellington had turned into a ghost city. At this moment, what appeared before everyone¡¯s eyes were corpses; there were corpses as far as the eyes could see.


    These corpses hadn¡¯t rotted but were dumped messily in every corner of the city. They were piled all the way until the hill at the center¡­a hill formed from corpses!

 Chapter 120

    Chapter 120: Cursed Eyes


    Although the old ghost Johnny told Bai Yi¡¯s team about what had happened exactly in Wellington, the few words that he communicated to them couldn¡¯t possibly fully illustrate the scene of despair and self-destruction back then.


    Countless corpses littered the city¡¯s buildings and roads, accumulating toward the center of the city. This finally resulted in a giant hill dozens of meters tall in the huge plaza. Although more than 9 months had passed, the corpses here didn¡¯t really rot, apparently due to the special environment in this city. It was easy to tell the cause of death for many of these corpses; most of them had actually died from suicide.


    Self-destruction!


    Ever since New Zealand had changed, Bai Yi and Yu Han¡¯s group were the first humans to enter the city center. None of the other visitors before had managed to come to this place, regardless if it were the evolved humans or the normal humans sent over from Australia. The two teams looked on in shock when they entered the city center, completely stunned by this place overflowing with corpses. These corpses seemingly told the story of how deep the despair that pervaded Wellington back then was.


    ¡°Move!¡± Yu Han shouted at his teammates who were all staring blankly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think of running away!¡± Bai Yi suddenly accelerated and charged toward Yu Han.


    Yu Han had calmed down by now, and looking at the miserable state of his companions, he knew that they would only get wiped out at the end if they continued to fight. I can¡¯t die here, I mustn¡¯t die here! After making that judgment, Yu Han decisively ran in another direction.


    However, how could Bai Yi let Yu Han escape just like this? He immediately gave chase.


    ¡°Let me down, we can¡¯t escape like this,¡± Athena said to Yu Han who was supporting her.


    ¡°What nonsense are you talking about!¡± Yu Han shouted loudly.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m serious. I¡¯m just a burden to the team now, just leave me. I¡¯m sorry Yu Han, I still doubted your words earlier on. I don¡¯t know what exactly happened between you and Bai Yi, but from what I see now you still hid some things from us. It¡¯s clearly that Bai Yi is¡­urgh!¡± Athena still wanted to continue speaking but suddenly her stomach rolled, and she vomited out a large mouthful of blood.


    ¡°Put me down, you won¡¯t be able to escape with me,¡± Athena continued.


    ¡°Idiot, you aren¡¯t allowed to say these kinds of words again.¡±


    ¡°No, Athena is right, you should put her down.¡± Gaute and Harold stopped running as well, turning around to face Bai Yi¡¯s team. ¡°My life was saved by team leader, so now I¡¯ll return it to team leader,¡± the two of them said at the same time and they suddenly did a double take. They then looked at each other and started laughing loudly, the two of them actually had the same thoughts.


    At this moment, Athena also pushed away Yu Han¡¯s left hand, falling on the ground before climbing up again.


    ¡°Team leader, hurry up and leave! You don¡¯t want to waste our intentions right?!¡± Gaute said in an impetuous tone to Yu Han for the first time ever. One must know that he had always treated Yu Han as his leader.


    ¡°Go!¡± Adams pulled on Yu Han, dragging him and running further away.


    ¡°DON¡¯T EVEN THINK OF GETTING PAST US!¡± The 3 of them that stayed back roared at Bai Yi¡¯s group as the trio blocked them.


    Reverse Flower Eyes!


    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes widened again, but in that instant, his eyes felt a sharp piercing pain. The power of his eyes came from a mutation and not a gradual evolution. As such, there were some hidden injuries left behind. Moreover, even Mavis couldn¡¯t treat this kind of hidden injury. Continuously using his Reverse Flower Eyes to the maximum degree had caused his eyes to go past their limit.


    ¡°Your eyes can hypnotize people? If you are really capable then come and hypnotize your daddy!¡± Gaute roared loudly, charging toward them recklessly. Even Athena who was missing a leg hopped awkwardly behind Gaute, charging toward Bai Yi¡¯s team. The 3 of them were fully resolved to die just to keep Bai Yi¡¯s team here. If they could kill a few of them in the process, then it wasn¡¯t a waste for them to stay behind here.


    Bai Yi looked at their determined faces and knew that they were prepared to die.


    Bai Yi looked at the people on his side, Woolf was doing relatively well, Momo, Sharpei, and Pupu didn¡¯t have many problems either. However, Mavis was clutching her neck, her body trembling unceasingly. If he let them deal with Gaute and the others, then something bad really might happen.


    Looking at Yu Han and Adams¡¯ figures disappearing into the distance, a trace a regret flashed past Bai Yi¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m very impressed by your actions, and I¡¯m also very shocked that Yu Han could find teammates like you guys. However, I will not be soft-hearted. I absolutely will not be soft-hearted again. So, please die in this place,¡± Bai Yi said coldly.


    ¡°HA~!¡± Gaute shouted loudly again as his muscles bulged; he didn¡¯t reply to Bai Yi. However, actions meant everything, if he wanted to kill the 3 of them then Bai Yi had to pay the price.


    ¡­¡­


    When Bai Yi¡¯s team entered the city center, that young girl came down as well to the battlefield. The ghosts around her seemed to recognize her and didn¡¯t take a single action toward her.


    ¡°What happened here?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like that? Revenge? That¡¯s really something that¡¯s difficult to judge or comment on. But, in the entirety of history, nothing good ever came out of something like this,¡± the young girl said as if she was talking to herself.


    At this time, she came to Ning Xue¡¯s side and prepared to close her eyes as a sign of respect to the dead. However, the moment her hand touched Ning Xue¡¯s eyelids, she suddenly realized with shock that Ning Xue was still alive! Although her heart was pierced, she was actually still alive. However, the feeling was very strange, as if another lifeforce was sustaining Ning Xue¡¯s body. The position of that lifeforce was from Ning Xue¡¯s lower abdomen.


    In Ning Xue¡¯s womb, the fetus that hadn¡¯t developed fully in 9 months due to the influence of the activated cells emitted an unimaginable lifeforce, and it actually sustained Ning Xue¡¯s life. However, this also resulted in a strange effect on the fetus, and nobody knew what would happen to it in the future. However, this young girl didn¡¯t care that much and immediately tried to prepare for emergency treatment. She quickly stemmed the bleeding and tried her very best to pull Ning Xue back from the edge of death.


    ¡­¡­


    The battle had ended. Bai Yi leaned against the side of the streetlamps. He held Mavis in his hands, his eyes out of focus. Woolf sat on the floor by the side, not wanting to move either, while Sharpei and Pupu still stood at the plaza. Right beside them were Gaute and Harold¡¯s bodies that were ripped into many pieces. Only like this did the two of them really stop moving.


    On top of the hill formed by countless corpses, Momo kneeled at the top, her short sword viciously stabbing into Athena¡¯s body below her.


    The 3 of them exploded with unimaginable power once they were resolved to die. Bai Yi¡¯s team never thought that the three of them could have such great battle power. If not for their strength and numbers being greater than them by a notch, it would have been possible that Bai Yi¡¯s team died along with these 3. Even so, Mavis was still poisoned from the battle before and was unable to get any effective treatment. As such, she died.


    Momo slowly stood up, looking at Bai Yi and the others below her; her little blood-stained face was full of emptiness.


    Everyone looked in Momo¡¯s direction. The gentle crescent moon gave off a ray of white moonlight, and it almost seemed like the light shined from Momo¡¯s back. The pale-white moonlight illuminated the mountain of corpses. New blood splattered on the corpses that were there before making the scene appear even more sorrowful. Momo stood below the giant tree that was surrounded by the corpse hill, her face full of weakness and vacancy.


    ¡°Daddy!¡±


    Everyone heard her and immediately looked over, discovering Momo¡¯s figure illuminated by the moonlight and the hill of corpses below her feet. The giant tree behind her seemingly absorbed all the nutrients from the corpses and grew to be incredibly lush. In this eerie environment, this tree actually managed to bloom beautiful flowers.


    These flowers were so beautiful, like a blossoming of life. A gentle breeze blew past these eerie and beautiful flowers and the petals of these flowers that fit neither the time nor the place drifted down. At this time, Momo¡¯s eyes finally moved and saw Bai Yi. Suddenly, tears just started rolling down her face.


    It was an indescribable scene as if time had frozen, this moment represented another transformation in Momo.


    Bai Yi stared at Momo for a long while and closed his eyes again.


    Warner died, Mavis died as well, Ning Xue, who was originally his good friend, also died in his hands and the few others¡­In the end, vengeance could never beget a good outcome!


    Bai Yi¡¯s heart was incomparably chaotic right now. Intense self-blame, hurt, and various other emotions reverberated in his heart. On the contrary, this gave Bai Yi an absolutely blank look on his face. Suddenly, Bai Yi opened his eyes again and looked at the crescent moon in the sky. The moonlight shined into Bai Yi¡¯s eyes, almost as if reflecting his gaze back at him. Instantly, Bai Yi actually fell into a hypnotized state himself.


    The colored patterns on Bai Yi¡¯s body gradually disappeared again, gathering toward his eyes.


    After more than 10 minutes, Bai Yi¡¯s eyes finally turned back to normal and he awoke from the hypnosis of the moonlight. Bai Yi clearly knew that his eyes had evolved again. Various immense emotions became the catalyst for his eyes, letting them evolve once again. However, Bai Yi didn¡¯t have a single trace of happiness on his face; he only felt incomparably pained and lost.


    Every time, every time! It¡¯s almost as if the blood of his friends were the source of his eyes¡¯ evolution.


    This was definitely a pair of cursed eyes!


    But as it happened, he had to rely heavily on this pair of eyes! No matter for facing this cruel world, or to continue walking down this path of revenge, until he truly ended Yu Han.


    ¡­¡­


    The night was full of sorrow!

 Chapter 121

    Chapter 121: Beheading Spirits


    Momo¡¯s cries spread far through the quiet Wellington. Not knowing when, the remaining survivors had woken up from their berserk state and climbed to this place.


    Woolf, Sharpei, Pupu, and Bai Yi looked at the Spirit Devouring Butterflies flying all around them, and could guess why they were still alive. These butterflies did not devour them even though their souls got polluted. Instead, the butterflies protected them. Otherwise, they would be dead for sure like Yu Han¡¯s teammates earlier. One must know, this was the center of Wellington, the center of the ghost city.


    Looking at his injuries-ridden teammates, Bai Yi pulled everyone together for a hug as emotions stirred up deeply inside once again.


    He was wrong!


    He wasn¡¯t wrong to seek revenge on Yu Han for his friends, but he was wrong in taking revenge to be everything. He had brought this cruel ending down on everyone. Along the way, just how many delightful things and beautiful sceneries had they neglected? In the future, he must definitely not let his precious friends cry! He definitely mustn¡¯t let Momo cry again. This wasn¡¯t a life that a father should let his daughter experience.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°What is this place?¡± Woolf asked.


    ¡°This place? Look at the corpse hill below our feet. This is the center of Wellington, the center of the ghost city,¡± Bai Yi gradually said.


    Woolf observed the endless corpse hill below him, and couldn¡¯t help but shiver in his heart. On the contrary, Momo, Sharpei, and Pupu didn¡¯t actually feel anything. A small kid, and two animals didn¡¯t have much understanding toward this mountain of corpses. Everyone observed the scenery around them and couldn¡¯t help but feel astonished.


    In contrast to the corpse hill that covered the surface of the plaza, the top part of the giant tree evoked a sense of beauty.


    This giant tree went against the surrounding environment and grew to be so lush. Beautiful pink and blue flowers decorated the branches of the tree. Under the dim illumination of the moonlight, they could see vengeful spirits continuously rushing toward this place from the outside, flying to this giant tree. Once these vengeful spirits came into contact with the tree, it would immediately suck them inside and they would disappear very quickly. In a short while, a pure spiritual body would fly out again, and they could vaguely see their past appearances. These new spiritual bodies would fly around the giant tree like a bunch of gentle mayflies.


    However, as these spiritual bodies danced around the tree and came into contact with it continuously, they slowly became more and more transparent. Eventually, they disappeared completely into the air.


    They were absorbed!


    However, looking at the peaceful expressions of these vengeful spirits at the end, they didn¡¯t seem to dislike this situation.


    In the surroundings of the giant tree was also the swarm of Spirit Devouring Butterflies that came in here last. The number of Spirit Devouring Butterflies left here were now less than half. The remaining butterflies danced in the quiet moonlight with their spiritual bodies, adding another layer of beauty to this scene.


    All of them quietly admired this scenery. Although there was a hill made out of corpses right below their feet, they somehow actually felt a sense of quiet beauty here. Very quickly, all of them slowly got lost in this scenery, and only Bai Yi slowly became wary inside as he looked at the giant tree. This giant tree seemed to have the power to bewitch people¡¯s hearts, but it seemed to be more for spiritual bodies. The change in Bai Yi¡¯s eyes was probably in part due to the stimulation of this tree.


    Suddenly, Bai Yi saw a spiritual body floating toward the tree.


    Bai Yi thought he had seen wrongly, but after staring at it for longer he could be sure that his eyes hadn¡¯t deceived him. He really wasn¡¯t wrong, the spirit that was floating toward the giant tree was Mavis.


    Bai Yi staggered clumsily and ran toward her spirit. At this time, the rest of them also followed Bai Yi¡¯s line of sight and looked to that direction. They all received a great shock. After a short pause, all of them finally reacted. This place was the ghost city Wellington where a large number of people had died, forming a special environment and energy field. That Anna said before that the souls of the people that died here wouldn¡¯t disappear but continue to exist in the form of spirits.


    ¡°Momo, quickly stop Mavis! This giant tree has the power to bewitch spiritual bodies. If she goes over she will be consumed,¡± Bai Yi said to Momo immediately after only running a few steps and judging that he couldn¡¯t catch up to Mavis.


    After Momo heard Bai Yi¡¯s words, she immediately rushed toward Mavis, her small body climbing up the hill of corpses. Momo seemingly really had some connection to dead spirits, or perhaps it was the Spirit Devouring Butterflies protecting her, but among all of them, only Momo¡¯s soul didn¡¯t suffer much damage. She could still move freely now.


    ¡°Aunt Mavis, Aunt Mavis! Stop!¡± Momo ran to Mavis¡¯ side and shouted loudly while running around Mavis.


    However, the Mavis now just seemed like a spirit that had lost all self-awareness, and slowly floated toward the giant tree. She completely ignored Momo¡¯s shouts. Even if Momo blocked in front of her, Mavis didn¡¯t dodge but directly passed through Momo¡¯s body. When Mavis passed through her, Momo suddenly gave a low groan and started shivering as if she was cold.


    ¡°Aunt Mavis, please stop!!¡± Momo continued to shout loudly.


    Hearing Momo¡¯s shouts, those Spirit Devouring Butterflies flew over as well. They wanted to pounce on Mavis¡¯ spirit. To these butterflies, Mavis¡¯ soul was just another spiritual body, it too was food for them to consume. Momo immediately shouted for the butterflies to stop.. In that short moment, Mavis¡¯ spirit had drifted forward more.


    At this time, the rest of them were also climbing upward with great difficulty, their speed now was pitifully slow. However, even if they were slow, nobody stopped. Mavis¡¯ death had already caused them great pain. However, if they could preserve her soul then maybe, just maybe there might be a way to revive her in the future?


    Momo desperately tried to stop Mavis, but Mavis was completely unreactive.


    Seeing that Mavis was getting closer and closer to the giant tree, Momo drew her short sword with a ¡®shing!¡¯ in her panic. But when she pulled her sword out, she blanked for a moment as one of the Spirit Devouring Butterflies that merged into her body flew out from the back of her hand.


    This is?


    Momo looked at the butterfly fly one round around her, before it returned to the back of her hand again, leaving behind an image of a Spirit Devouring Butterfly. Momo just held her short sword like this, her small face incomparably solemn. It was like she was trying to sense and feel something.


    This was that feeling, the feeling that came from her eyes. The drop of blood that the Progenitor dripped on her eyes back then was quietly and unnoticeably changing Momo¡¯s body. It wasn¡¯t obvious in the past only because she hadn¡¯t met a suitable opportunity yet. However, Momo could now clearly feel something flowing inside her body and the air around her.


    It¡¯s like this, right?


    Momo was still a small kid, she didn¡¯t know fear. She followed her own intuition and swung her short sword lightly across Mavis. Momo¡¯s actions were very slow, very gentle, just like she was doing a sword dance. It was not how she normally wielded a sword in battle. At this instant, a spirit happened to appear in front of Momo¡¯s short sword.


    Soundlessly, as if her sword hadn¡¯t come into contact with anything. The spirit didn¡¯t give off a scream, and only slowly turned into little motes of light that disappeared into the air after being sliced into half by Momo¡¯s sword.


    Momo suddenly got an idea and she immediately put her short sword in front of Mavis. Just what was she doing? Just based on her intuition, she actually pointed her weapon at her Aunt Mavis. The merging of the Spirit Devouring Butterflies with her and the stimulation from the Progenitor¡¯s source blood actually changed Momo and gave her the ability to kill spiritual bodies. If not for this random spirit abruptly coming between them, then she would have probably done something irreversible.


    However, no matter what, she still had to stop her Aunt Mavis.


    Seeing that Mavis was not more than 10 meters away from the tree now, Momo gritted her teeth and chased after her. Momo blocked Mavis¡¯ path again. She thought of how her daddy usually looked when he used his Reverse Flower Eyes. Momo also stared at Mavis directly, and her eyes started to change as well, almost as if mist was spreading out from her eyes.


    Stop Aunt Mavis, stop!


    Momo screamed loudly in her heart. However, if her ability could manifest so easily then it would have been a little too unfair. Mavis still didn¡¯t stop as she drifted toward the giant tree.


    ¡°Aunt Mavis!¡± In the end, Momo could only kneel and watch helplessly as Mavis delved into the giant tree.


    ¡°AUNT MAVISSS!!!¡± Momo kneeled on a corpse and started wailing loudly. Momo didn¡¯t remember many people inside her little heart. It was just her father (her dearest daddy), Sara (the older sister who likes her), and Mavis (the aunt who always had a straight face but actually really liked her). Sara taught her about being strong at the end, was Aunt Mavis going to leave her as well?


    Momo suddenly stood up, and the incomparably sharp short sword hacked toward the giant tree.


    At this time, Momo only thought in her heart that if she was unable to wake Mavis up, then the only thing she could do was to destroy this giant tree. However, just when Momo lifted up her sword, she suddenly saw a tearful face staring at her. The Mavis that she couldn¡¯t wake up no matter what was looking at her with a smile now. At this time, Mavis was completely different from before, as if all the pollution in her body had been purified. She now appeared incomparably pure and transparent.


    ¡°What is Momo thinking of doing?¡±


    ¡°Wu¡­wu¡­Aunt Mavis!!¡± Momo¡¯s little face scrunched up and she almost started crying.


    ¡°Momo is a strong girl, don¡¯t cry ok, let¡¯s get down first,¡± Mavis said to Momo. When Mavis was sucked into the tree for the first time, it was as if her soul had been filtered. In that instant, she heard Momo¡¯s cries and regained her consciousness. However, remaining close to this tree was very dangerous. The Mavis that had already turned into a spiritual body felt this even more severely.


    Although Bai Yi and the rest of them didn¡¯t know what happened, they still gave a breath of relief after seeing Mavis return safely.


    ¡°Mavis!¡± Bai Yi saw Mavis¡¯ spirit drifting over and wanted to say something, but in the end he couldn¡¯t form his words and only this simple word came out of his mouth.


    ¡°Stop blaming yourself, let¡¯s leave this place first. I can¡¯t resist the temptation if I am near this tree,¡± Mavis said.

 Chapter 122

    Chapter 122: Healing Wounds


    The few of them chose a nearby house. At this distance, they could avoid the attraction of the giant tree to spiritual bodies and were also not too deep into the vengeful spirits¡¯ territory. Although the vengeful spirits had a chaotic mind, they could more or less understand that the giant tree at the center was attracting them like a poppy flower. It made them desire to get close to it but also instinctively fear it.


    There were a few more corpses in the house, but they were all long desensitized to this sight and didn¡¯t even bother to tidy them up.


    ¡°What is it? Why isn¡¯t anybody talking?¡± Nobody spoke for a long time after entering the room, and all of them stared at Mavis with an apologetic look. Mavis¡¯ body now wasn¡¯t stable. It continuously distorted and warped, and they could only see a vague shape of her. The others who saw this didn¡¯t say a word, and it was actually Mavis who spoke first.


    ¡°Aunt Mavis!¡± Momo looked at Mavis with eyes full of longing.


    Mavis smiled and wanted to go and stroke her head, but when she was about to touch Momo she suddenly realized that she wasn¡¯t suitable to touch Momo anymore. When a ghost and a human came into contact, it didn¡¯t just cause damage to the human¡¯s soul but the ghost itself would also receive a shock.


    ¡°I was wrong, it was me who was too engulfed by hate that brought everyone to this state now,¡± Bai Yi said painfully.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to blame yourself so much, this isn¡¯t your fault. All of us had the resolution and awareness of all this before coming here. Even so, it isn¡¯t too late since you managed to see this point now,¡± Mavis said.


    ¡°Revenge isn¡¯t everything. In reality, in many stories, even if the revenge was successful, what was left was only emptiness. I don¡¯t understand this too much, but the you before wouldn¡¯t listen to anybody else¡¯s words, so I didn¡¯t bother saying anything either. However now, did you wake up? You understand that in this world, there are things more important more revenge, right?¡± Mavis continued speaking. Bai Yi looked at Mavis in surprise. So Mavis realized this long ago? It was just that she didn¡¯t try to persuade him, but waited for Bai Yi himself to come to this realization. Although, this realization came at the price of Mavis¡¯ life.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m really sorry!¡± Bai Yi¡¯s composed image crumbled and tears poured down his face.


    Just like watching a big kid cry, Mavis didn¡¯t try and continue talking either. Nobody could be perfectly wise and mature from birth. Mavis didn¡¯t know about the Bai Yi from before, but she had watched him grow every step of the way since he came to New Zealand.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say sorry anymore, I actually think that dying in this place isn¡¯t too bad of an ending. How do I say this? So far, only dying in Wellington, this ghost city, can people retain their souls. From what Johnny and Anna said, the soul can¡¯t maintain its existence in the outside world,¡± Mavis smiled casually.


    Although they knew that Mavis was just trying to console them, all of them still unknowingly believed her.


    ¡°To speak of it, where¡¯s Warner?¡± Mavis changed the topic.


    ¡°Warner disappeared. When we got attacked by the vengeful spirits, everyone fell into the berserk state, so we don¡¯t know what happened exactly either. Warner, Yu Han, and his teammates aren¡¯t in the area surrounding this giant tree, so we don¡¯t know where they are either.¡± After crying his heart out, Bai Yi quickly pulled himself together again and answered Mavis¡¯ question.


    ¡°So that¡¯s what happened, I hope that child is fine.¡± Mavis nodded.


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave it at that for now, what do you guys plan to do from now on?¡±


    ¡°Treat our wounds, find Heloise and Warner, then leave this place to search for the way to save everyone. If we meet Yu Han again in the future, I will be more level-headed and not act recklessly. I will never, never again let my friends get hurt!¡± Bai Yi promised seriously.


    ¡°You are the team leader, it¡¯s good enough as long as you think it through!¡± Mavis nodded.


    ¡°I will find a way to revive Aunt Mavis!¡± Momo suddenly said loudly as well, her little face full of seriousness.


    Mavis blanked for a moment, and revealed a smile at Momo.


    ¡°En, then I will wait for that day. To speak of it, my words earlier really weren¡¯t to console you guys, but my heartfelt words. Not everyone can experience what it¡¯s like to be in a spiritual form. Since I¡¯ve already become like this, then I can carefully try to understand Wellington¡¯s change, the changes in this form of life, and what exactly is the relationship between the body and soul. After that, well I¡¯ll just have to wait for Momo to come and revive me,¡± Mavis said to Momo dearly.


    ¡°En, I will!¡± Momo said seriously.


    Everyone looked at Momo¡¯s little face, and couldn¡¯t help but really believe that Momo could find a way to revive a dead person. It wasn¡¯t just because Momo could directly see ghosts or her mysterious changes. Instead, the most important factor was just that everyone genuinely believed that Momo could do this.


    ¡°All of your injuries seem to be very severe, do you guys know how to treat your wounds?¡± Mavis asked.


    ¡°To heal the injuries of the soul, naturally we have to use the Dead Soul Flower.¡± Bai Yi looked at the little white flower at the corner. Although they couldn¡¯t say that the Dead Soul Flower was everywhere, it really wasn¡¯t too hard to find one at the center of the ghost city Wellington.


    ¡°How to harvest it though?¡±


    This indeed is a problem, if they didn¡¯t have the proper way of picking the Dead Soul Flower then it could be even more dangerous than the vengeful spirits. Moreover, all of them suffered from injuries to their soul now, so it was an even more serious issue for them. However, before they spoke again, Momo started walking towards that flower. Bai Yi just wanted to say something but Momo suddenly drew her short sword.


    Under all of their shocked gazes, Momo held her sword horizontally and faint mist emitted from the blade. Very clearly, this wasn¡¯t the moonlight reflecting off her blade from the outside, but real mist that was emitted from her short sword.


    Special energy!


    There was definitely no other explanation now, but everyone was very shocked. Even for Bai Yi, he could only get the special energy to passively gather at his eyes when he used the Reverse Flower Eyes, but Momo could actually gather the special energy on her blade with such a simple action. Could Momo¡¯s talent be even greater than Bai Yi¡¯s?


    Momo¡¯s short sword stabbed into the roots of the Dead Soul Flower, and black smoke immediately started rising from it. It was even darker than the vengeful spirits. However, the moment this black smoke came into contact with Momo¡¯s sword, it immediately rapidly retreated. Afterward, Momo flicked her sword and picked the Dead Soul Flower up from the corpse.


    All of them looked at the flower. Was it considered harvested now?


    However, it still felt like something was missing.


    ¡°Bai Yi, do you remember when Yu Han¡¯s team was running toward the center, they dripped something on their bodies?¡± Mavis suddenly said. Sure enough, a women¡¯s thoughts were still more meticulous. The rest of them immediately recalled the Soul Purifying Tree sap that Yu Han¡¯s team had dripped on themselves while running. They didn¡¯t know what that thing was, but it seemed to have the effect of countering spiritual bodies.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! Yu Han definitely entered Wellington for the sake of the Dead Soul Flower, so their preparations should be more thorough than ours.¡±


    Momo didn¡¯t wait for Bai Yi to speak and stretched out her right hand, and a bunch of Spirit Devouring Butterflies landed on the back of her hand. Everybody then looked as Momo and the butterflies communicate wordlessly. After the bunch of butterflies flew away, Momo realized that everyone was looking at her dumbly.


    ¡°I only asked the butterflies if they knew where Yu Han¡¯s team drop their stuff!¡± Momo immediately said nervously.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, you did well!¡± Bai Yi rubbed Momo¡¯s little head.


    They were just amazed, amazed at Momo¡¯s abilities now. Before entering Wellington, there wasn¡¯t anything special about Momo other than her composure that far exceeded a child her age and her strong will. It could be said that at that time, Momo was really at the bottom of the team. However, after entering Wellington, Momo seemed to receive some stimulus and gradually started to change. From the ability to see ghosts at the start, to killing spiritual bodies now, this kind of change was astonishingly fast.


    Sure enough, it wasn¡¯t that Momo didn¡¯t change, but that she just lacked an opportunity. The drop of blood from the Progenitor that fell into her eyes was definitely very important.


    However, her ability was actually related to the soul. Could Momo endure a life of seeing ghosts every day?


    Bai Yi gently stroked Momo, worrying in his heart. At this time, nobody thought this far yet, they couldn¡¯t even imagine what Momo would become in the future.


    Very quickly, Momo obtained information from the Spirit Devouring Butterflies and they found the leather briefcase that Yu Han¡¯s team had lost. This briefcase wasn¡¯t too different from the one that Bai Yi¡¯s team had acquired initially at the research facility and was also very sturdy. After spending nearly a day on it, they finally managed to break it open with brute force and obtain the things inside.


    The sap of the Soul Purifying Tree, and some important information.


    ¡°It seems to be even more than the things we acquired,¡± Woolf said.


    ¡°En, that really seems to be the case. His luck had always been good. Perhaps he was saved by somebody and gained some good things after surviving his calamity,¡± Bai Yi said with slight ridicule. Actually, Yu Han¡¯s luck had really been very good, it was almost at the level of the protagonist in a novel. If it wasn¡¯t for his crooked heart at the start, maybe it would have been a completely different scenario now. However, what Bai Yi didn¡¯t know was that his simple ridiculing actually turned out to be the truth.


    Very quickly, all of them figured out the way to use the sap of the Soul Purifying Tree. When the soul pollutants at the stem of the first Dead Soul Flower was purified and revealed a slight glow, they knew that they had guessed correctly. This was the true method to pick the Dead Soul Flower. Although Momo had managed to pick the Dead Soul Flower too, that flower probably still had some side effects.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t know how to concoct this Dead Soul Flower,¡± Mavis said.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, we can just eat it directly,¡± Bai Yi said nonchalantly and munched the flower in his mouth.


    Mavis was a doctor, and she was very familiar with the human body and modern treatment methods. However, she wasn¡¯t very proficient in the extraction and concoction of these evolved plants now. To put it simply, Mavis was a doctor, and the young woman that Yu Han¡¯s team met was the ¡®Medicinal Maker¡¯ that was very popular in New Zealand now.


    Medicinal Maker ¨C Somebody who was proficient in extracting medicinal properties from plants, and could to a certain extent extract the useful components from every single type of plant and process it.

 Chapter 123

    Chapter 123: Failed Invitation


    While Bai Yi¡¯s team was searching for the Dead Soul Flower and slowly healing their soul, Yu Han was also treating his wounds. Of course, just like what Bai Yi had unintentionally said, Yu Han¡¯s luck was really good. He actually met a young Medicinal Maker girl that was staying alone in Wellington by chance. In the end, he was saved by her. Moreover, this young Medicinal Maker had heard about Bai Yi and Yu Han before and carried great curiosity toward them.


    However, Yu Han¡¯s situation wasn¡¯t as comfortable as they imagined.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to say anything?¡± Adams stared at Yu Han.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± Yu Han¡¯s expression was very heavy and dejected.


    ¡°Only sorry? Just sorry?!¡± Adams roared immediately after seeing Yu Han¡¯s expression and exploded in fury. ¡°Evelynn, Athena, Gaute¡­The 6 of them all died, died you understand?! Just because you provoked that Bai Yi, the 6 of them died¡­¡± Adams became more and more agitated as he spoke, and at the end, he was completely shouting. However, his voice became more and more choked toward the end. Eventually, he couldn¡¯t continue speaking.


    ¡°Sorry!¡± Yu Han¡¯s voice was very low.


    ¡°ARGHHHH¡­!¡± Adams gave a long prolonged shout, tears gathering in his eyes. He appeared to be in deep grief.


    At this time, Yu Han suddenly heard a soft sound coming from the outside, and he immediately thought of who it was. It was that female Medicinal Maker. Yu Han didn¡¯t know how strong she was or the standard of her medicinal skills, but she couldn¡¯t be weak since she could stay in this ghost city alone. If something like this hadn¡¯t happened to him, Yu Han had the confidence to draw the female Medicinal Maker into his team but it was very troublesome now. After such an argument, Bai Yi and his past would probably all be exposed. As long as the person was still normal, she would never choose to follow him.


    Then!


    ¡°Then what did you want me to do? Did you think I didn¡¯t want to resolve it peacefully, that did I not try? But what did Bai Yi do, did he give me a chance? Think of how Evelynn died, that kind of decisiveness and ruthlessness, was it all my fault? Do you think I¡¯m not in pain, weren¡¯t they my teammates too? Wasn¡¯t Ning Xue my girlfriend? Now that they¡¯ve become like this, do you think I¡¯m feeling good?!¡± The more Yu Han said, the more agitated he got. At the end, his face became similarly covered with mucus and tears.


    A grown-up man being like this was really a total loss of image, but it had an even greater effect on people.


    However, how much of it was real?


    ¡°That was what you created! If you did not do those things in the past, why would Bai Yi come and seek revenge?!¡± Adams also shouted loudly, almost standing up from his agitation.


    At that time, Adams recalled the words that Bai Yi had said at the start of the battle ¨C Don¡¯t blame me if you die!


    That¡¯s right, Bai Yi had already warned them all at the start of the battle. This didn¡¯t have anything to do with them, but since they stubbornly wanted to get involved, they better be prepared for death. Thinking about Bai Yi¡¯s bewitching Reverse Flower Eyes, thinking back to the scene of Evelynn¡¯s head flying, Adams couldn¡¯t help but shut his eyes. It was really so damn not worth it, and Evelynn had died the most unjustly. Thinking about it now, she purely charged into Bai Yi¡¯s blade dumbly.


    ¡®Knock Knock!¡¯


    Two soft knocks came from the door. Nancy was actually quite curious about their conversation, they actually mentioned that Bai Yi in it. Just what had happened? However, due to the education she received since she was young, Nancy didn¡¯t eavesdrop on them and only heard a few sentences at the start of the conversation when she hesitated for a moment.


    Hearing the knock on the door, the two of them seemingly woke up from their fight and both hurriedly tried to tidy up their sorry looks.


    Nancy opened the door and walked in, seemingly not seeing the awkward scene between the two of them. However, their miserable looks now couldn¡¯t possibly be covered up completely.


    ¡°Time to change the medicine!¡±


    ¡°Thank you, really thank you very much. If not for you, then perhaps we¡­I¡¯m sorry, I still don¡¯t know the name of Miss?¡± Yu Han was seemingly very embarrassed at letting Nancy see his crying face now.


    ¡°Nancy!¡±


    ¡°Nancy, Nancy right? Thank you, Miss Nancy so much. If not for you, then we might have been dead by now. I¡¯m sorry to let you see such an embarrassing scene. I am Yu Han, this is my girlfriend Ning Xue, and this is¡­¡± Yu Han wiped away his tears with his left hand, but the tears seemingly just couldn¡¯t stop flowing. The more he wanted to stop, the more it wouldn¡¯t stop flowing.


    ¡°I¡¯m called Adams!¡± Adams did not let Yu Han introduce him and spoke up himself.


    ¡°Orh.¡± Although her reply was simple, Nancy actually felt great surprise in her heart. Honestly speaking, staying here by herself, her curiosity wasn¡¯t actually that great. One must know that those with too much curiosity couldn¡¯t live for long in Devil Island now.


    However, Nancy¡¯s curiosity was aroused by what happened to these people.


    Bai Yi and Yu Han, it was actually these two people! Seemingly, the two of them had a very unordinary past. Initially, Nancy was just curious toward the two of them that released the information about the activated cells and helped all the evolved humans. However, she was unexpectedly lucky enough to stumble onto the history between the two of them.


    However, Nancy looked at Yu Han unmovingly and noticed in her heart that Yu Han¡¯s crying was a bit fake. As a Medicinal Maker staying here alone, an acute sense of observation and a precise analytical ability were very necessary. Otherwise, she couldn¡¯t have possibly survived. Yu Han¡¯s acting was getting more and more skillful, but he completely didn¡¯t expect to meet someone who had impeccable observation skills like Hong Qi Hua.


    After Nancy appeared and broke their argument off, Adams also calmed down slightly and wasn¡¯t that agitated anymore. When Nancy finally left the room, Yu Han looked at Adams again.


    ¡°It¡¯s my fault but maybe they aren¡¯t dead. Didn¡¯t we get saved by somebody too?¡± Yu Han consoled.


    ¡°How possible do you think that is?¡±


    Yu Han was rendered speechless by Adams¡¯ impolite words. Just how possible was it? Yu Han of course knew that after falling into the berserk state in that mass of vengeful spirits, it was practically impossible for them to survive. Not everyone was as lucky as him to have somebody that just happened to save him. However, Yu Han felt that Bai Yi didn¡¯t die, he definitely didn¡¯t.


    ¡°You can¡¯t say anything now right?¡± Adams mocked, but after that, he felt that this was utterly meaningless. Then, he sat in the corner lifelessly and looked up at the mottled ceiling.


    ¡°I know, the chances of them surviving isn¡¯t great. Not everyone would be as lucky as us to get saved by chance. But I know that Bai Yi is definitely still alive. There¡¯s no basis for this but I just know. Now, the things between me and him can no longer be judged by right and wrong.¡± Yu Han slowly struggled to climb up.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care what you choose, but this time I will take the initiative to find him and put a close to everything. Between the two of us, there is no longer any room for compromise, only one of us can live,¡± Yu Han said with a grieved but malevolent expression.


    ¡°What about you, what will you do? Are you going to stop and back out like this? Or are you going to stay together with me to find Bai Yi and put a close to everything, regardless of right or wrong?¡± Yu Han looked at Adams seriously.


    ¡°Ha~~!¡± Adams sighed very deeply and closed his eyes. ¡°Let me think about this.¡± He didn¡¯t continue speaking after this. Yu Han didn¡¯t pressure him either. He knew that Adams was very rational and smart, it wouldn¡¯t be so easy to make Adams continue to follow him.


    ¡­¡­


    The 3 of them had stayed in this place quietly recuperating, and Adams still hadn¡¯t replied to Yu Han¡¯s question. However, Yu Han was even more worried about another problem. Ning Xue still hadn¡¯t woken up. However, after receiving treatment from Nancy, they found that their injuries were swiftly recovering in this one week.


    This let Yu Han ascertain that putting aside her strength, this Nancy was already very good just based on her Medicinal Maker talent alone.


    ¡°Nancy, I have the original form drug outside. Although it doesn¡¯t have an absolute effect, it can still let you regain your human form to a certain extent. I really don¡¯t know how else to repay you for saving our lives, and this drug could probably be of use to you. Do you want it?¡± Yu Han asked and tested her. At this time, he didn¡¯t directly invite her to the team because he knew that would be very unrealistic. Nancy had already more or less learned about the history between him and Bai Yi.


    ¡°Prototy original form drug!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m indeed very curious, but still, forget about it. Anyways, it can¡¯t make me completely regain my human form after all. It¡¯s still better to wait for somebody to invent the drug that can let people completely regain their human forms. It hasn¡¯t been long since I started studying medicines, but I still know that sometimes similar drugs would clash with each other. If I use the Prototy drug now, perhaps it would affect the effects of the real drug to help us regain our human form completely.¡± Nancy shook her head and declined with a smile.


    ¡°Is that so, then I¡¯m really sorry. Other than that, I don¡¯t know how else to repay you.¡±


    ¡°Nope, it¡¯s fine.¡± Nancy shook her head.


    ¡°Nancy, don¡¯t you want to see the New Zealand outside now?¡± Yu Han still asked again in the end.


    ¡°En, I¡¯m indeed quite curious, but I still don¡¯t want to leave now. After all, New Zealand now is too dangerous. Although this place is dangerous too, I¡¯m generally familiar with this place. At least, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem to survive here.¡±


    ¡°Is that so, if you leave in the future you must remember to come and find me. I must repay this debt of you saving my life.¡±


    ¡°Sure, if there¡¯s a chance.¡± Nancy tactfully rejected Yu Han¡¯s invitation. Of course, she understood that Yu Han was inviting her to his team, but after learning the inside story, how could she agree to follow Yu Han? On the contrary, Nancy was even more curious about Bai Yi now. From the few words leaked from their conversations, she knew that although they saw him as an enemy, they had a very high evaluation of him.


    After getting rejected by Nancy, Yu Han still felt quite disappointed in his heart even though his face didn¡¯t change much. Sure enough, after knowing about their history, it was too difficult to get Nancy to join him.

 Chapter 124

    Chapter 124: The End


    No one in Bai Yi¡¯s team was a Medicinal Maker, so none of them knew how to extract the medicinal components of the Dead Soul Flower. However, they were at the core of the ghost city Wellington right now. They weren¡¯t lacking in Dead Soul Flowers at all, and they had even found a flower field growing on a patch of corpses.


    ¡°This is really unbelievable!¡±


    All of them were amazed when they first saw the big flower field. However, after seeing the densely packed corpses below, their mood turned quite sour again. According to the rumors, the Dead Soul Flower grew through absorbing souls. Although they didn¡¯t know if this was true, the scene of the Dead Soul Flowers swaying on top of the corpses still mesmerized yet appalled them.


    ¡°So many Dead Soul Flowers!¡± Woolf said in astonishment.


    ¡°No, it isn¡¯t many at all.¡± Bai Yi shook his head.


    ¡°Although it looks like a giant field of Dead Soul Flowers, if we look at it carefully, then the total number of Dead Soul Flowers in Wellington probably wouldn¡¯t exceed 10,000. In addition, if the rumors are true and these flowers grow by absorbing souls, then these flowers can basically never reproduce. The more the flowers are used up, the lesser and rarer it will become,¡± Bai said slowly as he looked at those flowers.


    ¡°It¡¯s just too bad. If only we had a talented Medicinal Maker to find the way to extract the medicinal compounds of the Dead Soul Flower and concoct a drug for us. That would be the best way to optimise the effects of the Dead Soul Flower,¡± Mavis said as well.


    ¡°En, that¡¯s really true.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°Not only can the Dead Soul Flower nourish the soul and shorten the Brutal Phase, but from our situation, this flower can heal damage to the soul as well. So far, no other places have found anything similar to the Dead Soul Flower. It¡¯s easy to imagine just how valuable this thing is,¡± Bai Yi said till here and gradually stopped.


    ¡°An enormously useful and non-renewable resource. It would definitely be a scarce flower in the future,¡± Mavis added.


    ¡°How do you guys know?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just basic deduction. Really, can¡¯t you just use your brain for once?¡± Bai Yi was at his wit¡¯s end regarding Woolf. This guy¡¯s brain was clearly not bad, but he just didn¡¯t want to use it.


    ¡°Let¡¯s put the future aside. For now, we should just heal our injuries and collect more Dead Soul Flowers as a backup,¡± Bai Yi said at the end. This was indeed a good plan, but in the end, they probably couldn¡¯t take away many either. After all, there wasn¡¯t much Soul Purifying Tree sap left in the briefcase. Moreover, they had never seen this kind of sap before, so they didn¡¯t know where to get it either.


    During their free time while resting, all of them silently thought about their gains and losses from this battle.


    Bai Yi chatted with Mavis every day, seemingly recovering his gentle demeanour. However, Mavis could feel that Bai Yi¡¯s inner self had changed again. After this journey to the ghost city Wellington, Bai Yi understood some things very deeply. Now, he was a combination of both gentleness and callousness, contradictory elements that somehow complemented each other.


    Woolf retrieved his greatsword and would swing it around when he had nothing to do, treating it as practice. His greatsword was actually the most durable weapon here; even Bai Yi¡¯s fang sword had some cracks on it. It was really true that the bigger and simpler the thing, the harder it was to break.


    Pupu often laid down and faced one direction silently. To the active Pupu who liked to move around, this was something very rare. They could tell that Pupu was really worried about Warner¡¯s disappearance. No matter what, Warner was Pupu¡¯s real owner, though toward the end it was getting harder to see who was the owner in this owner-pet relationship.


    Momo frequently wandered around the Soul Release Tree, she seemingly felt very comfortable around this tree.


    Soul Release Tree ¨C This was the name that Bai Yi¡¯s team gave the giant tree in the middle. To think of it, it seemed like none of them here had any talent for giving names. They initially wanted to give it a similar name to the Dead Soul Flower and just name it as the Dead Soul Tree, but Momo pulled on Bai Yi and whined that the name wasn¡¯t nice. Then, they changed part of the name to the Soul Release Tree, and it indeed sounded quite a lot better. It even had some Buddhist or Taoist vibe to it.


    As for the Soul Release Tree, only Momo felt comfortable around it, while the rest of them felt that the tree was extremely ominous. Growing to become so lush among that pile of corpses, just imagining it¡­However, they really didn¡¯t find any other dangers from the Soul Release Tree so far. At least, it wouldn¡¯t suddenly grow some tentacles out to pull people inside.


    Of course, they could obviously tell that Momo had a deeper connection to spiritual things. They didn¡¯t know if this was because Momo innately had these characteristics or it was because of the influence of the Progenitor¡¯s source blood.


    Other than that, Sharpei was also behaving quite abnormally recently. Momo actually found Sharpei eating the corpses the piled up around the center of Wellington. Sharpei avoided everyone when he did so, but Momo still caught him. After discovering Sharpei¡¯s actions, Momo actually didn¡¯t tell anybody but kept Sharpei around her, secretly covering up for him.


    Momo herself did not know why she did so.


    After 3 days, when their bodies had mostly recovered and they could move around a lot easier, Bai Yi gathered everyone.


    ¡°Finish all of that fluid we have left and pick all the Dead Soul Flowers we can. We will leave after that,¡± Bai Yi said to everyone.


    ¡°So quickly?¡± Woolf still felt that his body wasn¡¯t as nimble as before.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, we don¡¯t know where Warner is now. He fell into the berserk state, and coupled with the damage to his soul, it¡¯s easy to imagine how bad his situation is now. We didn¡¯t have the ability to move before, but now that we can move, we must go back and find Warner. There¡¯s also Heloise. It has been a few days since we split up and she hasn¡¯t come back either. The Spirit Devouring Butterflies that I asked Momo to send to search for her couldn¡¯t find anything as well. Anyway, although our injuries aren¡¯t healed yet, we still can¡¯t afford to just stay here anymore,¡± Bai Yi summarized the current situation and explained.


    After hearing Bai Yi¡¯s words, they didn¡¯t have any objections. To speak of it, there weren¡¯t that many of them now.


    All of them started to move, and their first obstacle were the vengeful spirits outside the Soul Release Tree. These vengeful spirits naturally felt the temptation of the Soul Release Tree, but also felt afraid at the same time. This strange feeling made these vengeful spirits encircle the Soul Release Tree from a distance.


    How do they get out?


    At this time, Momo walked toward the Soul Release Tree, drawing her sword from the sheath and hacking off a branch. Then, she brought the branch back to them.


    ¡°Momo?¡±


    ¡°Use this, my instincts tells me that the vengeful spirits won¡¯t attack us if we use this,¡± Momo said.


    Ok then, even though there was completely no reason behind it. However, after they tried it out, everyone realized that it was just as Momo had said. None of the vengeful spirits had attacked them while they were holding the branch of the Soul Release Tree. Rather, the vengeful spirits became confused. After ascertaining this point, everyone looked at Momo in astonishment. Momo experienced the greatest change after entering Wellington. Just what was she turning into?


    However, overall, her changes didn¡¯t seem like a bad thing sofar.


    ¡­¡­


    After wandering around Wellington carefully for more than a week, they finally found Heloise. She was getting chased by a Terror Bird when they found her and they saved her from it. After saving Heloise, they talked about everything that had happened during this period and their emotions stirred up again. The regretful thing was that Bai Yi¡¯s team never found Warner at the end; they couldn¡¯t find any traces of Yu Han either. No matter what, Wellington was the capital of New Zealand, to find one person in this city full of shadowy figures really needed quite a lot of luck.


    ¡°I really didn¡¯t imagine¡­If only I was there¡­¡± Heloise looked at Mavis in regret.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s really fine. Just that in the future, the people in the team will have to rely on you to take care of them.¡± Mavis entrusted Heloise with this responsibility.


    ¡°En, be at ease, I will look after Woolf well.¡± Heloise nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s Bai Yi!¡±


    ¡°Hey, I can¡¯t do anything about Bai Yi, you know this.¡± Heloise shrugged. She wasn¡¯t talking nonsense. If it was Hong Qi Hua, then maybe Bai Yi would have listened to her. However, if it was her, unless Bai Yi already had the same plan in mind, he wouldn¡¯t be easily persuaded by other people for many things.


    ¡°Forget about it then, that¡¯s it for now. Well, see you guys again.¡±


    ¡°En, see you again!¡± All of them said their farewells to Mavis, and left with some sorrow on their faces. Although this journey to Wellington didn¡¯t take too long, they had already experienced more than enough in this period of time. While leaving this place, Bai Yi had a new responsibility on him and that was Momo¡¯s promise to find a way to revive Mavis.


    ________________________________________________________________________


    Half a month later, the remainder of Yu Han¡¯s team said their farewells to Nancy as well. Yu Han tried to invite Nancy again over this period, but Nancy declined gently every time. Only now did Yu Han realize that this girl in front of him that had turned into a monster had a very firm stance on things. She wouldn¡¯t easily change her mind.


    When the 3 of them left Nancy¡¯s residence and came to the outside of Wellington, Adams suddenly stopped. Yu Han quivered in his heart. Adams hadn¡¯t answered his question yet. Yu Han thought that they would just silently go on like this forever, but at this time, Adams suddenly stopped. Yu Han felt a bad premonition in his heart.


    ¡°Yu Han!¡±


    ¡°I will seek back justice from Bai Yi, but not with you. Sorry!¡± Adams said very seriously.


    Yu Han¡¯s heart throbbed intensely, but he still revealed a look of understanding. After Adams finished his words, he nodded toward Yu Han and Ning Xue. Then, he turned around and walked off in another direction. Yu Han didn¡¯t try to make him stay either, Adams had already thought about it for so long. If he would change his mind with just a few words, he wouldn¡¯t be Adams anymore.


    There was only him left, there was only him again!


    Seeing Adams disappear into the distance, endless pain and darkness grew in Yu Han¡¯s heart, as if threatening to engulf him. However, at this moment, Ning Xue suddenly hugged Yu Han from behind. Her touch didn¡¯t feel too warm, but he felt the warmth from somewhere else. Yu Han looked at this girl that had always stayed by his side, never abandoning him, and suddenly his heart completely fell for her.


    Yu Han hugged Ning Xue back. From this moment onward, Ning Xue occupied an incomparably special position in his heart.

 Chapter 125

    Chapter 125: Not Liking To Study


    Bai Yi¡¯s team stood silently for a long time at the outer perimeter of Wellington, looking back at the city shrouded in shadows. After a long while, Bai Yi finally turned around under all of their gazes and walked outside. Woolf, Heloise, Momo, Sharpei, and Pupu immediately followed after him, walking beside Bai Yi.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Bai Yi, what are we going to do now?¡±


    ¡°Look for talented people and expand our team. Then, we will look for a way to resolve the situation that all the evolved humans in New Zealand are in now,¡± Bai Yi said. After he spoke, he realized that the rest of them didn¡¯t seem to understand much and he continued to explain.


    ¡°I was too focused on revenge in the past, and missed out on many things. For example, nobody new ever joined our team, because I didn¡¯t want to push this hate onto anybody else. However, even though we didn¡¯t kill Yu Han for sure, my mindset is already a bit different.¡± Bai Yi touched his chest, but he did not say what exactly was different.


    ¡°Although we¡¯ve released the information about the activated cells, we are still far from solving the problem of the evolved humans. Similarly, although evolved lifeforms could basically survive in New Zealand now, it¡¯s still a long way from the peaceful lives we had before. An initial estimate is that the evolved humans still surviving in New Zealand won¡¯t be more than 1 million, and this number is still rapidly decreasing every day. Falling into the berserk state in the Brutal Stage, running around to look for food and medicinal products, nobody knows when they would die. The New Zealand now fully lives up to its name of ¨C Devil Island.¡±


    ¡°I am not a saint, but we did promise the Progenitor to do something.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s still quite a few researchers remaining in New Zealand, although a large portion of them died, there are still quite a few that survived. What I¡¯m thinking now is to gather these people again and restart the research into activated cells, using our limited resources to solve the problems of the drastic change in physical form and brutality. These are also the problems that the research facility had already started working on.¡±


    ¡°However, to do this, we first need a safe environment.¡±


    ¡°Living like savages now, we have to risk our lives to search for every meal. There¡¯s a chance of dying in the hands of some monster at any time if we are not careful. How could anybody have the energy to do research in an environment like this? Hence, a safe environment is necessary. However, a safe environment can¡¯t possibly be created in a short period of time. Before the safe environment is constructed, we have to protect those learned people under some limited conditions first. This is to prevent them from all dying too early,¡± Bai Yi explained carefully. Apparently, he had already thought about the future in the detail over the past few days.


    ¡°They need protection?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡±


    ¡°We have to admit that knowledge is not commonly used in New Zealand now. After all, there isn¡¯t any monsters that will talk about mathematical models with you. In reality, regardless of the strength of those researchers, we have to protect them just because of the knowledge in their heads. These people with knowledge are our future hope. Unless, you really think that people like us, who know nothing, would somehow be able to develop a way to regain human form?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°I know about cells and genes!¡± Woolf cracked open a smile in glee.


    ¡°Do you know the construction of a cell?¡± Bai Yi had a slight smile on his face.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the cell the smallest unit in the human body? I learned this before in senior high, don¡¯t try to trick me!¡± Woolf replied with another question.


    ¡°I know that the cell is the smallest unit of the human body, but the cell is still split into cell membrane, nucleus, mitochondrion, cytoplasm, ribosomes and many more,¡± Bai Yi shrugged when he said till this point. ¡°Other than those, I don¡¯t know anything anymore, but I still remember that just the makeup of a cell is extremely complex. Do you think that with our level of knowledge, we can develop a drug to regain our human form?¡±


    ¡°I know it¡¯s impossible, I¡¯m just saying¡­¡± Woolf mumbled to himself.


    ¡°I support Bai Yi¡¯s suggestion fully! Protect the researchers!¡± Woolf suddenly shouted in a loud voice comically.


    ¡°OHH~!¡± Momo immediately shouted along with Woolf, but happened to meet Bai Yi¡¯s eyes while laughing. Shit I¡¯m dead, this thought appeared in Momo¡¯s head mysteriously; after that, she made an aggrieved look. Sure enough, Bai Yi looked at Momo and smiled.


    ¡°Momo thinks that it¡¯s right too? Then you should take your studies more seriously next time.¡±


    ¡°Oh~!¡± The same reply, but this time Momo¡¯s face looked like a deflated eggplant.


    Heloise found it very funny looking on from the sidelines. Momo was actually a very obedient kid, just that she didn¡¯t like studying. That¡¯s right, just like many kids, Momo didn¡¯t like looking at those dry and boring books at all. On the contrary, what Momo liked to do now was to swing her sword and hack at things in her free time, practicing her sword skills. Unfortunately, Bai Yi didn¡¯t care about Momo¡¯s sword practice too much, but didn¡¯t give her any slack when it came to her studies. Momo was most afraid of her daddy using that kind of eyes to force her to study now.


    Momo looked at Heloise with puppy eyes. She hoped that her Aunt Heloise could help her, but Heloise could only shrug her shoulders helplessly.


    Momo saw Heloise¡¯s expression and looked at Woolf, Sharpei, and Pupu after that. Forget about it, they were completely useless. When Warner was around, she could still find a companion to resist Bai Yi¡¯s tyranny together, and in the meantime whine to Aunt Mavis a bit. But now, her forces were weak.


    ¡°Then, let¡¯s go retrieve the things that we had placed before,¡± Bai Yi said. Before entering Wellington, Bai Yi had put some daily necessities at some location. After all, they entered Wellington to seek revenge, there was no reason to bring a huge bunch of daily necessities along with them into the city.


    ¡­¡­


    Momo saw that they were getting closer and closer to the place where they had left the textbooks and couldn¡¯t help but feel aggrieved. She was going to get forced to study again.


    The location that they had left their things was a house covered with vegetation. It wasn¡¯t anything especially important, so they didn¡¯t specially try to cover it up either. However, before they got close, Bai Yi squinted his eyes. Everyone realized that somebody had come to this place before.


    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes changed slightly, activating the first level of his Reverse Flower Eyes.


    At the first level, Bai Yi¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t have much attacking power, but his vision wasincomparable to before. A normal person only had about 120 degrees field of vision, but Bai Yi in this state actually had a full 180 degrees field of vision. This was just the start, the most important thing was that Bai Yi could clearly capture everything that fell into his sight in this state. His vision was not like normal people who could only focus on a small area at any one time.


    He didn¡¯t discover any enemies and entered the room. He saw that their things they left here were thrown around messily in the place, and an extinguished fire was at the side.


    Tsk, it¡¯s true!


    Bai Yi shook his head, although it wasn¡¯t anything important, was there a need to throw it around like this? Bai Yi picked up the dirty kitchen knife from the floor and felt helpless. He only had two kitchen knives left, the wok they usually used to cook wasn¡¯t stolen either, and there were even some leftovers inside the wok.


    At this time, Heloise and Momo followed in as well. They were the only ones with body sizes small enough to enter this place conveniently.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Heloise asked.


    ¡°Somebody came before and made a mess of this place,¡± Bai Yi said. It was needless to say; the culprit was definitely searching for anything valuable here. However, in reality, how could it be possible that people would put any valuable things in an open place like this?


    Momo looked at the pile of burnt wood at the side, and suddenly her eyes lit up. Beside the pile of burnt wood, there were still a few pages from a book that hadn¡¯t been burnt completely. Momo couldn¡¯t be more familiar with these things, as it was her ¡®study materials¡¯.


    OH YEAH!


    Momo immediately clenched her small fists in joy, and shouted happily in her heart.


    Good job! Burn it all!


    New Zealand now wasn¡¯t like the society they had before, the conditions were very harsh. Without suitable conditions, even if Bai Yi wanted to force Momo to study, he couldn¡¯t sustain it for a long period of time. Unless he wanted her to draw on the ground? No matter what, Bai Yi wouldn¡¯t make her study without any materials.. As long as the textbooks and workbooks were all burned, Momo could slack off for a very long time.


    ¡°Oh? You seem very happy.¡± Bai Yi flicked Momo¡¯s forehead lightly.


    ¡°Ouch ouch ouch ouch¡­¡± Momo held her head and grinned dumbly to herself. Bai Yi was using his Reverse Flower Eyes, so Momo¡¯s happy expression just now couldn¡¯t escape his eyes. When Momo discovered that her ¡®study materials¡¯ had been burnt, she was naturally overjoyed. Bai Yi couldn¡¯t do much about this either, Momo didn¡¯t like to study and it wasn¡¯t good to force her too much. However, a basic education was still necessary. Although the conditions were very primitive now, Bai Yi didn¡¯t want to see Momo become illiterate in the future.


    Suddenly, Momo looked in a certain direction.


    Bai Yi noticed what Momo was doing and looked over as well, realising that in that direction was a corner of the house, behind that was the wall, and behind that was an empty space. There wasn¡¯t anything there.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°A soul!¡± Momo looked at that place and said softly, slowly walking over.


    ¡°Soul?¡± Bai Yi looked at Momo¡¯s actions and simulated the position of the soul in his head. However, the location was unfortunately still empty to Bai Yi¡¯s eyes.


    Momo¡¯s mouth opened slightly, seemingly trying to speak to the soul before her. After a while, Momo¡¯s face gradually became sadder and sadder.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to disappear.¡± Momo looked at her daddy.


    ¡°Disappear?¡±


    ¡°En, I want to talk to him, but he¡¯s different from the souls inside Wellington. He¡¯s very weak now, and seems very transparent. I can barely feel his existence, and he doesn¡¯t even have his basic consciousness anymore,¡± Momo explained. ¡°I can feel that he¡¯s going to disappear soon.¡± Momo added again.


    ¡°Is it.¡± Bai Yi stroked Momo¡¯s head, hugging Momo gently in his arms.


    Bai Yi¡¯s team didn¡¯t understand much about souls, but ever since Momo¡¯s eyes had changed she was destined to see a whole different world. Bai Yi did not know what Momo would become in the future, but at least for now he had to provide Momo with a happy world to live in.

 Chapter 126

    Chapter 126: Hunting For Food


    In the normal world outside, Bai Yi wasn¡¯t able to see ghosts. He stretched out his hands and closed his eyes at the same time. He focused all his attention on his 5 senses, increasing their sensitivity to the maximum. Bai Yi¡¯s right hand passed through the ghost that Momo talked about, but he still didn¡¯t feel anything. Everyone else looked at Bai Yi, not knowing just what was he trying to do.


    ¡°There¡¯s no feeling, just like how it is normally. Even if Momo says that there¡¯s a ghost here, I still can¡¯t feel anything at all.¡± Bai Yi shook his head.


    ¡°Ah, he became even fainter!¡± Momo said in shock. In Momo¡¯s eyes, the unknown soul became even more illusionary when Bai Yi¡¯s hand passed through him, almost as if his hand had burst a bubble. Although the soul¡¯s body returned to normal after Bai Yi¡¯s hand withdrew, the soul still became even more transparent, as if it were about to vanish immediately.


    In the end, Momo didn¡¯t get to say much before the soul disappeared completely into the air, just as if he had evaporated.


    ¡°Disappeared!¡± Momo said softly.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t say anything. Although Momo was only slightly more than 5 years old now, she was already completely different from a normal kid. Sure enough, Momo¡¯s expression was very calm, and she did not grieve or feel pity for this unknown soul. In New Zealand now, this kind of feeling was just extravagant.


    Bai Yi¡¯s team prepared the things that they needed again. Although these things were all not very important, it was still very troublesome if they had to collect them all again. While tidying up these things, Sharpei found a hole that was covered up recently from the scent. Inside the hole was a body that had been buried not too long ago. This body was roughly 3 meters tall, and the outer appearance was already hard to see clearly. The body had already started rotting, but it looked like a monster anyway, so there wasn¡¯t much need to describe it.


    Seeing this corpse that had apparently died for only a few days, and the soul that just dissipated in the room, Bai Yi¡¯s team finally understood the words that Johnny had told them.


    The energy field in the underworld was very different from the outside world. Ghosts could survive in the underworld, but they would quickly disappear in the normal world outside. Putting it like this, Mavis really had better luck dying in Wellington than Martin and the others. Bai Yi wanted to smack his own head when he thought of this. What was called dying luckily? This way of saying things was really strange.


    ¡°Woolf, go hunt some food with Pupu, I¡¯ll cook up something good.¡±


    Bai Yi saw that the ¡®seasoning packet¡¯ he made was still here, and couldn¡¯t help but say this to Woolf. These few seasoning packets were personally made by Bai Yi. Although he wasn¡¯t too proficient in things related to medicine, he was still a lot better than many people when it came to natural seasonings. However, looking at how the natural seasonings were carelessly dumped on the floor, he knew that the people who came here didn¡¯t have an eye for valuable things. Of course, if these seasonings weren¡¯t properly prepared then it wouldn¡¯t taste good, and could even poison people to death.


    This was New Zealand now, more than 50% of the animals and plants were dangerous in various ways.


    Over this half a month, although Bai Yi¡¯s team could still find food in Wellington, the food wasn¡¯t too tasty. It always felt like the lifeforms living in Wellington all carried a ghostly aura in them.


    After Woolf heard Bai Yi¡¯s words, he raised his hand to indicate that he got it. Although New Zealand now was extremely dangerous to most humans, some of the more powerful humans could still survive in this place. The people in Bai Yi¡¯s team were of course among those more powerful humans. However, even if it was them, they couldn¡¯t afford to be careless as well. Once they were careless, they could still die to any kind of danger.


    Although Woolf seemed to be very carefree and nonchalant, he was actually quite meticulous underneath his crude exterior. It could be seen from how Woolf had followed Bai Yi since the very start of New Zealand¡¯s change and hadn¡¯t been jinxed to death by Bai Yi who always seemed to invite disaster upon himself. Other than that, although Pupu was a pet pig, he was actually quite smart.


    After the two of them left, Bai Yi and Heloise tidied up the place and prepared to cook.


    ¡°How clear!¡± Heloise looked at flowing water inside the river and said.


    ¡°En, it¡¯s really very clear.¡± Bai Yi nodded. New Zealand always had a low population density, and after all industrial activities had stopped for more than 9 months, the country now had a primordial environment. They practically couldn¡¯t find any traces of human activity in this river, and it was all natural. Moreover, activated cells wasn¡¯t some infectious virus either. It wasn¡¯t toxic, so basically, they could use water sources like this.


    When Bai Yi and Heloise came back, they found that Sharpei had returned from another place and was dripping wet all over.


    ¡°Sharpei?¡±


    ¡°Woof.¡± Sharpei barked at Bai Yi, and shook his body vigorously, shaking away all the accumulated water off his body. Then, he walked toward Momo.


    ¡°Do you feel Sharpei feels a bit off lately?¡± Heloise asked.


    ¡°Is it?¡±


    ¡°Maybe I¡¯m just thinking too much.¡± Heloise shook her head after seeing that Bai Yi didn¡¯t seem to notice anything.


    Bai Yi really hadn¡¯t noticed Sharpei¡¯s abnormal state at this time. In truth, Sharpei had gone to consume the corpse that they had found not long ago. Because the body that had rotted slightly had a very strong smell, Sharpei specially went to swim in the river for quite a while. After coming to Momo¡¯s side, Sharpei quietly laid down and closed his eyes to rest. Momo knew what Sharpei went to do, but she did not want to tell her daddy.


    Sharpei was eating people, probably even daddy would feel very alarmed at this.


    Momo¡¯s simple head could also guess Bai Yi¡¯s reaction when he knew everything, so she decided to hide this matter first. However, it could be quite troublesome if Sharpei continued to be this way. The outside world wasn¡¯t like Wellington where corpses could be found everywhere. Sharpei laid on the floor, seemingly not sleeping very comfortably. He moved his head, and a crack close to his neck appeared on the external bone plates that grew on his left shoulder.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Woolf, just what did you bring back??¡± Heloise couldn¡¯t help but feel horrified when she saw the prey that Woolf dragged back.


    This thing¡­was it a caterpillar?


    The prey that Woolf and Pupu had dragged back was more than a meter long, as thick as a bucket and very chubby. Little green feelers and spots covered its entire body, and it was still struggling and wriggling non-stop. This guy was practically an enlarged caterpillar! Woolf and Pupu used vines to tie them up and brought back more than 10 of them. These caterpillars wriggled continuously, and their feelers and short legs moved about non-stop as well. No matter how they looked at it, they could only feel goosebumps rising on their bodies.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what this is either, but there¡¯s no choice, where can I find prey in such a short time? I just found a bunch of flying evolved lifeforms, but I can¡¯t catch up with them. Then I found that those birds were feeding on these caterpillars, so I brought them back since they probably aren¡¯t poisonous,¡± Woolf said helplessly. There was really a lot of different monsters in New Zealand now, but it wasn¡¯t like they could find or catch one anytime they wanted to.


    ¡°Haha, anyways Bai Yi will cook this, I want to see what expression he will have.¡±


    What expression would he have? When Bai Yi saw these still struggling and wriggling chubby caterpillars, he was indeed stunned for a while too. Damn it, Woolf why don¡¯t you find something even more novel than this?! However, Bai Yi also knew that sometimes it was just like this. If they couldn¡¯t find food then it just meant that they couldn¡¯t find food. Having something to eat was already good enough.


    ¡°Drag those to the river,¡± Bai Yi said to Woolf.


    ¡°Understood!¡± Woolf saw that Bai Yi didn¡¯t say anything, he knew that their dinner together was probably going to be these caterpillars.


    Bai Yi came to the riverside and took out his usual kitchen knife. But after thinking about it, he took out the willow leaf knife instead. Bai Yi didn¡¯t know how to prepare new ingredients like this either, so he could only start figuring it out from scratch. Using one of the caterpillars as his ¡®experiment¡¯, Bai Yi started to carefully dissect it.


    The most important thing was to slowly and meticulously prepare it and test it for poison. Whether it tasted good or not was secondary, it would be troublesome if there was poison in it. Although Woolf said that those flying bird monsters fed on these caterpillars, Bai Yi still didn¡¯t dare to be careless. In the end, Bai Yi judged that these caterpillars were mildly poisonous, but with the constitution of evolved humans now, this much was tolerable. Of course, this was only to the evolved humans in New Zealand, the normal humans outside definitely had no fortune to enjoy something like this.


    As he prepared these caterpillars for the first time, Bai Yi threw away all the hard-to-prepare internal organs, and only kept the layer of fatty meat and skin on the outside. The prepared caterpillar had its appearance changed completely. It looked both tender and slick, just like pork belly. Combined with Bai Yi¡¯s special home-made seasoning, the meat was unexpectedly delicious. Bai Yi tried a few ways of cooking it and realized that boiling was still the best way to cook this caterpillar. In the end, he just decided to make a hotpot.


    ¡°Delicious! I really didn¡¯t expect that those caterpillars will be so delicious!¡± Woolf ate with the fats dripping all over his mouth.


    ¡°That¡¯s because Bai Yi has good culinary skills,¡± Heloise teased.


    Bai Yi smiled. His culinary skills were actually just average, but it was indeed already better than the majority of people, and he was also skilled in handling raw ingredients. However, just these 10 odd caterpillars caused Bai Yi to spend more than half a day of effort on them. Ingredients that he encountered for the first were really very troublesome.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Sharpei eating?¡± Bai Yi looked at Sharpei lazing around and couldn¡¯t help but ask. At this time, Bai Yi recalled what Heloise had asked him before if Sharpei was being strange lately.


    ¡°Oh, probably, maybe Sharpei is a bit anorexic lately, he will be fine very soon!¡± Momo immediately said nervously.


    Momo you are really still too tender. Bai Yi was clearly asking Sharpei, what are you so nervous about? Bai Yi immediately looked at Momo and Sharpei, not knowing what were they up to. Looking at her daddy¡¯s questioning eyes, Momo¡¯s body immediately tensed up and hid Sharpei behind her. As for Sharpei, he slowly stood up and seemingly wanted to face Bai Yi directly.


    Eh?


    However, at this moment, Bai Yi looked diagonally toward his back. In that direction, he heard a slight sound, but that sound was incomparably soft. If not for the slight lack of coordination the moment the thing landed, Bai Yi probably wouldn¡¯t have heard this sound either.

 Chapter 127

    Chapter 127: Motherly Love


    Really, we can¡¯t even eat a meal in peace!


    Although it was a very soft noise, practically all of them heard it. They couldn¡¯t help noticing the sound. After all, it was very easy for something to go wrong if they weren¡¯t more alert in New Zealand now. Bai Yi had wanted to question Momo and Sharpei about what going on just now, but he was interrupted suddenly and focused his attention diagonally behind him.


    Slowly, a large animal walked out from that direction. They were all immediately taken aback when they saw the animal¡­Tiger? No, that¡¯s not right, it wasn¡¯t a tiger. It only looked like a tiger, but it should be a cat-like creature, or rather, it was actually a cat. There weren¡¯t any more pure animals left in New Zealand, and they couldn¡¯t be bothered to identify every gene that every animal had fused with by now. It was fine as long as they identified the base lifeform correctly.


    Sharpei stood up, but Bai Yi raised his right hand.


    Strange!


    This giant cat was more than 2 meters in length. It didn¡¯t seem to be hostile, but rather seemed to be carrying some hope and caution with it. The big cat tensed slightly just from Bai Yi turning his head, and released a rough meow. The big cat slowly and carefully walked toward Bai Yi, and everyone realized that there was a deep wound on its waist. It was so severe that they could almost see the bone. The wound practically stretched all the way to its back leg, causing the big cat¡¯s walking posture to be awkward.


    So it was like this. This was why they had heard that slight incoordinate sound just now.


    ¡°You want something to eat?¡± Suddenly, Bai Yi had a mysterious feeling in his heart. Although this big cat was quite wary, it didn¡¯t have any hostility toward them. Moreover, he got a vibe similar to a real house cat meowing cutely to humans. From this action, Bai Yi could immediately tell that this big cat was searching for food.


    ¡°Meow~!¡±


    Bai Yi found a basin and filled it up with the caterpillar meat, putting it in front of this big cat. This big cat immediately bit the basin and ran away, carrying the basin with its mouth. This big cat was a bit awkward while running due to its injuries, but it still disappeared before their eyes very quickly.


    ¡°This is?¡±


    ¡°It probably smelled the aroma of the food and wanted to ask for some of it. This cat should be a cat raised by humans in the past, so it¡¯s still quite amiable to humans,¡± Bai Yi slowly explained.


    ¡°It¡¯s really strange, we met quite a few domesticated animals in the past too, but this is the first time we saw one that was still quite amiable to humans.¡±


    ¡°You guys saw it too, the giant wound on its body probably affected its normal hunting greatly. It was probably its last resort to come here, I think it hasn¡¯t eaten for a long time. The aroma of the food and its memories of getting fed by humans in the past attracted it here, but actually, when it first appeared, there was more wariness than amiableness,¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°Oh really, but why didn¡¯t it just eat here? It still brought the food basin away,¡± Woolf said.


    ¡°It probably brought the food to its other companions,¡± Heloise said as well.


    ¡°En, probably.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t keep this big cat on his mind. In truth, this actually wasn¡¯t anything worth mentioning to him. Although they would hunt for prey, they never killed needlessly or for enjoyment. They especially wouldn¡¯t harm something that didn¡¯t have any hostility toward them and was previously a house pet.


    ¡°Momo!¡±


    ¡°Here!¡± Momo immediately jolted upon hearing Bai Yi¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Just what are you and Sharpei playing at?¡± Bai Yi¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t loud, but on the contrary Momo felt very scared. Little kids always had some sort of fear toward their elders, especially when they were hiding something.


    ¡°That is, that is¡­¡± Momo¡¯s eyes shifted continuously. That is why they said that Momo was still too tender, it was totally obvious that she had something to hide from how she looked. Momo¡¯s brain kept turning at this time, trying to find an excuse to muddle her daddy, but her simple head just couldn¡¯t think of a solution. Woolf and Heloise would definitely not help her out, they were just prepared to watch a show.


    ¡°Daddy, a sound, a sound!¡± Momo suddenly said.


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to change the topic.¡±


    ¡°Really, sound!¡± Momo said and pointed her little finger toward the direction the big cat had left in.


    At this time, they didn¡¯t continue to pay attention to this thing but seriously tried to hear anything coming from that direction. Sure enough, just like Momo had said, the sound was very soft, but it was indeed a rough and mournful cry of a cat. Almost instantly, all of them thought of the big cat that left just now.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look.¡± Bai Yi saw all of them looking at himself and couldn¡¯t help but say this.


    Momo immediately grabbed a hold of Sharpei¡¯s bone spike and landed on his back with a flip. ¡°I¡¯ll go,¡± Momo said hurriedly. At this time, Momo completely seemed like she was running away, fearing that Bai Yi might stop her. Heloise couldn¡¯t help but laugh seeing Momo¡¯s actions. No matter what, they couldn¡¯t let Momo go alone. All of them immediately followed, running toward the sound¡¯s location.


    They really didn¡¯t expect that the big cat ran such a long distance in such a short period of time, and they only found the big cat more than a kilometer away.


    Apparently, this was a lair, the big cat¡¯s lair. However, the lair was now stained with blood, and the big cat was facing off with another animal.


    This lifeform had a very thick neck, and was also more than 3 meters in length. Its body looked very streamlined and slim, but its legs and neck bulged with muscles. They couldn¡¯t identify what animal this thing used to be, but it looked rather like a creeper (TN: I assume this is the creeper from Minecraft). The creature¡¯s mouth was stained with blood, and there were still a few leftover corpse parts of small cats on the ground.


    They knew with a look why the big cat would suddenly try to get close to them, and tried to bring the food back.


    It wasn¡¯t convenient for it to hunt due to its injuries, so it suddenly recalled the memories in its body of it relying on humans. Even if it knew that approaching humans now was very dangerous, and that it could be hunted down, it still approached them because it was a mother cat. It apparently brought the food back to feed its own children.


    In the end, when this mother cat returned, it actually witnessed its own children getting eaten by this creature.


    Woolf immediately grabbed his greatsword and wanted to charge in to help. However, at this time, the mother cat suddenly turned its head and roared loudly at Bai Yi¡¯s team; this cry seemed both mournful and resolute. Bai Yi immediately stopped Woolf, and sure enough after Bai Yi did this, the mother cat once against charged toward the killer of its children.


    ¡°MEO-RAROW!¡± At this moment, the big cat completely displayed its aura, an aura of viciousness and massacre. Cats had always been predators on Earth. This evolved cat was even more powerful, and the scene of it being so tame in front of Bai Yi¡¯s team just now seemed like an illusion.


    However, the other unknown creature was also very strong, and it wasn¡¯t at a disadvantage facing the mother cat. Since the mother cat was already injuried, it very quickly fell into a disadvantageous state.


    ¡°Daddy!¡± Momo looked at her daddy, not knowing why Bai Yi wasn¡¯t helping when it knew that the mother cat wasn¡¯t the creature¡¯s match.


    ¡°Just look, this is a mother¡¯s final struggle.¡± Bai Yi¡¯s eyes were very serious.


    The Momo who didn¡¯t understand Bai Yi¡¯s words much initially became stunned. Momo never had a mother, so she didn¡¯t know motherly love, but it was enough for her to have a daddy. At this time, looking at the mother cat that was still struggling despite being at a disadvantage, something was touched in the depths of Momo¡¯s heart for a reason she couldn¡¯t understand.


    A battle between wild beasts had always been very bloody. The big cat fought with this unknown creature, and displayed this point to the utmost. Even if it was them, they couldn¡¯t help but feel shaken at this scene. So this is the most primordial way of fighting in the wild.


    The big cat¡¯s life force gradually got weaker and weaker, and it fell into a further disadvantage. Bai Yi held the fang sword in his hands, but he didn¡¯t act. Bai Yi knew that this big cat did not wish for somebody else to interfere in this battle, because this was her last duty and struggle for its children.


    Suddenly, nobody saw clearly what had happened, but the mother cat¡¯s body suddenly twisted and bit toward the creature¡¯s neck at an impossible angle. After it managed to clamp its jaws onto the creature, the mother cat never released its jaws again; there was only the sound of it wrestling and rolling around on the ground with that creature.


    After more than 10 minutes, the struggling finally stopped, only leaving behind a ruined ground in the surrounding area.


    Suddenly, Momo rushed toward the buried lair. In front of everyone¡¯s shocked eyes, Momo dug open the collapsed lair and everyone realized that in that corner, there was a weak little cat that was stuck under a rock. The cat was only as big as a palm; it seemed adorable yet pitiful.


    This little cat had apparently suffered from some injuries, but it still struggled vigorously in Momo¡¯s hand until it managed to break free. After landing on the ground, the little guy ran toward the mother cat clumsily. This small cat ran to its mother¡¯s side, continuously licking away the blood on its mother¡¯s body, and releasing a soft and weak ¡®meow¡¯. The mother cat that they all initially thought had died suddenly moved again, its eyes opened painfully as it slowly stretched out its tongue to lick the little cat¡¯s face again.


    This little cat seemed to enjoy its mother¡¯s doting very much, and immediately closed its eyes as it showered in the motherly love.


    Bai Yi¡¯s team weren¡¯t emotional people, but at this time they still couldn¡¯t help but feel their eyes getting wet.


    ¡°Meow?¡±


    ¡°Meow¡­Meoooww!¡± The little cat¡¯s puzzled voice gradually turned to sadness then to mournful. Apparently, the mother cat that had always loved it and its siblings had really died like that.


    ¡°Daddy, can we keep this little cat?¡± Momo suddenly said to Bai Yi.


    ¡°Ok.¡± Bai Yi nodded without any hesitation.

 Chapter 128

    Chapter 128: Chinchilla


    After realizing that the mother cat wasn¡¯t moving anymore, the little cat¡¯s feelings turned from its initial puzzlement to grieving, before it eventually became mournful. Its tender and sharp cries made everyone want to look away. It was really too regretful, none of them had realized that there was still a little cat alive just now. Otherwise, the mother cat wouldn¡¯t have tried to kill the enemy at all costs, eventually dying together with it.


    After Momo got Bai Yi¡¯s approval, she immediately wanted to pick the little cat up, but it suddenly bared its teeth at her extremely viciously. It blocked them from the mother cat behind it.


    ¡°MEOW!¡± The little cat shouted as if it was protecting the mother cat. It was very young yet stubborn.


    ¡°Sigh~!¡± Bai Yi sighed lightly, and his Reverse Flower Eyes appeared as he looked at the cat. Slowly, the little cat calmed down and fell on the floor. ¡°Although it¡¯s an animal, death is still too cruel to a baby cat like this. Let it calm down a bit first,¡± Bai Yi slowly explained.


    Momo ran over and carefully stroked the little cat¡¯s head and picked it up in her arms. This little cat was also as big as a palm; it wasn¡¯t too different from the normal little cats you would commonly see. In New Zealand now, this was actually a rare sight. No matter what, the mother cat could be considered to have created a benign fate with Bai Yi¡¯s team, so they were fated with this little cat as well. They only didn¡¯t expect that they would adopt a little cat when they just said they wanted to add new members to their team.


    Bai Yi and the rest of them buried the mother cat¡¯s corpse, while the corpse of that other unknown creature naturally became their food. New Zealand now didn¡¯t have any specific cattle for them to feed on, and there weren¡¯t so many animals to waste like that either.


    ¡­¡­


    This little cat was a female, and after getting affected by Bai Yi¡¯s Reverse Flower Eyes, it slowly fell into a deep sleep. However, Bai Yi was more concerned about the form of this little cat. This little cat was completely like a house cat, and there weren¡¯t any changes to its physical form at all. One must know that the mother cat¡¯s form had changed greatly, and it only still roughly looked like a cat.


    Seeing Momo carefully looking after the little cat, Bai Yi couldn¡¯t help but think about how the activated cells had influenced various lifeforms.


    Don¡¯t tell me that it¡¯s not hereditary?


    Bai Yi looked at the little cat and slowly thought about it. It was good news if that was really the case, even if they couldn¡¯t find a good solution for the problem caused by the activated cells, their future generations could still return to normal human society. However, Bai Yi didn¡¯t think that this was too possible. Forget about it, leave it as a question in his heart for now. For now, he would slowly observe the little cat¡¯s changes in the future. The most important thing now was, just what was Momo and Sharpei hiding?


    ¡°Momo!¡± Bai Yi¡¯s tone wasn¡¯t heavy, but Momo¡¯s body instantly tensed.


    ¡°Oh daddy, is there something? Ah! I suddenly remembered that this little cat should be very hungry, the mummy cat was looking for food for it just now,¡± Momo immediately said as she thought of a way to change the topic. She immediately tried to carry the little cat away as she spoke.


    ¡°Momo.¡± Bai Yi¡¯s tone became slightly heavier.


    Momo¡¯s body immediately stopped; she lowered her head, not daring to look at Bai Yi. If Bai Yi also had some suspicions before, then he could be sure that something had definitely happened to Sharpei. Momo¡¯s actions were too obvious. Really, she didn¡¯t even the have the basic idea of how to deal with things. However, that was how a little kid should be like.


    ¡°Speak, what are you and Sharpei hiding.¡±


    ¡°Actually, it isn¡¯t anything much either¡­¡± Momo replied softly, but she didn¡¯t seem convincing at all like this.


    ¡°Raise your head, look at me, and answer me seriously.¡± Bai Yi was starting to get unhappy. It wasn¡¯t because of Momo hiding things from him, but how she was being so timid and scared.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Momo replied on reflex and raised her head.


    After calming her emotions, Momo started to tell them about Sharpei¡¯s recent changes. At the start, Momo was still somewhat scared and uneasy, but she slowly became calmer afterward and talked about everything in an objective way. This was exactly what he wanted Momo to develop from now on. He wanted her to have a broad and level-headed personality.


    ¡°Sharpei, let me see,¡± Bai Yi said to Sharpei.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t get angry and blow his top like how Momo had imagined, but still maintained a calm look on his face. Even if Sharpei was eating humans, he still didn¡¯t seem to be angry. Indeed, he wasn¡¯t angry. Why should he be angry in the first place? Sharpei¡¯s change could be said to be completely due to them. Even if things really became very bad, the fault shouldn¡¯t lie with Sharpei either. This kind of baseless accusation and blaming before getting things clear was the worst thing to do.


    Sharpei heard him and walked two steps to come beside Bai Yi, waiting for his inspection.


    Bai Yi slowly observed Sharpei. They were always together usually, so Bai Yi didn¡¯t notice the small continuous changes that happened to Sharpei. However, now that he looked carefully, he suddenly realized that Sharpei¡¯s appearance had changed a lot.


    Sharpei was now roughly 4 meters long, excluding his long tail. His left shoulder blade grew out of his left shoulder, forming a white bone armour around half of his body. On the outside of this bone armor were some sharp bone spikes that would cause people to feel intimidated with just a look. There was not much fur on the upper half of Sharpei¡¯s body, and ever since that time where his skin was ripped off by the Tentacle Slug, his skin didn¡¯t regrow again. His muscles were revealed on the outside, sturdy and very tough. However, even with such a tough surface, many scars could still be seen on it.


    Bai Yi slowly touched Sharpei¡¯s tough skin, this was all evidence of the countless battles they had been through.


    Although the primary ability of Bai Yi¡¯s eyes was hypnosis, his observation abilities were also very strong when he opened his eyes completely. Bai Yi carefully observed Sharpei, checking the changes on his body. However, at the end, Bai Yi had to admit that Sharpei¡¯s skin looked very normal. If only Mavis was here, she was the real doctor and the specialist in this area.


    ¡°I can¡¯t see anything special, Sharpei how do you feel?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°Woof!¡± Sharpei immediately barked.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I don¡¯t understand you.¡± Bai Yi heard Sharpei¡¯s bark but felt very helpless. Perhaps it was because Sharpei had heard a lot of human speech, so he could now basically understand their words, and this was the case for Pupu as well. However, Bai Yi and the rest couldn¡¯t understand Sharpei and Pupu¡¯s ¡®language¡¯ at all. At this moment, Bai Yi suddenly had the strange idea to let Sharpei and Pupu learn to speak human words as well.


    ¡°Momo, you ask him,¡± Bai Yi said to Momo. Only Momo could vaguely understand Sharpei¡¯s words here, but the meaning would basically be correct.


    Under Bai Yi¡¯s instructions, she asked Sharpei a few questions. After that, they found out that Sharpei himself didn¡¯t know what had happened. He only felt that the left side of his neck was aching a lot, and at the same time his body felt very restless. He also wanted to eat corpses, and it wasn¡¯t like carcasses of animals for food or even fresh corpses, but the kind of corpses that got affected and changed by the energy field of the underworld like in Wellington.


    The part about the energy field of the underworld was their guess, but after Momo¡¯s questioning, they discovered that there were actually some changes on the left side of Sharpei¡¯s neck.


    Cracks appeared on the initially hard bone armor, and it also bulged outward by a bit. Bai Yi had thought that this was how Sharpei looked like all along. However, he realized now that something seemed to be growing underneath. Unfortunately, Bai Yi¡¯s eyes did not have x-ray vision; he couldn¡¯t see what was happening under that thick bone armor.


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave it at this. Sharpei you can eat whatever you want, but you mustn¡¯t let people outside of our team see you doing this. Also, do not attack other people recklessly,¡± Bai Yi patted Sharpei¡¯s head and said.


    ¡°Really?¡± Momo looked at Bai Yi in surprise. Not only Momo was surprised, but Woolf and Heloise were similarly very surprised. Bai Yi actually didn¡¯t blame Sharpei at all and on the contrary implicitly agreed to his actions.


    ¡°Really.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°But I hope that in the future, nobody will hide things from me and tell me earlier, no matter what changes you may have. You guys must know, no matter what you guys become, we are family!¡± Bai Yi said seriously.


    ¡°Family huh!¡± Heloise said softly. The family that Bai Yi talked about was obviously different from the family that people normally referred to. But based on their relationships, after going through so many things together, they had become a true, big family.


    ¡°However, we need to find other people soon, whether to invite them to join our team or just to help us temporarily. We must at least know what exactly is going on with Sharpei.¡± Although Bai Yi implicitly agreed to Sharpei¡¯s actions, he still had to be clear on Sharpei¡¯s changes. If it wasn¡¯t a benign change, then he definitely had to deal with it early.


    At this time, they finally felt the lack in their team, from the looks of it, they really had to find new additions to their team now. As for whether there would be any barriers between the new members and them after they joined, that was something to worry about it in the future.


    Opening the map, Bai Yi took a look and decided on a target.


    Wairarapa Snow Valley!


    This was a new snow valley found in the Wairarapa Mountain Range to the east of Wellington, and it had become a gathering point for a portion of the evolved humans now. The reason people gathered here was because of a certain mutated plant someone found in this snow valley ¨C Ice Peppermint. This was a plant that they found to be able to be grown in a large volume, and it also had the ability to calm the mind.


    Due to the dangers of the Brutal Phase, many evolved humans gathered around this area with this snow valley as the heart after discovering this Ice Peppermint. The reason was of course to make it more convenient to acquire these Ice Peppermints and suppress the berserk state.


    ¡°We will go to Wairarapa Snow Valley,¡± Bai Yi said. They should be able to find quite a few evolved humans at that gathering point. Then, they could see if there were any decent individuals there and try to invite them to the team.


    None of them had any objections and after finishing their preparations, they headed off for Wairarapa Snow Valley.


    Along the way, Momo wanted to give a name to the baby cat. After Momo¡¯s suggestions of dough, furball and other similar names that were rejected, Heloise finally said a name.


    ¡°Let¡¯s call him Chinchilla.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because the species of this baby cat is a Chinchilla! Isn¡¯t Sharpei a Shar-pei dog?¡± Heloise said teasingly. However, she never expected that both Bai Yi and Momo would nod their head seriously. Heloise couldn¡¯t help but facepalm herself. So it was like this, Bai Yi and Momo both had absolutely no talent for naming things.


    Just like this, the name of this little cat was set ¨C Chinchilla!

 Chapter 129

    Chapter 129: Arriving At The Snow Valley


    Wairarapa Snow Valley was located at the Tararua mountain ranges. It was close to Wairarapa, hence the name. Bai Yi¡¯s team spent nearly half a month to get this snow valley. After losing the convenient vehicles, humans had to revert to using their feet like in ancient times. Moreover, New Zealand didn¡¯t even have any decent roads left now, and they met strange and varied monsters all the time, so it was very troublesome.


    Nobody wished to live in an environment like this, but they had no choice but to struggle in this environment.


    Before entering the snow valley, they had already seen quite a few traces of human activities, and they rarely saw any large-sized monsters nearby anymore. Humans were social lifeforms, when a large group gathered at the snow valley simultaneously, the weaker monsters nearby were all hunted down together and became their food.


    Of course, the surrounding area where they hunted wasn¡¯t too big either; the power of humans now was far from before. In this kind of environment, having a small area to themselves was already very good.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Chard again, urgh it¡¯s really so damn disgusting.¡± In the distance, Bai Yi could already hear some grumbling. Then, they saw three more than 2 meters tall ¡®human-like lifeforms¡¯. These people were busy around a big pile of foliage beetroot.


    Chard ¨C a variant of the foliage beetroot. It had fat and thick leaves, stem and looked somewhat like a palm leaf fan. Before New Zealand had changed, this was originally used as feed for cattle. This kind of plant could be harvested multiple times, as long as it grew in the soil. As such, they could continuously cut off the outer layer of the leaves. As long as they did not damage the roots, it basically wouldn¡¯t die.


    A large patch of mutated chard grew right outside Wairarapa Snow Valley. Due to the activated cells, these chards became extremely huge, and the biggest among them was almost 4 meters tall. The re-harvestable characteristics of the chard, in addition to how quickly vegetation grew now, caused this chard to become the staple food for many people.


    ¡°Stop complaining, if you don¡¯t like then go hunt some monsters outside,¡± the other voice retorted.


    ¡°Forget about it then. Although chard tastes bad, at least my life wouldn¡¯t be in danger. Did you hear? Battle God team was practically wiped out, 7 or 8 of them died.¡±


    ¡°Of course I heard, I heard that they met an early-stage experimental monster and 5 of them died. The other 3 died because of falling into the berserk state and clashing head on with the monster; the rest of them could only escape because of that. Those that escaped were all injured as well, they would already be very lucky if they managed to live. The team leader of Battle God Bree managed to return to the snow valley as well, but he died before he could receive emergency treatment. This team is already as good as gone.¡±


    ¡°I also heard that the Medicinal Maker in that team is getting invitations from other teams now,¡± the remaining guy added in.


    ¡°It¡¯s still better to be a Medicinal Maker, they just have to hide at the back of the team and the people in front would automatically protect them.¡±


    ¡°Just too bad you have no talent, hahaha!¡± The other two immediately started laughing.


    In New Zealand now, a Medicinal Maker was the most lucrative profession. Unfortunately, this job was still in process of development, so there wasn¡¯t even a way to learn it properly. Every Medicinal Maker depended on their talent, and not on studying to do their job. Those Medicinal Makers who managed to find a formula for making certain potions through extraction of compounds from plants would treat these formulas as secrets as well. Very few would reveal their formulas so generously.


    These people chatted as they sliced off the upper layer of the chard, this was their food now.


    Suddenly, the ears of one the guys pricked up, and he looked toward Bai Yi¡¯s direction.


    ¡°Bell?¡± One of the other guys looked at Bell¡¯s actions and immediately asked nervously. Bell had fused with the genes of a bat. Although the genes caused his eyesight to become very bad, it also let him obtain a very powerful hearing ability.


    ¡°Shh, there¡¯s something coming.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not possible, all the monsters around here have basically been hunted down, there shouldn¡¯t be any more monsters appearing!¡± The last guy said in fear. This guy was the tallest here. He was more than 3 meters tall and appeared to be very plump.


    ¡°It may not be monsters, maybe it¡¯s humans¡­Fuck!¡± One of them just wanted to say that maybe it was humans, but suddenly he saw the figure of Sharpei walking in.


    Sharpei now was more than 2 meters tall. He was huge, sinister looking, and absolutely intimidating. With Sharpei walking at the front, he immediately made the few of them freeze from fear. With just a look, it was obvious that this thing evolved from a dog, but it was definitely not to be provoked. After they saw Sharpei, they immediately abandoned the chard on the floor and ran away as quickly as they can.


    ¡°Meow, meow meow!¡± A tender meow came from Sharpei¡¯s head suddenly, almost as if it was trying to intimidate them.


    A meow?


    Even if the few of them who were frightened by Sharpei, they couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit of doubt inside and looked over.


    At this time, Chinchilla was jumping around on Sharpei¡¯s head with its body arched, showing off its power to the 3 of them. However, Chinchilla¡¯s palm-sized body had absolutely no intimidating power, and it just seemed adorable. Perhaps it was jumping too happily, but it suddenly slid off Sharpei¡¯s head and landed on his nose. The little cat grabbed onto Sharpei¡¯s nose and looked into Sharpei¡¯s eyes that was even bigger than its body.


    A dog¡¯s nose was a very sensitive part of the body, so even though Sharpei had evolved and mutated, this didn¡¯t change. In fact, its nose actually became even more important. At this time, with a little claw hooking onto the top of his nose, even though he wouldn¡¯t be hurt by it, the itchy feeling made Sharpei want to eat this little guy in one mouth.


    Seemingly knowing that it got into trouble, Chinchilla immediately cried out, ¡°Meow~!¡±


    Was there a use to act cute now? Sharpei¡¯s eyes shined with a fierce light as he raised his right paw, slapping it toward his own nose. However, before Sharpei had the chance to teach Chinchilla a lesson, the wind pressure from his swing sent Chinchilla flying toward Pupu. Chinchilla spun a few rounds in the air before agilely hanging from Pupu¡¯s body again.


    ¡°Oink oink oink~!¡± Pupu immediately oinked a few times, seemingly complaining about something.


    Pupu was also tormented quite a bit by this little cat lately. Chinchilla absolutely seemed like it had ADHD, causing this lazy and slovenly Pupu to be unable to have a good rest. However, Pupu still felt that he was quite lucky, the one who had it worst was Sharpei. He didn¡¯t know if it was because cats and dogs were natural enemies, but Chinchilla loved to bother Sharpei, no matter if it was attacking him or playing around.


    At this time, the 3 people who were running away realized that this was a team. The one walking at the front was Sharpei, and there were a few people walking beside Sharpei along with a huge fat pig.


    What team is this?


    There were still people rearing pets now, but it was mostly some battle pets that could help them in fights. However, what was the deal with this pig? It didn¡¯t seem like prey either.


    ¡°Sorry to disturb, but can I check how far it is to the snow valley from here?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    This wasn¡¯t just asking for directions, it was also to inform the few of them that they were humans and could be communicated with. One must know, most of the humans in New Zealand looked like monsters now. Nobody could be sure if a creature they met was an evolved human or a monster outside. If they were unable to prove themselves, then they could only blame themselves if somebody took them to be a monster and hunted them for food. Even so, there were still incidents of evolved humans hunting each other, just that nobody wanted to talk about it.


    ¡°It¡¯s a short distance in front!¡± Somebody immediately responded after hearing Bai Yi¡¯s question.


    ¡°Oh really, thanks a lot then.¡± Bai Yi nodded and thanked them casually.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± The few of them replied, and looked at the giant carcass on Woolf and Sharpei¡¯s back with envy. Although they didn¡¯t know what this animal was, they could tell that it should be very powerful from its enormous size.


    At this moment, Momo suddenly charged toward the 3 of them. Her petite body rapidly dashed in front and she drew her short sword in a flash, before sheathing it back with a ¡®shing!¡¯ shortly after. In their shocked eyes, they realized that below Momo¡¯s short sword was a green thumb-sized nematode worm that got split into 4 parts.


    Green Nematode Worm!


    The 3 of them instantly got a fright, this was a lifeform that lived inside the chard. Although it was usually herbivorous, it would still attack humans if it received a shock. Its tensed body was very hard, and it could shoot out at a high-speed to pierce into the human body.


    ¡°Th-thank you!¡± The 3 of them didn¡¯t know how to thank her.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much.¡± Momo smiled and waved her hand.


    The weird team with 4 humans and 3 pets walked along the small road toward Wairarapa Snow Valley. While walking past them, Chinchilla looked at the 3 of them and meowed again, seemingly very curious toward all things and people. Since Chinchilla had just started following Bai Yi, it had only just begun to see this wide world and was indeed very active and curious toward many things.


    ¡°Chinchilla, stop playing around.¡± Momo stopped Chinchilla.


    Only when Bai Yi¡¯s team had walked far away did the 3 of them return to their senses. They felt an especially bitter taste in their mouths when they saw Momo, who was not even a meter tall, carrying a short sword. She even looked to be very proficient and skilled with it.


    At this time, the few of them looked at the chard leaves piled on the floor, and suddenly felt incredibly disgusted by it. It was indeed disgusting, not just because this thing didn¡¯t taste good, but also because of the disgust they felt toward themselves.


    Humans were indeed intelligent, but it was this intelligence that made humans weak naturally. It¡¯s fine as long I can survive, all I need to do is to survive. So when they found these edible plants, many people chose to endure eating this plain food that was like pig feed, rather than going out to hunt.


    In reality, evolved humans and evolved lifeforms started evolving at the same time. However, many were like these 3 people, rarely fighting with their own bodies.


    ¡°I¡¯ve had enough!¡± One of them muttered.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we join some team too? Then we can go out and hunt as well, I don¡¯t want to live this life like a farm cattle anymore. The only thing different between us and a farm animal is that we have to prepare the pig feed ourselves,¡± the other guy looked at chard on the floor and said.


    ¡°But we might die!¡±


    ¡°Then so be it, I¡¯ve had enough of days like this anyway. Unless you guys are inferior to even a little girl?!¡±


    Bai Yi¡¯s team completely didn¡¯t expect that the 3 of them would think so much after seeing Momo, thinking that they were inferior to a little girl. Perhaps these people already had some thoughts in their hearts, just that they were enduring it all along before. Seeing Momo¡¯s actions just happened to give them the trigger to change their lives.

 Chapter 130

    Chapter 130: A Well Known Worry


    Wairarapa Snow Valley looked just like its name suggested; it was a valley covered with snow. There was already snow halfway up the Tarurua Mountain Range, and it would be hard to even walk outside in the winter. Unfortunately, this was exactly the season now, but the vegetation that had assimilated with the activated cells did not wilt and die like normal plants. Instead, they still grew to be very lush. A field of green and white entwined together appeared before them; it appeared to be extremely beautiful.


    Before they reached the snow valley, they could already see the figures of other humans. However, rather than saying humans, it was more like a campsite for monsters to gather.


    There were many different strange shapes around. There were flying types, crawling types, aquatic types, four-legged types, and many more. With the human body as the base and fusing with genes from other animals, these were the evolved humans of New Zealand now.


    If there were only one or two that changed to become like this, then naturally everyone would see them as monsters. However, if everyone became like this, then they were all be the same and everyone gradually got used to it. On the contrary, if somehow a pure human appeared right now, even if that person was the most ordinary person before, they would probably get surrounded and stared at by these evolved humans.


    Such as now, when Bai Yi¡¯s team entered the snow valley, some of the people by the side focused their eyes on Bai Yi and Momo. It wasn¡¯t that they could tell that Bai Yi was the team leader, but it was because Bai Yi¡¯s form did not look too different from before. If not for the visible tiny soft fur growing on his face and neck, all of them would have probably really started to gather around and stare at him.


    Arriving at the entrance of the snow valley, Bai Yi¡¯s team stopped at a simple guard pass in front.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you before, new here?¡± There were 4 evolved humans at the checkpoint, and one of the guys with many lumps on his face asked, as he looked at Bai Yi¡¯s team.


    ¡°En, first time coming to this snow valley.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°Oh, then go over there and take a picture to make an identity card. After that, handover a portion of your prey. 20 kg of meat can let one person stay in the valley for 10 days. If you do not wish to handover any, then you must do some construction work in this snow valley. Of course, once you enter the snow valley, we Snow Valley Guards will have the duty to ensure your safety. You won¡¯t get bullied even if you enter alone.¡± This ugly looking toad-like guy was actually very gentle. He did everything by the book and didn¡¯t make things difficult for Bai Yi¡¯s team.


    ¡°Oh ok, thanks then.¡±


    ¡°Nothing much, it¡¯s good as long as you get it! My name is Berkley!¡± Berkley waved his hand casually. At the same time, he brought them to an empty space nearby, taking out a camera afterward.


    Bai Yi¡¯s team naturally knew what the ¡®ensuring your safety¡¯ meant. New Zealand was now completely a wicked world. If you didn¡¯t have a team and was alone, it was possible that some other team would treat you as prey and slaughter you. A world without law was just this cruel. That was why law, or actually not even law, just a group that obeyed basic rules, was absolutely necessary at any time.


    ¡°Hi, can you smile?¡± Berkley opposite them cracked open a wide smile.


    Bai Yi¡¯s team didn¡¯t know how to reply after hearing this, but they still followed his instructions and revealed their smiles.


    ¡°Very good, nice smiles! It¡¯s already hard enough just living in New Zealand now. If we still frown every day, then we would stifle ourselves to death sooner or later.¡± Berkley gave a thumbs-up to Bai Yi¡¯s team. They started laughing once they heard him saying this, although the genes that Berkley had fused with were ugly, his personality seemed to be quite good. No wonder they let him guard the valley entrance.


    ¡°Are they your pets?¡± After taking pictures of the 4 of them, Berkley looked at Sharpei and Pupu questionably. Although they all looked like monsters now, it was still possible to tell the difference between evolved humans and other evolved lifeforms.


    ¡°En, pets.¡±


    ¡°They have to be considered as a person too, I hope you can understand. After all, everybody looks like monsters now, we won¡¯t see them as pets but count by the number of entities.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°Then pacify your pets and I¡¯ll take a photo of them.¡± Berkley looked at Sharpei with some fear and caution. After all, Sharpei really looked very sinister now. If not for him being together with Bai Yi¡¯s team, they would have started attacking him long ago at the entrance.


    ¡°Sharpei, Pupu, go take your photo one at a time,¡± Bai Yi directly said.


    Sharpei and Pupu walked up one by one and took a photo at the empty ground. This kind of human-like behaviour immediately surprised Berkley greatly. There were some people who had pets in the snow valley, but there weren¡¯t many of them. After all, all lifeforms were in the Brutal Stage now, and animals were still animals. Who knew when they would become too hungry and suddenly go berserk, attacking their owners.


    ¡°That¡¯s all, you just have to hand over some food over there now,¡± Berkley said and stowed away his camera.


    ¡°There¡¯s still one more.¡±


    ¡°En?¡± Berkley immediately looked over, There¡¯s still one more? Where? After looking around for a while, Berkley finally saw the little cat sitting on the ground and gazing up at himself.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine for this small little thing, one more picture taken means you have to pay more food you know.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, take a photo of it. Chinchilla is also by itself and not an addition,¡± Bai Yi said. To Bai Yi¡¯s team, it wasn¡¯t very hard for them to hunt for prey, so they of course didn¡¯t mind this.


    ¡°Meow, meow meow!¡± Although Chinchilla didn¡¯t really understand what was going on, it seemed to sense that it was getting underestimated and immediately cried out threateningly at Berkley. Honestly speaking, it was just mimicking how Sharpei usually barked, but its voice made it seem extremely adorable.


    ¡°Little guy is angry huh.¡± Berkley laughed as well. Since Bai Yi insisted, then he couldn¡¯t be bothered to say more either. The prey that the alligator-like guy carried was so huge, so this was apparently a very powerful team. They definitely wouldn¡¯t mind this bit of food.


    Chinchilla was very small, so Bai Yi placed it on top of a rock and let Berkley take a close up shot.


    ¡°Smile!¡± Probably because it became a habit, Berkley said this to Chinchilla before taking the photo.


    ¡°Meooow~!¡± Chinchilla opened its little mouth and its tiny paw reached out for the camera out of curiosity. This appearance was immediately captured by the camera.


    ¡°Ok then, you can hand over your food over there. 10kg of meat for each photo. After all, New Zealand is scarce in resources now and it isn¡¯t easy to obtain them either. Oh, bones are fine too. After that, it costs 2 kg of meat to stay in the snow valley per day, and at least 10 days of meat must be submitted each time.¡± At this time, the other people from the guardhouse came out as well and prepared to help.


    ¡°Name.¡± One of them took out the developed photo and made a copy, creating a simple identity card.


    ¡°Bai Yi!¡± Bai Yi smiled and said.


    ¡°Bai Yi, en¡­¡± The guy grabbed a pen with his claw and wrote on the identity card. Suddenly, he became stunned. ¡°You are Bai Yi?¡±


    ¡°Yes, are there any problems?¡±


    ¡°No no, no problem at all, I just didn¡¯t expect that it would be you. Are you really Bai Yi?¡± This guy still asked again in disbelief at the end.


    ¡°Is there a problem?¡±


    ¡°Actually there was somebody who tried to impersonate you before, and he got treated as a VIP guest by the guard leader. In the end, we found out that he was a conman, and you should be able to guess the rest,¡± this guy said.


    ¡°I¡¯m not too sure about this impersonation thing, but I am indeed Bai Yi,¡± Bai Yi said with a smile as he kept the identity card.


    The appearances of Woolf, Heloise, Momo, Sharpei, and Pupu indeed matched what Bai Yi¡¯s team was rumored to be like. However, shouldn¡¯t Bai Yi¡¯s team have a few more people? Berkley and the 3 others looked at Bai Yi questionably.


    ¡°New Zealand is called Devil Island now!¡± said Bai Yi.


    Bai Yi had guessed their intentions, and his face immediately became heavy. With just a sentence, it made all of their expressions become heavy. That¡¯s right, New Zealand was called Devil Island now, there wasn¡¯t any absolutely safe place here. If this Bai Yi wasn¡¯t fake, then it meant that people could die, even in Bai Yi¡¯s team.


    ¡°You guys can weight this thing yourselves, and count it toward our time here,¡± Bai Yi said and turned around. Woolf then let the unknown creature that was more than 5 meters tall on his back fall on the ground with a ¡®boom!¡¯. The ground shook for a moment and all of them headed inside the snow valley.


    After they left for a long time, the 4 guards finally came back to their senses. The moment when Bai Yi¡¯s expression dimmed, all of them felt a pressure. It was a pressure on their hearts. Was this what people meant by an aura? All of them thought in their hearts that this team was probably the real Bai Yi¡¯s team. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t feel this pressured.


    They looked at the prey that Woolf had thrown on the floor just now¡­They were very generous too! The 4 guards all thought that only those with real strength wouldn¡¯t mind something like this.


    ¡°Oh right, I still have to inform the guard leader!¡± Berkley suddenly recalled at this time.


    If the guy was indeed Bai Yi, then he had to inform the guard leader. One must know, ever since Bai Yi and Yu Han released the information about activated cells, they had gained great reputations among all the evolved humans. Moreover, these people still carried some other thoughts inside their heads, like whether Bai Yi or Yu Han knew of even more detailed and important information that they hadn¡¯t disclose. This was a normal human reaction, nobody could avoid this way of thinking. In truth, Bai Yi¡¯s team really did have even more important information.


    If he was really Bai Yi, then they would definitely have some response.


    Bai Yi of course thought of this long ago, the owner of the snow valley would probably come and invite him over in a while. However, there wasn¡¯t a need to focus on this for now. First, they were going to take a look at this gathering point for evolved humans and tour the place.

 Chapter 131

    Chapter 131: Weapon Armor Maker


    ¡°Shit!¡± Berkley suddenly shouted. ¡°I was stunned by that sense of intimidation just now, so I forgot to tell them about the rules inside the snow valley!¡±


    ¡°Well, it really is easy for newcomers to the snow valley to have some problems, but Bai Yi should be fine.¡±


    ¡°What could happen in such a short period of time? Zola, quickly tell the guard leader about Bai Yi coming to the snow valley. Guard leader will definitely go look for him very quickly, nothing bad will happen,¡± the other guy reminded.


    ¡°Right right, I¡¯ll be quick.¡± Zola nodded and flapped his wings, flying away powerfully.


    After seeing Zola fly away, the few of them finally looked at the prey laid on the floor. There usually weren¡¯t many newcomers entering the snow valley, and the veterans usually submitted their goods at the resource center. This was actually their first time receiving such a huge prey. The few of them glanced at each other. With such a big prey, could they take a bit for themselves?


    ¡­¡­


    There weren¡¯t too many people in the snow valley, but with how tight the space was, it was still quite lively with many different people in all shapes and sizes. It had only been slightly over 5 months since the Ice Peppermint was discovered and the evolved humans slowly gathered at this place. However, after some construction work by the evolved humans, this place was already starting to look like a small town.


    Of course, this small town was quite strange, and all the buildings were very unique. After all, every evolved human looked vastly different from each other, it wasn¡¯t possible to build something that would be suitable for everybody. Many of the buildings were just big sheds. They only had to shelter them from the wind and snow and be big enough for people to enter. This was the most common type of construction here. There were also some caves dug into the sides of the mountains, while some had made igloos out of ice.


    Transitioning from the Binging Stage to the Brutal Stage, the body was now basically stable. The lostness and panick from the start had already calmed down, and everybody started to get used to life like this.


    There was some barter trade going on along the street. After the crumble of the currency, only this primitive form of trade could continue to exist.


    Food, weapons, medicine, supplies from the old New Zealand¡­ anything that was useful could be put up for trade. There could trade as long as there were people, and after a while it turned into a primitive market. After all, these evolved humans were initially people who used to live in a prosperous society.


    Bai Yi¡¯s team walked along the road, being very interested in everything around them.


    However, the main purpose of their trip this time was to look for new teammates. They weren¡¯t sure if there was a place where they could find teammates here. They knew that the other gathering points had a public square like this. In those public squares, there were many individuals looking for a suitable team and also many teams looking for suitable individuals. It was very hard for an individual person to survive in New Zealand now. Of course, if the person had bad judgment and joined a trashy team, he might die even faster.


    ¡°Hey, friend! Is there a place to look for teammates around here?¡± Bai Yi asked a guy beside him covered with lizard scales and selling weapons.


    ¡°Weapons!¡±


    Bai Yi smiled. He expected that this guy wouldn¡¯t tell him information for nothing, even if it was simple information like this. ¡°Ok then, I¡¯ll pick a weapon. Can you tell me where to find teammates after?¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Ok!¡± When he saw that Bai Yi was so straightforward, the other guy smiled as well.


    The weapons sold by this guy were all grinded from hard places in evolved lifeforms like their teeth or bones. His wares were split into 3 levels, and they could exchange with meat or materials that could be used to make weapons. The cheapest one could be exchanged for with only 10kg of meat. Although Bai Yi¡¯s team had already left their prey at the guardhouse, there was still more food inside the bag on Sharpei¡¯s back. Moreover, it was all meat that was more tasty and nutritious.


    Bai Yi opened the bag and sliced off a chunk of meat, throwing it toward this guy.


    ¡°Tell me, where do people usually go to find teammates?¡± Bai Yi saw the guy taking out a mini balance scale to weigh the meat and couldn¡¯t help but chuckle soundlessly. With Bai Yi¡¯s knife skills, he wouldn¡¯t go wrong with things like this. That piece of meat was exactly 10kg. The difference would definitely be less than a few grams.


    ¡°It¡¯s heavier by a bit, do you want me to return it to you? There¡¯s a mouthful of extra meat.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the balance scale that is broken How long have you been using it for? The spring inside is definitely loose.¡± Bai Yi really wanted to laugh bitterly, this guy is really¡­¡±Ok then, so where exactly can I find teammates around here?¡±


    ¡°The spring is loose? No wonder¡­Walk straight from here, then turn left. After walking past a small alley, you will see a plaza.¡± After the guy heard Bai Yi¡¯s words, he quickly placed this piece of meat inside his bag.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Bai Yi said and wanted to walk away.


    ¡°Wait wait, you haven¡¯t picked your weapon yet!¡± The guy stopped Bai Yi when he saw that Bai Yi was about to leave.


    Bai Yi looked at this guy and felt a bit disheartened; this guy was really so rigid. If it was a normal shop owner, they probably couldn¡¯t be happier if he left just like that. They could save on a weapon as well. However, Bai Yi actually felt quite happy inside, he didn¡¯t dislike this kind of rigid person. Since it was like this, then he had to carefully pick a weapon.


    10kg of meat was the lowest price for weapons here, which also meant he could only choose the lowest quality of weapons. Bai Yi casually picked up a half a meter long short sword and drew it out of its leather sheath. Bai Yi could tell with a look that this sword was very sleek and sharp, as he had already become quite familiar with swords now. Using his finger to flick the yellowish-green blade, the blade immediately gave out a clear ring. The toughness was quite good, but it could only be considered a normal weapon. It wasn¡¯t considered too good, but it was worth the price of 10kg of meat.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take this one then.¡± Bai Yi returned the short sword into its sheath and asked candidly, ¡°From which monster teeth was this sword grinded from?¡±


    ¡°Large-sized Decay Feeding Bug, from its horn.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Bai Yi turned around but suddenly paused for a moment. Decay Feeding Bug, that was not right. That monster was only a meter at its largest. Although it did have a thick and short horn on its head, its horn was only 20-30 centimeters long. The small horn was also more for decorative purposes than for attacking, and based on what Bai Yi knew it wasn¡¯t too hard either. This guy, just how did he process that small horn to become half a meter long with decent hardness and toughness?


    ¡°Decay Feeding Bug, the bug that is about a meter long?¡± Bai Yi turned his head and asked.


    ¡°En, that¡¯s the bug.¡±


    Bai Yi immediately felt interested and squatted down again, carefully looking at the weapons in this store. There weren¡¯t many weapons here, and the quality of most of them were similar to the one in Bai Yi¡¯s his hands now. There were 4 other weapons that were a bit better and could be considered barely decent. As for the last and best weapon, it was actually only half complete and there was only a spearhead.


    He didn¡¯t realize it just now, but after observing it from a close proximity, Bai Yi noticed that this dark red spearhead was incredibly heavy and sharp. Additionally, it faintly emitted a stench.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t for sale. I¡¯ll only exchange it for weapon materials and they must be top-grade.¡±


    ¡°What material was this made from?¡±


    ¡°Blood-Scaled Centipede fangs!¡±


    ¡°Blood-Scaled Centipede fangs!¡± Even Bai Yi¡¯s team were slightly shocked at this. The Blood-Scaled Centipede wasn¡¯t too big in size, and it was normally only about half a meter long. However, this Blood-Scaled Centipede was an evolved lifeform that many people hated meeting, as most people would basically die once they encountered this monster. It had a hard body, sharp and incredibly poisonous teeth, and agile movements. This caused many people to feel fear just from looking at it.


    The Blood-Scaled Centipede fang was indeed a good material, it was hard and also carried a powerful haemolytic poison. However, the only problem was that it was too small. It was too short to even make a dagger from it. This spearhead was roughly 20 centimeters long, and its size looked completely different from a Blood-Scaled Centipede fang. It was more like 4-5 fangs being fused together.


    Fused together!


    Bai Yi immediately discovered the marks on the spearhead once he thought of this. He initially thought that they were natural markings, but now it was clear that these markings were created when they got fused together.


    This guy was definitely a top-level Weapon Armor Maker!


    ¡°I¡¯m very curious, why is a top-level Weapon Armor Maker opening shop at a place like this? You don¡¯t seem to be doing very well either.¡±


    ¡°Top-level Weapon Armor Maker¡­hehehe!¡± This guy revealed a bitter smile as well.


    ¡°You saw it too, I don¡¯t have many weapons on display in my shop. Actually, these are all the weapons that I managed to forge over 3 months. With an efficiency like this, do you still think that I am a top-level Weapon Armor Maker?¡± said the guy.


    ¡°Weapons are valuable because of its quality and not their quantity. The Chinese have a saying: ¡®It takes 10 years to sharpen a sword¡¯. As long as it¡¯s a real quality weapon, spending more time on it is just expected.¡±


    ¡°Who do you think has the energy now to make a weapon once every 10 years?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not wrong either.¡± Bai Yi started laughing. Now that New Zealand was so dangerous, who could wait for 10 years to create just 1 weapon? Moreover, other than the poison fang spearhead from the Blood-Scaled Centipede, the rest of the weapons here couldn¡¯t be considered too good. However, what Bai Yi was interested in was how did this guy manage to process these materials.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I still don¡¯t know your name after so long,¡± Bai Yi asked this Weapon Armor Maker.


    ¡°Melvin, my name is Melvin.¡±


    ¡°Then Melvin, although this is a bit sudden and impolite, are you willing to make a weapon for me or even interested in joining my team?¡± Bai Yi asked. He knew that it wasn¡¯t possible for him to get the method for forging these materials if he asked directly.


    ¡°I can help you to make a weapon but forget about me entering your team. Most of the time, I will probably only be a burden to the team. Also, you must provide the materials for forging the weapon, and the fees are expensive as well.¡±


    Bai Yi stood up and fished out a fang from the bag on Sharpei¡¯s back. This fang was more than a meter long. It was as thick as a thigh, heavy and crystal-like.


    ¡°This is?!¡±


    ¡°A fang from a type of evolved lifeform, I won¡¯t talk about what lifeform it is. Can you forge this?¡±


    ¡°Probably¡­not!¡± Melvin hesitated for a moment, and could only smile bitterly as he returned the fang to Bai Yi.


    ¡°Is it so, then it¡¯s really a pity.¡± Bai Yi felt disappointed too when he heard this reply. This fang was from an experimental monster, and they had only managed to kill it after a desperate battle.


    ¡°One year! If you can wait for one year I can forge it. However, you must supply me with sufficient food, medicine, and a safe environment within that year,¡± Melvin suddenly said on impulse as he recalled the saying of ¡®taking 10 years to sharpen a sword¡¯ from Bai Yi.

 Chapter 132

    Chapter 132: Giant Bear Gary


    They had to provide sufficient food, medicine, and a safe environment for a whole year. If it was the previous peaceful world, this might not have been a difficult request, but in New Zealand now¡­


    Bai Yi¡¯s fang sword was forged by a Weapon Armor Maker that had just started to figure out a way to create weapons from monster materials. From what Bai Yi knew, that guy used the acid inside the meat lumps of the Corrosion Fluid Monster that Bai Yi had obtained to corrode the fang sword. After that, the fang sword would become weak and soft, and only then could he start to grind it down. From the start of processing to forming its final shape, the fang sword didn¡¯t even take a week to complete. Although this method succeeded in shaping Bai Yi¡¯s fang sword into a blade, a large component of the material was wasted. Moreover, it also ruined the original quality of the material, greatly deteriorating the hardness of his fang sword.


    However, the weapons that Melvin made didn¡¯t just not waste any materials, but managed to increase their hardness and toughness. That was why Bai Yi wanted to invite Melvin to join his team.


    ¡°One year, why don¡¯t you just join my team?¡±


    Bai Yi knew that this kind of direct invitation was somewhat reckless, but the situation was just like this now. There wasn¡¯t enough time to understand a person thoroughly and only invite the person to the team after that. He had to solely depend on his judgment, no matter if it was those teams choosing individuals or individuals choosing teams.


    ¡°I don¡¯t wish to join any team. I¡¯m sorry, just take what I said before as a joke,¡± Melvin still shook his head and rejected Bai Yi.


    ¡°Really? Then that¡¯s just a pity.¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t try to force the matter either.


    At this time, 4 or 5 people rushed down the street to their location. The leader of the group was wearing a monster leather armor. The leader was more than 4 meters tall, and looked even bulkier than Woolf. He had dense fur growing from all over his body, and he looked just like a giant bear walking upright. Beside this guy was the guard they met at the guardhouse, Zola.


    ¡°Guard leader, that¡¯s them.¡±


    ¡°En.¡± The giant bear guard leader gave a simple reply and observed Bai Yi¡¯s team while walking over.


    Giant Bear Gary. This man who looked just like giant bear opposite them was the ruler of this snow valley. No matter how crude he looked like, the fact that he was the temporary owner of this area now meant that he wasn¡¯t as simple or as dumb as his appearance suggested. Melvin had already lived for several months here, so he naturally knew what kind of person Gary was. When he saw Gary walking toward them, he couldn¡¯t help but feel afraid. Don¡¯t tell me that these people did something wrong here?


    ¡°I am Gary, Giant Bear Gary, the temporary protector of this snow valley. I¡¯m very delighted to welcome you to this snow valley, Mr. Bai Yi.¡± While Gary walked over, he continuously analyzed Bai Yi¡¯s team and compared them with the information he had. In the end, after comparing them with the information in his heart, he ascertained that these people were probably legitimate.


    ¡°I am Bai Yi. I¡¯m not here for any special purpose, I just happened to pass by!¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Hahaha, I understand. Just passing by, you¡¯re just passing by. But Mr. Bai Yi¡¯s is quite reputable among the evolved humans. No matter what, I still have to be hospitable. I¡¯ve already ordered my subordinates to make some preparations. Does Mr. Bai Yi and his team want to follow me over?¡± Gary smiled boorishly and asked.


    ¡°En, that¡¯s fine too.¡± Bai Yi nodded and didn¡¯t reject him.


    He knew long ago that once his identity was revealed, the leaders of these kinds of small powers would want to interact with him. They would hope to get something from him in the end. It was just normal human reaction, as long as they thought they couldn¡¯t get the things they want from Bai Yi, they would give up naturally. Of course, there might be some idiots who were more obstinate and too confident in their own strengths.


    Was Gary¡­one of those idiots?


    In truth, after Bai Yi¡¯s team left with Gary and walked toward the heart of the snow valley, Gary¡¯s subordinates immediately gathered all the details about their movements since they entered the snow valley. Moreover, the information about the part where Bai Yi stopped at Melvin¡¯s shop was incredibly detailed. Making use of an opportunity to leave them for a moment, Gary quickly looked over all the information.


    Melvin: An evolved human that entered the snow valley 4 months ago. He was initially a member of a small team, but the team met a powerful evolved monster while they were out hunting once and basically got wiped out. Only Melvin and another woman survived.


    Melvin was traumatized by that experience and decided to change his profession to become a Weapon Armor Maker or a Medicinal Maker. These two professions didn¡¯t need to fight on the frontlines, and he could obtain the respect of others at the same time.


    However, these two professions were completely new, and there was nobody that could guide him along either. Those without talent couldn¡¯t possibly achieve any results. Melvin had created some weapons and armors over this period of time, but it really wasn¡¯t too different from the ones that others made, so they couldn¡¯t see any potential in him.


    Did Bai Yi only stop at Melvin¡¯s shop by chance?


    Gary couldn¡¯t see anything strange in this short period of time either, and only let his subordinates keep tabs on Melvin.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I had some matters to attend to! This is the residence for the guard team of this snow valley, but it¡¯s very simply built.¡± Gary¡¯s apology seemed very sincere. He had left for a while but came back very quickly. Although he looked like a bear, he seemed more like a charmingly na?ve black bear. Overall, he wouldn¡¯t draw the dislike of people who had just met him.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, this place is already very good. It¡¯s much better than camping in the wild.¡± Bai Yi wasn¡¯t patronising him, as these were Bai Yi¡¯s genuine thoughts.


    ¡°Is it, hahahaha.¡± Gary started laughing.


    ¡°So, why did Mr. Bai Yi come to this snow valley?¡± asked Gary after awhile of idle chatter.


    Bai Yi put down the tea cup in his hands and raised his head. ¡°Gary, how long do you think we evolved humans can endure in New Zealand?¡±


    Gary didn¡¯t expect Bai Yi to ask this question from the get go. He suddenly turned serious, grasping his bear paws together.


    ¡°Are you testing me?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m genuinely asking you for your views. No matter what, you are doing much better than a lot of other people, and you even have a small power under you now,¡± Bai Yi shook his head and said seriously.


    Gary looked at Bai Yi, and at the other people surrounding him. Finally, he relaxed his body. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t see where the future of the evolved humans lies. Although the snow valley is considered safe for now, that¡¯s just because this place is located in the deep areas of the mountain range. Despite this, the number of people in the snow valley is actually still continuously decreasing from various kinds of threats. Over this period of time, there wasn¡¯t even a single baby born. In the long term, we would probably become extinct.¡±


    In the end, Gary decided to not attempt to guess the motives behind Bai Yi¡¯s question, but told them his views first.


    ¡°You are very honest. In truth, that is the situation of New Zealand now.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°I know you want to obtain something from me, like information that I didn¡¯t reveal to the world,¡± Bai Yi said again with a smile that didn¡¯t reach his eyes.


    Gary immediately started to laugh after he heard these words. This wasn¡¯t something that anybody could judge him for. Who didn¡¯t want to acquire more information? Moreover, the Bai Yi opposite him seemed to be the same as the rumors, more straightforward and easy to talk to. However, at this time, Bai Yi took a deep breath.


    ¡°Sadly, I do not know any extra things either. There¡¯s a set of information here, it might be more detailed than what you guys already know, but there¡¯s really nothing special inside,¡± Bai Yi said and passed a stack of information to Gary.


    ¡°You must have realised that there are 2 missing people from my team. Of course, this isn¡¯t anything strange as well, we just encountered danger like any other people. In New Zealand now, there¡¯s absolutely no meaning in fighting to accumulate whatever little power under us. Unless we can solve our problem at its roots, we will all die in New Zealand, the Devil Island now,¡± Bai Yi slowly said. Everyone¡¯s moods became low along with Bai Yi¡¯s tone, because all these heavy things that he talked about were the truth.


    ¡°The reason why I came here is to ask those with power to search among the people under them, to see if there are any past researchers and protect them well. Only these people can develop a drug that can let us truly regain our human form, letting us escape from this kind of life. Of course, you guys can put your hopes on other people to develop this drug as well.¡±


    Putting our hopes on other people, who can we put our hopes on?


    Bai Yi conversed at length with Gary. Anybody who could become a leader of a power at this time couldn¡¯t possibly be a short-sighted fellow. After Bai Yi described the crucial points, Gary also agreed to gather the learned people under him. Although he couldn¡¯t provide the facilities for research to these people now; he still had to protect them well first.


    After that, whether they build a new research facility or they take the risk to look for a pre-existing research facility was a problem for later.


    ¡­¡­


    After Bai Yi left, Gary was still staring into blank space. After a long while, a woman walked out from behind.


    ¡°What percentage of his wordss were true?¡± Gary came back into focus after hearing the footsteps.


    ¡°90%!¡± the woman replied.


    ¡°90%, so high?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, perhaps there¡¯s still some stuff that he concealed, but those things are definitely the most important of the most important of information. Let¡¯s not try to dig those things out, if Bai Yi doesn¡¯t want to tell, nobody could possibly know. If we try to dig things out regardless, we will end up offending him. Other than that, his suggestions don¡¯t threaten your status at all. This area is completely under your leadership now, and you don¡¯t have to worry about Bai Yi stealing credit from you either because there are just too few people in their team. If you could really solve the problem of all evolved humans, then your reputation would become incomparably greater.¡± The woman analyzed meticulously.


    ¡°So it¡¯s like that!¡± Gary listened as he nodded.


    This was the reason people would say that behind every successful man was a noble woman!

 Chapter 133

    Chapter 133: Recruitment Plaza


    By the time Bai Yi¡¯s team left Gary¡¯s place, it was already the second day. How Gary went about accomplishing Bai Yi¡¯s suggestion wasn¡¯t Bai Yi¡¯s problem anymore. Bai Yi might personally reveal himself a few times, but just that like that woman had said, this matter was entirely under Gary¡¯s authority. Bai Yi couldn¡¯t help it either, hatred had consumed him in the period before. Although he had a good reputation among evolved humans, he still didn¡¯t have any power under him.


    Normally speaking, people who had just arrived at the snow valley would find a place to stay first. But since it was Bai Yi, Gary would definitely arrange something for him. Bai Yi rejected the suggestion to stay at the Snow Valley Guards Residence. Instead, he let Gary settle them into a small house outside. No matter what, it would be quite inconvenient in many ways if they stayed together.


    ¡°Normally if the team goes out, it¡¯s best to leave somebody inside the house since the order here isn¡¯t that good. Of course, there shouldn¡¯t be any problems here since the Guards Residence is nearby, but you should still be cautious.¡± The 6-legged crawling half-human Snow Valley Guard brought them to the house and reminded.


    ¡°En, got it, thanks.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll take my leave first.¡± After this guy nodded, he turned around and walked out as heavy footsteps continuous rang from his 6 legs. He splattered the snow and broke the ice with every step.


    ¡°What a waste, it¡¯s like giving a giant present to that black bear,¡± Woolf muttered after the guard left.


    ¡°Why does it matter? As long as they do it well, it doesn¡¯t matter who does it. We don¡¯t have any organizations under us, and don¡¯t forget about our main goal of coming to this snow valley¡­finding teammates. Unless, you would like to have a big bunch of people under you, where a 100 people respond to a single call from you?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°Of course! Wealth and power are what every man can¡¯t help but dream and talk about.¡±


    ¡°That isn¡¯t for certain, some people like to live a simpler life.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, that¡¯s because those people don¡¯t have the resources or ability to achieve everything, so they can only pose as being indifferent to worldly desires, acting like they are noble and virtuous,¡± Woolf suddenly retorted.


    Bai Yi and Heloise immediately looked at Woolf dumbly. Did this guy get swapped for someone else? When was he able to talk about something so deep? However, his next sentence revealed his true colors.


    ¡°I saw this in a book a few days ago and just happened to remember it.¡±


    ¡°Ah hahaha!¡± Bai Yi and Heloise immediately started laughing. They actually thought that Woolf had become smarter! Although the book that Woolf read was something very one-sided, they could only treat it as a joke now.


    After they laughed, and they left their things in this spacious room. Then, they headed toward the recruitment plaza mentioned by Melvin. The snow valley wasn¡¯t too big, and the plaza wasn¡¯t too difficult to find. The closer they got to that place, the more crowded it became. There were people looking for teammates and teams at the center, and there were various temporary booths that sold things by the sides. Looking at this wide variety of monsters that walked together, they felt like they had come across a monster carnival.


    Bai Yi¡¯s team attracted the attention of the people around them because they looked mostly human. After all, they had injected themselves with the Prototy original form drug. Of course, the 4 meters tall Woolf, Heloise with wings, and the brightly colored patterned fur on Bai Yi¡¯s face still differentiated them from normal humans easily, so nobody really bothered them about this.


    ¡°How do we pick teammates?¡±


    ¡°We can just wait and watch.¡±


    After they looked around for a while, the people that hung around this plaza in the long term were all solo individuals, and there weren¡¯t many teams here. After they thought about it a bit, it wasn¡¯t possible for a team to stay in this place for the long term. There were probably a few hundred solo individuals sparsely distributed over the entire plaza, while there were only 8 teams here that occupied a square each. At the front of every team, there was basically a sign that wrote down the requirements for new teammates.


    Bai Yi looked around. Although this place was indeed messy, there was still some order to it. The entire plaza was roughly split into 2 areas. One area was for the recruitment of team members where the teams stayed at; the other area was where the solo individuals stayed.


    The area where the teams stayed was split into a few small squares, and there was a table inside each square used for receiving applicants. Bai Yi¡¯s team looked around for a while and walked in after they chose an empty spot. There was a small blackboard inside their square, and a few pieces of chalk left on the side. After they saw these, they finally figured out what was going on and what they were supposed to do.


    Bai Yi picked up the small board and wrote his criteria for new team members.


    Medicinal Maker, Weapon Armor Maker, Biological Researcher, Teachers¡­!


    3 people from another team beside Bai Yi¡¯s square were initially quite curious about them, but they immediately started to laugh when they saw Bai Yi¡¯s signboard.


    ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my friend didn¡¯t laugh on purpose.¡± Another guy seemed to feel that his friend was offending people by laughing like this and immediately stood out to mediate the situation.


    ¡°But your signboard is really pretty useless. Medicinal Makers and Weapon Armor Makers are all in high demand, everybody knows who these people are in the snow valley. Normally, the team leader has to personally go up to them to invite them into the team, and it is still up to them if they want to join or not. Normally speaking, you would only be able to find some teammates with decent personalities and fighting strength here. It was good enough as long as they weren¡¯t a burden to the team. As for the biological researchers and teachers, what use are they?¡± the guy explained.


    ¡°Oh, thanks. My daughter should be beginning her education, but none of us here know how to teach well.¡±


    This was really a headache, Momo really didn¡¯t like studying and there wasn¡¯t much use in forcing her to study either. Bai Yi didn¡¯t change the contents and placed the signboard on top of the wood pile outside. After doing all this, Bai Yi looked at the rest of them. There must definitely be a few people that remained here, in case there were people who saw the signboard. After all, they needed someone here to receive them. They also needed a few people to go pick from the talent pool at the other areas. Perhaps, they would find some people who satisfied their requirements there.


    Bai Yi looked at the members of his team. Although there were 7 members, only 4 were humans. As such, he didn¡¯t need to put much thought into splitting them up.


    ¡°Choose, do you want to stay here to receive anybody coming up for application, or go around picking suitable people in the plaza?¡± Bai Yi asked although he had practically guessed their answers long ago. Woolf was totally a guy who couldn¡¯t sit still for a long time. Bai Yi waved his hand and sure enough, Woolf chuckled and walked off with Heloise. Then, Bai Yi sat behind the table, and let out a slight breath of air.


    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes flashed, and he saw the two Snow Valley Guards leaving in the distance. He knew that they were reporting their movements to Gary.


    They could report all they wanted, Bai Yi knew that it was impossible to hide from Gary. This was very normal anyway, they naturally had to recruit new members when the number of members in their team were insufficient. However, Bai Yi only hoped that Gary didn¡¯t try to be too clever and arrange for his people to enter Bai Yi¡¯s team. He did not wish for there to be some spy in his team.


    After a while, Momo also seemed to be very curious and kept glancing around in the crowd.


    ¡°Go. If you want to, you can follow Heloise and Woolf. Remember not to make conflict with other people,¡± Bai Yi said. Momo was no longer the young girl he protected and pampered in his hands anymore, even if she was only slightly more than 5 years old now. Moreover, this plaza wasn¡¯t too big either, with the current Bai Yi¡¯s vision, he could see everything with just a look.


    ¡°En!¡± Momo replied happily and walked away with Sharpei. Chinchilla stood on the table and looked around for a while before jumping down and running after them as well.


    Chinchilla caught up with Sharpei and wanted to jump onto Sharpei¡¯s back, but Sharpei¡¯s tail swept at Chinchilla and knocked him firmly on the head the moment Chinchilla jumped. Sharpei didn¡¯t like this little noisy guy climbing on top of his head. Chinchilla was taught a small lesson and immediately meowed pitifully, seeking help from Momo.


    ¡°It¡¯s useless to ask me to save you~. If Sharpei isn¡¯t willing I wouldn¡¯t force him either,¡± Momo smiled and said. Although Chinchilla was very cute, Sharpei was the real special friend in Momo¡¯s heart. Moreover, Bai Yi said last time as well to not make use of Sharpei¡¯s obedience to her to make him do things that he didn¡¯t want to do.


    ¡°Meow~!¡±


    Chinchilla was apparently still trying to act cute; it didn¡¯t understand Momo¡¯s words fully. But after a while, it also seemed to understand that Momo wasn¡¯t going to help itself.


    The Chinchilla who understood this became a bit depressed, but within half a minute, it became extremely hyper again. It jumped on top of Sharpei¡¯s body. Sharpei had to swing its long tail every time to chase Chinchilla away, who continuously tried to climb onto his back. Along the way, the palm-sized chinchilla ran around and disturbed the sinister Sharpei, causing all of them to laugh at this scene.


    After a while, Sharpei was seemingly unable to bear Chinchilla¡¯s persistent attitude anymore and finally allowed Chinchilla to climb onto its head.


    After Chinchilla climbed onto Sharpei¡¯s head, it immediately raised its head and gave a melodious cry, seemingly very pleased with itself. Sharpei yawned below her and squinted his eyes. He would never admit that he let Chinchilla up because he was helpless before its persistence. Moreover, he was wary of hurting it too. No matter what, they were still on the same team, so it wasn¡¯t good to make their relationship too sour.


    ¡°Pupu isn¡¯t following us?¡±


    ¡°Oink oink, oink oink oink!¡± Pupu oinked a few times and found a comfortable place behind Bai Yi to lie down and sleep. He was a pig after all, and he couldn¡¯t change his slovenly nature. However, other than this aspect, Pupu was still quite likable.


    In the end, there was only Bai Yi left, and he didn¡¯t know when would somebody finally show up.


    ¡°This pig, is he your pet?¡± The 3 people from another team beside him were quite bored too, so they couldn¡¯t help but chit-chat with Bai Yi.


    ¡°En, Pupu, he was a pet pot-bellied pig before.¡± Bai Yi wasn¡¯t hard to approach like an ice mountain, and also started to chat idly with them.

 Chapter 134

    Chapter 134: Berserker


    After they chatted for a while, Bai Yi got to learn more about the snow valley from these 3 people. It was still clearer to get this on-the-ground information from the common people. Suddenly, Bai Yi saw somebody among the crowd walk toward the platform at the center. Everyone else also seemed very curious, and slowly gathered toward there.


    ¡°What¡¯s this now?¡±


    ¡°Oh, one of the teams probably picked a new member. They are preparing to do a battle test of the new guy.¡± These 3 people were apparently very interested too, but their duty was to stay here so they couldn¡¯t go over.


    ¡°Battle test?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, battle test! You should know what people are most afraid of now, that is falling into the berserk state. No matter how powerful a teammate is, if the person can¡¯t control their emotions once they enter battle and fall into the berserk state easily, then it is unlikely for any team to dare to accept this person. These tests aren¡¯t considered real battles, but just to let the surrounding people judge if the two sides battling can control themselves in battle,¡± the other guy seemed to like to talk a lot and explained everything to Bai Yi.


    ¡°Oh really, what happens if somebody falls into the berserk state then?¡±


    ¡°We can only capture that person and see if they can recover from the berserk state by themselves. However, even though normally we would capture and restrain the guy, it is actually allowed to kill the person straightaway once they fall into the berserk state.¡±


    ¡°Kill the person straightaway?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no other choice. If their strength is low and it is easy to subdue, then it won¡¯t be a problem. But if their strength is high, and if they have anything deadly on them such as poison, who would be willing to risk their lives to subdue the berserk guy? So killing the berserk guy straightaway is the best solution. Hence, if the person has no confidence, it is best to not battle on the stage. The snow valley has a rule that if anybody falls into the berserk state inside the snow valley, then everyone else has the freedom to kill that person. This is regardless of who he or she is. Of course, people aren¡¯t that ruthless normally, it¡¯s an extreme measure only used after determining that the other side is too dangerous.¡± It was rare to see a new guy like Bai Yi, so the 3 of them said a lot of things in detail to him.


    ¡°Oh right, there¡¯s somebody who became famous in the snow valley because of this, the berserker!¡±


    ¡°Berserker?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that guy is called Raymond. He would rather die than acknowledge the berserk state and refers to himself as a berserker like in games. He would enter the berserk state the moment he started battling, and scare everyone to death every time. However, he really didn¡¯t seem to fall into the berserk state every time, and he could still maintain some level of rationality. He would always stop when other people finally decide to kill him. This guy indeed has decent strength, but all along nobody wanted a ticking time bomb like him on their team,¡± the other guy said.


    ¡°Berserker huh?¡± Bai Yi was actually quite interested. The other teams may be helpless when it came to the berserk state, but it wasn¡¯t a problem for Bai Yi¡¯s team.


    ¡°What¡¯s his personality like usually?¡± Bai Yi asked again.


    ¡°It¡¯s still ok, a bit reckless, but I haven¡¯t heard of him conflicting with anybody before. No team wants him, so he will go and hunt some small-sized prey sometimes. He got injured in the process a few times, but he managed to come back alive every time, so his life seems to be quite tough.¡±


    ¡°Is it? Which one is the berserker, is he in this plaza?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that one!¡±


    The other guy immediately pointed to the side of the stage at a werewolf-like guy that was more than 3 meters tall. He looked extremely sturdy, and an unknown monster leather covered the lower half of his body. He carried a giant bone club on his back, and he looked to be very excited. He was even more excited than the 2 people that battled on the stage. The people beside him all seemed to know this guy, and they kept a distance away from him.


    ¡°Thanks for the information. I¡¯ll go take a look.¡±


    Bai Yi said as he took out 3 pieces of palm-sized jerky from the bag beside Pupu. This jerky was made by Bai Yi himself, so the taste was quite good. The 3 of them saw the jerky that Bai Yi passed to them and didn¡¯t reject it. Although by now they wouldn¡¯t starve anymore, meat was still harder to come by.


    ¡°Pupu, get up. Let¡¯s go take a look.¡±


    ¡°Oink oink~ oink!¡± Pupu¡¯s ears twitched and he ignored Bai Yi. Then, Bai Yi kicked Pupu¡¯s butt, but that guy still lied there lazily and did not want to move.


    ¡°I really can¡¯t do anything about you. Please help me to look after this guy, he won¡¯t cause any trouble,¡± Bai Yi said to the 3 people from the other team.


    ¡°Ok ok, no problem!¡± The 3 of them had just received 3 pieces of jerky from Bai Yi, so naturally, they wouldn¡¯t reject his request. However, the 3 of them were quite curious, this team seemed to be doing quite well and even had 3 pets, including such a fat pig. If it were in other teams, this pig would have become food long ago.


    Of course, Bai Yi was interested in that berserker Raymond. If the guy¡¯s personality wasn¡¯t bad, then Bai Yi could try to pull him into the team.


    Bai Yi directly walked up to Raymond, since there wasn¡¯t anybody else around him anyway. When Bai Yi approached, Raymond¡¯s body tensed slightly. He was somewhat famous inside this snow valley; those idiots would never dare to come close to him. However, when he saw Bai Yi¡¯s unfamiliar face, Raymond didn¡¯t bother about him. He¡¯s probably a newcomer to the snow valley and came close to me because he doesn¡¯t know about my reputation.


    ¡°What do you think about this battle?¡± Bai Yi asked Raymond beside him.


    ¡°En?¡±


    ¡°I said, what do you think about this battle?¡± Bai Yi raised his voice inside this noisily cheering crowd.


    ¡°Tch, just clowning around. How can this kind of show be compared to the battle outside? This completely lacks the feeling of your blood vessels bursting in a life and death battle.¡± Raymond¡¯s breathing quickened briefly before it became stable again. He seemed uninterested in the battle that had made him hot-blooded before.


    ¡°You actually dare to come beside me? You must be new here and don¡¯t recognize me.¡± Raymond looked at Bai Yi who was shorter than him by more than a meter.


    ¡°En, I¡¯m indeed new here. But I know you, I asked about you from those people just now.¡± Bai Yi pointed at the 3 people he talked to a short while ago. ¡°I wanted to see how you¡¯re like. If you¡¯re suitable, then I want to invite you to join my team.¡±


    ¡°HAHAHAHA!¡± Raymond was immediately stunned for a moment after he heard these words and started to laugh loudly. ¡°Invite me to your team, you think you are qualified?¡± Raymond looked at Bai Yi from top to bottom. Other than the colored soft fur on his face, Bai Yi wasn¡¯t too different from a normal human. Raymond couldn¡¯t see the characteristics of any other lifeforms on him.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t I?¡± Bai Yi looked at Raymond without the slightest trace of fear.


    ¡°HA!¡± Raymond laughed sinisterly. ¡°Of course you can, you just have to beat me on stage. But I must remind you, I won¡¯t clown around like those 2 guys on stage right now. If you do not have enough strength, I will kill you.¡± Raymond¡¯s appearance now was indeed very ferocious, but Bai Yi could more or less tell that he was actually quite a frank and candid guy. This man was not the type to scheme against others.


    ¡°Sure!¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°Are you for real?¡± Raymond¡¯s face changed, and he looked at Bai Yi.


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m for real, unless you think I came here just to joke with you?¡± Bai Yi said and walked up the stage. At this time, the battle on stage had already ended. Both sides seemed to be very satisfied with each other. One side because they found a good teammate, and the other side because he found a good team.


    At this time, the crowd that had gradually calmed down saw somebody walk up the stage and focused again.


    ¡°Come!¡± Bai Yi looked at Raymond below the stage and uttered a single word.


    ¡°Ha~!¡± Raymond seemed to be very entertained by Bai Yi¡¯s actions and his mouth cracked open into a terrifying smile. This guy, I¡¯ll let you see what is called a berserker. The crowd initially didn¡¯t pay too much attention to Bai Yi, but after they saw Raymond walk up the stage, all of them were instantly stunned for a moment. Then, they became extremely excited. There was actually somebody who wanted to fight with Raymond? Just who was he?


    Below the stage, Heloise and the rest were quite surprised as well, wasn¡¯t Bai Yi sitting there peacefully? Why did he suddenly go up here? And who is that werewolf, he seems to be quite famous?


    After Raymond went up on stage, he took out the bone club from behind his back and heavily slammed it against the ground with a dull ¡®boom!¡¯. It was easy to imagine just how much strength was behind that blow. However, Bai Yi wasn¡¯t affected by this. Raymond¡¯s physical strength was quite similar to Woolf¡¯s; he had probably fused with ant genes as well.


    Bai Yi drew his fang sword and held it diagonally beside him. His eyes abruptly changed in an instant. Reverse Flower Eyes, first level!


    Although the crowd that noisily cheered and shouted were still very excited, Raymond who stood opposite Bai Yi suddenly felt his heart tense. This feeling was just like how he felt when facing those powerful evolved lifeforms, and he mysteriously felt a sense of nervousness and pressure inside his heart. This guy seemed to be stronger than what his appearance suggested.


    But that was what made it exciting!


    ¡°AOOO~!¡± Raymond suddenly raised his head and howled. His eyes turned blood-shot and all the hair on his body slowly rose up. He now looked just like a real werewolf that had gone crazy. Raymond didn¡¯t give any signals but immediately grabbed his bone club and charged toward Bai Yi.


    In everyone¡¯s eyes, Raymond practically crossed the 20-meter distance between him and Bai Yi in the blink of an eye.


    A soft ¡®ding!¡¯ rang out!


    Bai Yi¡¯s fang sword collided with the bone club and twisted slightly. Raymond instantly felt that his bone club was moved by a force that shifted his club¡¯s initial trajectory. At this time, Bai Yi¡¯s body had already slipped passed his bone club and the fang sword instantly stabbed toward his abdomen. That calm killing intent immediately caused goosebumps to rise on Raymond¡¯s body, and he felt an electrifying sensation on his skin. In that moment, Raymond almost thought that Bai Yi intentionally came here to kill him.


    His body instinctively felt the danger, and Raymond hurriedly used his left hand to grab the fang sword and jump backward at the same time.


    ¡®Ding!¡¯, and the two opponents split apart from each other!


    Blood slowly fell from Raymond¡¯s left hand and he looked at Bai Yi heavily. In that last moment, Bai Yi had held back his strength by a lot. If not, Raymond wouldn¡¯t be just bleeding now but lost his entire left hand.

 Chapter 135

    Chapter 135: Gradually Perfecting Sword Technique


    While his left hand bled, Raymond was not only unafraid but revealed a maniacal smile on his face. This was interesting, only this would interest me! This is definitely a guy that has experienced life and death battles before! That kind of calm killing intent suppressed at the bottom of his heart completely came from his body¡¯s instincts. The moment he enters battle, it naturally flows out from his body!


    HAHAHA~!


    Raymond licked the blood on his left hand. His body abruptly tensed and all his muscles y bulged. He grew by another size instantly, and claws that were more than 10 centimeters long shot out from his hands. At the same time, his eyes became even more savage. This change immediately gave the surrounding people a fright. Although Raymond¡¯s appearance while he fought before was maniacal, he hadn¡¯t revealed this form before. Everyone knew with a look that Raymond¡¯s battle power now was multiple times stronger than before.


    Just like a giant wolf crouched on the ground, Raymond used force in his legs and instantly shot out.


    Immediately, the sounds of multiple collisions rang out continuously. The audience could only see their shadows clashing together frenziedly. Raymond had completely abandoned his bone club and only used his claws to battle with Bai Yi. These claws were apparently incredibly hard and didn¡¯t break even when it clashed head-on with Bai Yi¡¯s fang sword. On the contrary, sparks continuously flashed as they collided with each other.


    The surrounding crowd stared blankly at them. Was this kind of battle really just a test?


    The team that thought that they had chosen a good teammate felt quite embarrassed now. With the battle on stage right now, their battle before felt like a joke. However, at this time, the crowd didn¡¯t bother about them, as they were all fixated on the battle on stage.


    This was the use of true battle techniques!


    There was a rhythm to Bai Yi¡¯s steps. Although it was very fast, it also had some order to it. This was apparently the sword technique that he had developed. It was not like other normal people who only knew how to randomly swing their sword around. Although Raymond¡¯s movements were wild and crude, he also seemed to have his own rhythm. He had probably tried to develop his own battle techniques before as well.


    After more than 10 clashes with Raymond, Bai Yi had to admit as well that this guy¡¯s strength was indeed astounding.


    Ba Yi borrowed the force of one of their clashes and shot out backward. At this time, both sides stabilized themselves again.


    Bai Yi calmed down the blood that had almost started to burn in his body. During that period of time, Bai Yi could only clash with Raymond head on because of the temporary burst of power from his blood boiling. Bai Yi was different from Woolf and the others. After all, he hadn¡¯t fused with ant genes, so he was at a disadvantage when dealing with powerful physical strength. However, Bai Yi was already very satisfied with his powers now, he didn¡¯t dream of obtaining everything.


    ¡°Why, don¡¯t want to fight anymore? I won¡¯t agree to it!¡± Raymond saw Bai Yi stop and couldn¡¯t but shout boisterously.


    ¡°You sure you want to continue fighting? I can¡¯t guarantee that you can survive this,¡± Bai Yi said calmly.


    ¡°What does it matter! In New Zealand now, the more scared of death you are the faster you will die!¡± Raymond said as he grabbed the bone club that he stabbed into the ground and pounced toward Bai Yi again. At this time, Bai Yi also grabbed his fang sword and held it tightly in his hands.


    ¡°ZHENG~~!¡±


    A long and clear sound of impact rang out, and Bai Yi¡¯s Reverse Flower Eyes captured every movement perfectly as his body slipped past Raymond by a hair¡¯s breadth. Behind Bai Yi, Raymond¡¯s bone club immediately broke and the top half spun in the air. A giant wound had appeared on Raymond¡¯s waist and blood spurted out unceasingly.


    Gliding Strike¡­Sword Technique!


    Bai Yi¡¯s knife skills were not bad all along. After New Zealand changed, he meticulously looked through various practical fighting styles. In the battle with Bentham in the research facility, he had truly broken through and his knife skills that were used for culinary arts had truly started to transform. After such a long time of traveling and training, the basic sword technique had already been developed into an organized system in Bai Yi¡¯s team. Of course, it was still very crude, but they were already miles ahead of many other clueless people.


    Everyone that watched instantly became stunned!


    That was a sword technique?


    New Zealand wasn¡¯t some third world country, and its internet was very well-developed. Although they had never seen it in person, there were still many types of sword techniques in movies or novels. However, even if New Zealand turned into this state, nobody really went to research and study things like this. But after witnessing Bai Yi¡¯s sword technique, a bomb seemed to explode in all of their hearts, so battles can actually be like this! They weren¡¯t normal people anymore, they were evolved humans now.


    Raymond was also stunned for a moment, as he suddenly fell onto the floor.


    The broken bone club directly stabbed into the ground, and Raymond continuously tried to suppress the brutal emotions and killing intent inside his heart. Shit! At this time, even Raymond had a bad feeling inside his heart. This wasn¡¯t like how he acted crazy normally, but he was really starting to lose control. Raymond¡¯s pupils gradually diluted and shrank, and at the last moment, his eyes became completely berserk.


    After Bai Yi used his sword technique, he stopped and wanted to wait for Raymond to respond. Bai Yi had calculated his strength just now. He had not actually wanted to harm Raymond, but Bai Yi still couldn¡¯t reach the stage where he could control his strength freely. Hence, the excess strength from breaking the bone club still cut open a giant wound on Raymond¡¯s body.


    This feeling!


    Bai Yi looked at Raymond¡¯s mildly trembling body and the maniacal air coming from him. He immediately knew that this was bad. Raymond had probably really entered the berserk state.


    Sure enough, in the next moment, Raymond suddenly roared loudly. Then, he picked up the broken bone club and threw it at Bai Yi. With a ¡®sou!¡¯, the bone club arrived in front of Bai Yi¡¯s face and right behind the bone club was Raymond¡¯s ferocious jaws and claws. It was just like a wolf pouncing on its prey.


    Bai Yi instantly avoided the bone club and with his left hand supporting the back of the sword, he blocked Raymond¡¯s claws with his blade.


    ¡®Dang!¡¯, the enormous force from Raymond¡¯s body sent Ba Yi flying.


    No matter how dense the people in the crowd might be normally, all of them could tell that Raymond had really fallen into the berserk state this time. He was completely different from how he looked like normally. The bone club that he threw out stabbed into the thigh of an unlucky guy that didn¡¯t manage to dodge in time and a painful cry immediately sounded. This immediately made the surrounding people extremely nervous, and most of them had already grabbed their weapons. Once somebody made a move, all of them would try and subdue Raymond or kill him directly.


    This immense force pushed Ba Yi a distance away, and he finally landed on the ground. The powerful strength pushed him along and Bai Yi¡¯s feet left two deep gashes on the ground that wasn¡¯t too sturdy to begin with.


    What enormous strength!


    Bai Yi pushed the fang sword with all his strength, resisting Raymond¡¯s claws. At this time, the fang sword stuck between the two trembled violently and ¡®kakaka¡¯ sounds came from it continuously. The crowd saw Bai Yi¡¯s state and immediately wanted to go up and deal with Raymond. However, at this time, Woolf and the rest of Bai Yi¡¯s team immediately stepped forward and stopped everyone. Although they didn¡¯t know what Bai Yi had planned, it was obvious that they couldn¡¯t let these people interrupt him.


    Reverse Flower Eyes!


    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes immediately changed again, like a flower blooming in reverse, and it immediately sucked Raymond¡¯s mind into it. Even those people who happened to be in front of Bai Yi felt a slight haziness in their consciousness. Even if Bai Yi didn¡¯t target them, they still got a full view of his eyes.


    Raymond¡¯s expression gradually calmed down as his strength slowly receded. Finally, he fell to the ground motionless.


    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes went back to normal when Raymond fell to the ground. At this time, those people who had fallen into a slight daze suddenly felt stunned and amazed in their hearts. Just what had happened just now?


    ¡°Are there any doctors here? Can somebody help to treat Raymond,¡± Bai Yi said to the people below.


    ¡°Are there any doctors?¡± Bai Yi saw that nobody replied from the crowd below and asked again.


    ¡°Is he really ok like that? He fell into the berserk state just now,¡± somebody finally asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, he¡¯s already asleep. He will regain his clarity once he wakes up,¡± Bai Yi smiled and answered.


    After hearing Bai Yi¡¯s words, a girl about 1.5meters tall that looked like a little sheep raised her hand. ¡°Can I do it? I¡¯m a doctor.¡±


    ¡°Of course, sorry to trouble you,¡± Bai Yi said to this girl.


    ¡°No, no problem.¡± This little girl jogged over and let Bai Yi flip Raymond around. Then, she proficiently took out a sharp dagger, cut away the fur around Raymond¡¯s wound, and washed the wound with clear water. After that, she poured some powder that she ground from some plant and carefully bandaged him up.


    ¡°This clear water is distilled water. I normally prepare some since it isn¡¯t convenient to make it on the spot while doing emergency treatment. I made this medicinal powder myself, and it¡¯s very effective as well.¡± This little sheep girl explained as she bandaged Raymond up. Apparently, she was afraid that Bai Yi would misunderstand her.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Bai Yi nodded. This was apparently a very prepared little doctor. It may be better to clean the wound with strong alcohol, but it wasn¡¯t easy to find these supplies in New Zealand now.


    ¡°Ok then, he just has to lie in bed for a week. He can remove the bandages after a week,¡± the little sheep girl said and nodded to Bai Yi. Then, she ran away with her medical tools afterward. Bai Yi saw that on the other side there was a group of people that waited for her. When they saw Bai Yi look over, the leader of the group nodded to Bai Yi.


    Bai Yi nodded too in order to express his thanks.


    As expected, this little girl already had a team. After all, a doctor was a very important profession in a team in New Zealand now. Even if it was a shoddy doctor, many teams would fight over such a person, needless to say about such an adorable sheep girl. It was really a pity. Otherwise, Bai Yi had wanted to invite this little girl to join his team.


    However, it was already quite good like this. Raymond probably couldn¡¯t run away from this, and there was still the Weapon Armor Maker Melvin from before. It was probably enough to get 2 more people. It was troublesome to have too many people on the team as well. At this point in time, Bai Yi didn¡¯t know that 2 people really came to the recruitment spot that he had set up. However, when the 2 of them saw Pupu lying on the ground and sleeping behind the table, they were both quite speechless.


    A pig?

 Chapter 136

    Chapter 136: Confirmation Of Members


    After the little sheep girl bandaged Raymond up, Bai Yi waved to Woolf and got him and Heloise to carry Raymond to their team¡¯s location. As for Bai Yi, he walked in front alone, facing the fervent and questioning eyes of everyone.


    This couldn¡¯t be helped. What was the thing that evolved humans were most afraid of now?


    Going berserk!


    Everyone could see that Raymond had gone berserk. All of them thought that they would have to spend a lot of effort to subdue him. If they were careless, the situation might become more chaotic with more people going berserk. However, just when everyone thought that things had become really troublesome, all Raymond did was charge toward Bai Yi before falling asleep. Just what had happened? The people directly in front of Bai Yi just now felt especially suspicious in their hearts. However, they were still quite far away after all and didn¡¯t manage to see the changes in Bai Yi¡¯s eyes clearly.


    ¡°Make way please, thanks,¡± Bai Yi said to the people in front of him.


    His smiling and calm face made the people in front of him subconsciously make way, but they still surrounded him from the sides. Finally, somebody couldn¡¯t bear the curiosity in his heart anymore and asked, ¡°Can I ask, what happened just now? How did you calm down Raymond, who fell into the berserk state?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll explain the answer to this question to everybody in a few days.¡± Bai Yi revealed a smile.


    ¡°A few days later?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Bai Yi had already discussed this with Gary. A few days later, he would reveal himself in front of everyone and encourage all the evolved humans to work diligently to find the solution for returning to the normal world. At the very least, they had to achieve a stable life in New Zealand and not live every day with the fear of death hanging over their heads.


    ¡°Ah¡­you are Bai Yi!¡±


    Suddenly, somebody shouted this from within the crowd. This voice immediately surprised everyone and the crowd turned heated in an instant. Bai Yi, that guy who released the information about activated cells? The one who prevented everyone from being lost and clueless about their situation? At this time, all of them finally realized that the guy in front of them was really just like the rumored Bai Yi. It was just that they had never seen Bai Yi in person, so none of them thought of this.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m Bai Yi.¡± Bai Yi nodded simply. It wasn¡¯t strange that somebody would recognize him. Otherwise, where did his huge reputation come from? After admitting to his identity, he walked through the crowd and returned to the recruitment spot he took up previously.


    The surrounding people followed Bai Yi¡¯s team and finally saw the recruitment signboard on the pile of wood. Bai Yi¡¯s team was actually recruiting people! Then, the battle with Raymond just now was really for testing Raymond¡¯s battle power? After realizing this point, the group of people immediately crowded around him and asked if Bai Yi intended to recruit new members. No matter what, the battle before had already proved that this was legitimately Bai Yi¡¯s team, so their team was way more attractive than any other teams.


    ¡°Bai Yi, are you guys recruiting new members?¡±


    ¡°No, we already have enough members for now. There¡¯s Raymond and these 2 people over here.¡± When Bai Yi¡¯s team returned to their spot, he realized that there were 2 females waiting for them over there. Of course, even though they were girls, it was already very good to be able to tell their gender. It was useless to hope that they would be beautiful girls.


    Bai Yi pointed to these 2 and said to the crowd in front of him. At this time, the shorter girl was still teasing Pupu but suddenly did a double take upon hearing Bai Yi¡¯s words. Apparently, she still hadn¡¯t understood what was going on.


    ¡°Pupu, get up, we¡¯re leaving. Let¡¯s return to our house.¡±


    Bai Yi nodded to the two ladies and kicked Pupu. This time, even the lazy Pupu knew that it couldn¡¯t continue sleeping and slowly climbed back up like a sloth. Actually, Bai Yi didn¡¯t know who these 2 ladies were. But since the crowd already recognized him, it wasn¡¯t possible for him to continue quietly selecting members here. Anyway, these 2 people should have come to ask about things while he had left, so he just took it as fate.


    These 2 ladies apparently did not really understand what was going on but learned from the chattering of the crowd that the guy in front of them was Bai Yi. And so, they confusedly became Bai Yi¡¯s teammates just like that.


    This was somewhat different from what they had imagined?


    However, the 2 of them did not reject him. No matter what, Bai Yi had a really good reputation among the evolved humans now. They should say that they had really good luck since Bai Yi picked them so coincidentally. Anyway, it was still best to follow them back. The older one stopped the younger one from saying anything and quietly followed Bai Yi back to their residence.


    At this time, Gary also learned of what had happened there and fell into a silence. He looked at the woman that quietly served him.


    ¡°You leave first, there¡¯s nothing for you to do here now.¡± Gary should have realized that Bai Yi came here to pick teammates long ago. It was just too bad. If he was just a step earlier, then he might have been able to arrange for somebody to enter Bai Yi¡¯s team. However, he completely didn¡¯t expect that Bai Yi would select people so rashly. He had actually picked Raymond and 2 completely random women.


    At this time, Bai Yi noticed Melvin, who stood by the roadside.


    ¡°Melvin, let¡¯s go. Do you not want to follow us?¡± Bai Yi said to Melvin.


    Melvin heard Bai Yi¡¯s voice and looked at him. He hesitated for a moment before he resolutely walked toward Bai Yi¡¯s group. Bai Yi finally revealed a smile on his face. Although it made things quite troublesome for him to be famous among the evolved humans, there were still some benefits. Such as now, if he was not Bai Yi, Melvin probably would not have left with him.


    Along the way, everyone else was incomparably curious toward Bai Yi¡¯s team and squeezed around them. They only gradually dispersed after they saw Bai Yi¡¯s team enter their isolated house. However, even though they had dispersed, everyone¡¯s discussion about Bai Yi did not calm down. No matter what, Bai Yi was the one that released the information about activated cells! In addition, Bai Yi said that he would answer the question about how he made Raymond fall asleep after the man went berserk. Did this mean he had new information to release?


    However, all these things weren¡¯t problems that Bai Yi was concerned about now.


    The group of them gathered at the big tent in the center. Melvin and the 2 girls didn¡¯t say anything, seemingly a bit uneasy. At this time, Bai Yi gestured for everyone to take a seat and started to speak.


    ¡°So, I am Bai Yi. Although this is quite random, I think that sometimes to meet is to have fate, so I am now officially inviting you guys to join my team. If you have any questions, feel free to ask,¡± Bai Yi said to the 3 of them. As for Raymond, he was still asleep, so he obviously did not participate. However, since he had already lost to Bai Yi, there was no way he could run away from this.


    ¡°You are Bai Yi?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve already said this once.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t even going to ask who we are and invite us into your team like this?¡± the older girl asked.


    ¡°I know that this is very rash, but actually it¡¯s the same for any other team selecting new members. All that we can depend on is our judgment and intuition. After all, we can¡¯t possibly have so much time to understand each and every person deeply and only decide to invite a few particular people to join my team afterward. So, I believe that the few of you are suitable to become my team members.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°Intuition? I don¡¯t believe in this kind of thing.¡±


    ¡°I actually don¡¯t believe in it either. The reason why I believe that you guys can become our teammates is not because of my intuition, but Pupu¡¯s.¡± Bai Yi pointed at the fat Pupu with big ears. ¡°You girls were teasing Pupu while waiting over there. Don¡¯t look at how he¡¯s always so lazy and mischievous, but he¡¯s actually the most intelligent in our team. If he didn¡¯t think that you girls are decent, you girls wouldn¡¯t even have the chance to get close to it,¡± Bai Yi slowly explained.


    Everyone looked at Pupu in surprise, as it was really hard to believe. This fat pig?


    However, this was the truth. Pupu, who should have been the dumbest initially, was actually the most intelligent in this team. It was like his intuition and senses toward things were a level higher than others.


    ¡°Then, what do you guys think? Do you want to join my team?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°My name is Vala, I was a private aristocratic teacher, in charge of teaching young noble children about etiquette and formalities. However, I¡¯m also very proficient in other subjects, such as domestic affairs management in high-class families, large-scale banquet preparations, secretarial work, early education, nursing, and homework guidance. Actually, I even know some more complex knowledge, and even obtained 2 doctoral degrees before, 2¡­¡± Vala hesitated for a while and started introducing herself.


    Even though these 2 ladies were already vastly different from a human due to the genes they fused with, Bai Yi could still feel the cultured air that they gave off as they sat there. At this time, all of them were amazed as they listened to Vala¡¯s self-introduction. This kind of person in New Zealand previously was definitely a standard ¡®elite¡¯ in high-class society.


    ¡°We stopped at your team¡¯s spot just now because we saw your signboard. You seem to be looking for a teacher, and I think I¡¯m able to take up this role. However, I must first inform you that I have to be together with my student Alodia, and we do not have much fighting ability.¡± Vala pointed to the smaller girl.


    ¡°I am Teacher Vala¡¯s student, Alodia.¡± This girl stood up and spoke in a natural and unrestrained manner.


    Vala¡¯s student, everyone thought of Vala¡¯s self-introduction before. This girl must be some child from a noble family previously. Since Vala already introduced herself like this, it apparently meant that she had agreed to Bai Yi¡¯s invitation and chose to join the team. After all, it was definitely very difficult for her to struggle with her student up until this point. They would definitely treasure it if they had the chance to pick a good team. And what team was there better to join than Bai Yi¡¯s?


    Although it was a pity that they didn¡¯t have much fighting ability, Bai Yi didn¡¯t mind it too much since everything could be learned and trained. Bai Yi placed a much higher value on Vala¡¯s earlier introduction: early education, nursing, and homework guidance, this was really a great help.


    As for Momo, her face immediately turned gloomy, I¡¯m doomed! I won¡¯t be able to slack off anymore!

 Chapter 137

    Chapter 137: Understanding Each Other


    Vala and Alodia waited for Bai Yi¡¯s decision after their self-introductions. After all, teachers weren¡¯t valued at all in New Zealand now. On the contrary, survival skills and battle power were the most important now. This was precisely the reason why the 2 of them had never been able to find a suitable team, since no team would want to bring along 2 burdens with them.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine even if you aren¡¯t good in combat, as you can just learn from scratch. Normally speaking, we won¡¯t need you to clash against powerful enemies. But you still must have the ability to protect yourselves. You guys don¡¯t have to worry about not being able to catch up with us, everyone had to fumble around at the start. It can¡¯t be that you guys will be worse than Momo anyway.¡± Bai Yi smiled and pointed at Momo.


    ¡°This is Momo, my daughter, 5 years old this year. She¡¯s good with the sword, can see souls but just dislikes studying.¡±


    ¡°Soul!¡± Alodia and Melvin immediately looked at Momo in shock.


    ¡°I will teach Miss Momo well, and I also believe that I can keep up with the battle ability of young Miss.¡± Vala, on the contrary, didn¡¯t seem to be very shocked. As for how Bai Yi said that Momo was good with the sword, the 2 of them didn¡¯t seem to fully understand this either. However, if they couldn¡¯t even win against a 5 year old girl, then they should just bury their heads in shame.


    By now, everybody understood why Bai Yi would choose a teacher. It was obviously for his own daughter¡¯s development. Although it was tough and difficult to live in New Zealand now, Bai Yi still didn¡¯t wish for his daughter to become an Amazon Warrior in this environment. After Momo heard Bai Yi¡¯s words, she immediately whined and hugged onto Bai Yi¡¯s arm. Her face was full of grievance and complaints. She just didn¡¯t like to study, what could she do about it?


    After Vala and Alodia introduced themselves, it was Melvin¡¯s turn to do so.


    ¡°Ahem!¡± Melvin tried faking a cough, but immediately felt dejected when he realized that nobody was paying attention to him.


    ¡°My name is Melvin. I used to be part of a team but we unluckily encountered a powerful evolved lifeform. My old team basically got wiped out, and only me and Bonnie survived. After that, the 2 of us didn¡¯t want to join any teams and fight with monsters anymore. For the sake of living a better life, the 2 of us started researching and studying to become a Weapon Armor Maker and a Medicinal Maker. At that time, both jobs were very new and very popular. However, I didn¡¯t seem to have much talent, and without a team to support me, my research and development went very slowly as well. In truth, I still don¡¯t understand why Bai Yi team leader would want me to join the team,¡± Melvin said. He finished his introduction in one shot and waited for Bai Yi¡¯s reply.


    ¡°Melvin, don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t realise your own talent?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Talent when it comes to crafting!¡±


    ¡°The so-called Weapon Armor Makers in New Zealand now aren¡¯t like those artificers or blacksmiths in games or movies. They are just people who processes the materials externally. They turn the teeth, bones, or skin of evolved lifeforms into usable weapons or armors through some form of processing. If we really want to expose this, then it actually isn¡¯t that mysterious or complex. Many of the so-called Weapon Armor Makers just have slightly better processing skills, but I haven¡¯t met one that could fully utilise the materials yet,¡± Bai Yi said and pulled out his fang sword.


    ¡°Fang sword, grinded from the fang of an evolved lifeform. Due to being overly hard back then, acid from the Corrosion Fluid Beast was used to corrode and soften this to make it easier to process. Although suitable chemicals were used to neutralize this acid afterward, the material quality of the fang sword has already been compromised. Both the hardness and the toughness were lowered by multiple times. Moreover, a large portion of the material was wasted in the process of grinding it.¡± Bai Yi took out his fang sword and explained to the few of them.


    Everybody looked at Bai Yi¡¯s fang sword. This was really a very exquisite long sword, but just like Bai Yi said, the sword didn¡¯t seem to be sleek but rather quite rough. Moreover, small cracks and holes had started to appear on the edge of the blade.


    ¡°You must know, biological materials are different from metals. Metals have ductability so they are very easy to process. However, most biological materials can only be grinded down, and it would break immediately if somebody tried to change its shape. This type of material is also unable to be joined back together once broken, resulting in a huge wastage of material. But, Melvin you!¡± Bai Yi looked at Melvin solemnly.


    ¡°The few weapons you¡¯ve made were apparently created from fusing these biological materials together through some special method. You are already ahead of all Weapon Armor Makers; don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t know this?¡±


    Melvin was stunned, so it was like this!


    ¡°But, I take very long to process materials.¡±


    ¡°Why does that matter? Weapons are valuable for its quality and not quantity. If the weapon is good enough, then only one would be needed.¡± Bai Yi sheathed his fang sword again and looked at Melvin encouragingly.


    ¡°I will work hard.¡± Melvin nodded seriously.


    ¡°As for this last person, I think that you guys won¡¯t be unfamiliar with him. Berserker Raymond.¡± Bai Yi said as he pointed to Raymond, who was asleep in bed.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried that he will fall into the berserk state? Many teams gave up on him for this reason,¡± Vala said.


    ¡°No need to worry! This is the welfare from joining this team. As long as you are in this team, you basically don¡¯t have to worry about falling into the berserk state anymore. Of course, this is unless something special and unexpected happens,¡± Heloise smiled and said.


    At this time, Bai Yi pointed to his eyes. When the 3 of them looked into his eyes, it suddenly changed from a normal pupil. Slowly, it started to revolve like a flower blooming in reverse. The 3 of them immediately felt themselves going into a slight daze and immediately turned their heads away warily.


    ¡°Reverse Flower Eyes, my ability. It has a powerful intimidation and hypnosis effect. Normally speaking, unless the mind has been agitated to the extreme, my eyes has always been able to hypnotise someone to fall into deep-level sleep so far. The information I released mentioned that the most important thing at this stage is to rebalance the body and soul, and there¡¯s no better way of balancing better than deep-level sleep. Those plants that people are searching for that can calm the mind are also just another way to let a person sleep peacefully,¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°Oh right, I wasn¡¯t intentionally hiding this information, but just that it was useless even if I released it. The changes in my eyes came from the evolution in gene fusion, so it¡¯s a kind of mutation and coincidence that cannot be replicated,¡± Bai Yi elaborated. Although it doesn¡¯t really matter even if he didn¡¯t explain, it was just in case somebody thought that Bai Yi intentionally hid a solution from other people.


    ¡°Of course, my eyes can¡¯t be used limitlessly either. So basically, only my team members can enjoy this benefit. In truth, my eyes lost their vision for over a month due to overusage before,¡± Bai Yi continued.


    Vala and the other 2 were all smart people, and immediately understood Bai Yi¡¯s words. This ability was only possessed by Bai Yi, and it was impossible for other people to learn this ability either. Bai Yi couldn¡¯t possibly help all the evolved humans for nothing, so if he told everyone, it would just make everyone else jealous of him for no reason.


    ¡°However, I still must tell everyone generally this time,¡± Bai Yi said softly.


    Bai Yi had discussed this with Gary. They would first gather and unite all the surviving evolved humans. They would find useful resources, talents, and look for a way to regain their human forms. At the very least, they had to find a way to live in New Zealand securely. And the person that could hold everyone together could only be Bai Yi, because only he had that reputation. Of course, Yu Han could do this as well, but nobody knew where he was right now.


    As somebody who would draw everyone together, the risk of Bai Yi exposing himself would definitely increase substantially. Hence, Bai Yi decided to announce his basic abilities first. Taking the initiative to do so was more acceptable to the masses than letting them find out themselves.


    Moreover, Bai Yi¡¯s ability had a connotation of ¡®savior¡¯ behind it. To the evolved humans of New Zealand who were incomparably afraid of their brutal urges, and were afraid of falling into the berserk state and permanently becoming mindless monsters, what was more attractive and hopeful than Bai Yi¡¯s eyes? It could be said that even though Bai Yi couldn¡¯t possibly help everyone, he could give everyone hope. Hope that even if they fell into the berserk state, it was still possible to recover from it.


    ¡°Then, this is Woolf, he¡¯s a carefree idiot.¡± After Bai Yi spoke softly, he started to introduce the newcomers to the rest of the team.


    ¡°Hello! I am Woolf.¡± Woolf smiled boorishly and introduced himself.


    Woolf, Heloise, Momo, Sharpei, Pupu, Chinchilla, Vala, Alodia, and Melvin. Very quickly, all of them got to know each other, and from now on, they were already considered teammates. Of course, there would definitely be some unfamiliarity at first, but Bai Yi believed that they would definitely get along in the future. As for the sleeping Raymond, he wouldn¡¯t be able to run away either.


    ¡°Oh right Melvin, where¡¯s the Bonnie you mentioned?¡± Bai Yi asked in puzzlement. Melvin had said just now that there was another girl that survived with him, who tried to study to be a Medicinal Maker. If her personality was not bad too, then he could pull her into the team as well.


    Melvin went silent for a moment and said in a low tone, ¡°Dead! Once, while she was testing out the medicinal effects of some plants, a combination of a few normal plants actually turned out to be a deadly poison. When I went to find her on the second day, I realized that she had died in her own room. In reality, she was the true genius. The solution that I used to fuse biological materials were all developed by her, what a pity¡­¡±


    Bai Yi heard and patted Melvin on the shoulder and consoled him.


    New Zealand now was just this cruel, any accident could be fatal, especially for a job like Medicinal Maker. Trying to develop a useful potion from countless mutated plants without any experience that they could borrow from others was ridiculously hard. What they relied on was mostly their intuition. Hence, the job of Medicinal Maker required incomparably more talent.


    ¡°Oh right, since we are a team now, can you see if you can help me repair my fang sword? Although the main core is still very hard, the edge is already on the brink of breaking,¡± Bai Yi said, as he pulled back Melvin¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Let me see. I should be able to repair this, but it would be a lot better if I had other materials that I can use to supplement this.¡± Melvin said seriously after he carefully observed Bai Yi¡¯s fang sword for more than 10 minutes.

 Chapter 138

    Chapter 138: Repairing The Fang Sword


    Heloise immediately passed over a giant tooth from the side when she heard that Melvin needed other materials. This was the tooth that Bai Yi showed Melvin previously.


    ¡°This is indeed very good material, but I think you should keep it first,¡± Melvin said to Bai Yi after taking a look at it.


    ¡°The tooth is normally split into the dental enamel, dentin, tooth pulp, and more. Although this tooth came from an evolved lifeform, it would still generally follow this makeup. Comparatively, the hardest part of a tooth is the dental enamel on the outermost layer, and the dental enamel of this tooth is incredibly shiny and crystal-like. From the looks of it, this must be an incomparably hard tooth that can easily break even steel. Honestly speaking, I¡¯ve never seen this kind of material before, so it should be very rare,¡± Melvin slowly explained.


    ¡°En, this is a tooth from a dragon-type evolved lifeform, there¡¯s only one of these!¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°Then, that sounds right. Even if this tooth looks very big, there shouldn¡¯t be too much of it either since it is just the dental enamel. I think, rather than wasting a portion of it to repair the fang sword, we should completely melt the dental enamel and create a new long sword. That is definitely the better choice. As for repairing this fang sword, let¡¯s use that spearhead of mine if there¡¯s no other material to use.¡±


    ¡°That spearhead?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, the spearhead made of the Blood-Scaled Centipede. It would be more than enough to repair this fang sword after melting it, and the quality of the materials aren¡¯t that different either. Moreover, by doing so, the fang sword would gain a natural element of poison to it. Once somebody gets cut by the fang sword, they would very easily be poisoned to death. As for accidental injuries, I still have the antidote to the Blood-Scaled Centipede¡¯s poison concocted by Bonnie. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t be able to get the Blood-Scaled Centipede teeth in the first place.¡± Melvin immediately became very lively and excited once they talked about processing and production of weapons. Apparently, Melvin had truly fallen in love with this profession over this period of time.


    ¡°Is a poison sword really ok? Won¡¯t the prey got poisoned and become inedible?¡± Vala asked.


    ¡°It won¡¯t, the Blood-Scaled Centipede has a hemolytic type poison, so it only activates when it enters the wound. As long as nobody touches it with an open wound, there generally wouldn¡¯t be any problems. As for becoming inedible, you don¡¯t have to worry about that either. Actually, this kind of poison is just a form of protein. After cooking it at high temperatures, it would denature and become similar to normal proteins,¡± Melvin immediately explained.


    ¡°Oh really? Melvin, can you try to modify the fang sword into a special sword with the poison element hidden inside? Only when receiving a certain shock would the poison element be released.¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°Oh, sure, I¡¯ll try. But I can¡¯t guarantee anything.¡± Melvin nodded.


    ¡°Then, I¡¯m relying on you!¡± Bai Yi passed his fang sword to Melvin.


    ¡°There aren¡¯t any tools for me to do processing over here, which actually is a problem too. Although I joined this team, the usual grinding and dissolution of Weapon Armor Makers require sufficient tools and space. I don¡¯t have a lot of things over at my place, but it isn¡¯t little either. I can¡¯t possibly run around everywhere with the team carrying these things,¡± Melvin said again.


    ¡°Hmm, that is indeed a problem.¡± Bai Yi nodded and appeared to be deep in thought.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go see just how big those tools of yours are Since we are a team, then we definitely need to move together in the future. As for how are we going to arrange this, we would have to wait until after we see everything,¡± Bai Yi said.


    Bai Yi got Woolf and Melvin to carry the tools over. Although Melvin said that the tools were very big, the tools currently used were not the large-sized machinery and molds like in modern technology after all. Most of it still depended on manual labor. So 2 people were already sufficient to bring everything back, so it was just a bit troublesome. Moreover, it would probably be even more troublesome if Bai Yi walked out now, so he just stayed in the house.


    As for the rest of them, they slowly got to know each other better during this period of time.


    ¡°Yeah, it would be really inconvenient to bring so much stuff with us while traveling. But is everything really necessary?¡±


    ¡°To grind a good weapon, all these are really necessary. However, I don¡¯t need this much if it¡¯s just repairing the fang sword and preliminary processing of a tooth. I would just require a sealed mold, that¡¯s all.¡± Melvin took out a transparent solution in a bottle.


    ¡°This is it, this is the solution that Bonnie concocted by chance. It contains an acid from a certain lifeform that can pervade the bone matter. This makes the bone soft and almost like rubber pulp. In addition, this kind of change wouldn¡¯t damage the structure of the bone. It only has to be left to dry for a period of time before it would solidify into its new shape. However, this process is very slow, and the harder the bone or teeth, the longer it would take. Processing the horn of a large-sized Decay Feeding Bug only required 1 day, but the teeth of the Blood-Scaled Centipede required more than 2 months to process. Even so, only the outer layer got dissolved and I forged a few of them together after that.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s was why I said at the start that it would take at least a year to process this tooth, and that is already a conservative estimate,¡± Melvin explained.


    ¡°Then why not make more of this solution, and process a few more weapons at the same time?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not possible!¡± Melvin shook his head.


    ¡°When Bonnie concocted this solution for the first time, one of the ingredients was my blood. She was just joking only initially, but it unexpectedly turned out like this. So, it isn¡¯t possible to produce this solution in large amounts. The reason why I refuse to join a team was also because of this. It¡¯s not that I¡¯m unwilling to trust others, just that I¡¯m really afraid of being treated like a blood mule by others. I don¡¯t want my blood getting drawn just to make this solution,¡± Melvin explained and look at Bai Yi¡¯s team.


    Bai Yi looked at Melvin seriously too, he naturally understood the reason behind this.


    An ordinary man was without sin; sin was being too talented and arousing the jealousy of others! (TN: A Chinese saying which I tried to express in a more layman way)


    Honestly speaking, other than this solution, Melvin didn¡¯t have any other areas that he could be proud about. The things he knew, other people knew as well and did it better than him, so Melvin did not wish to join other teams. By telling Bai Yi this information, Melvin had apparently truly trusted Bai Yi. Trust must be developed on a mutual basis, this was also probably because of Bai Yi telling them about his Reverse Flower Eyes before.


    ¡°Thank you!¡± Bai Yi nodded to Melvin.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much, I choose to believe in you guys.¡± Melvin smiled and picked up Bai Yi¡¯s fang sword. ¡°Even if I put all my energy into repairing this fang sword, it would probably take at least a month. What plans do you guys have after that? Immediately forge the other tooth?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine to just repair the fang sword, and help everyone to forge a suitable long sword. Fighting ability isn¡¯t inborn, so it also needs to be trained. Those heroic warriors and swordsman in movies you see also had to train from a young age. We just happen to be consolidating some practical sword techniques recently. It¡¯s best if all of us can try and practice those,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Ok then, but what about materials?¡±


    ¡°Repair the fang sword first, the other weapons can come later when we find the materials. If there really aren¡¯t any suitable materials, then you can dissolve that tooth first. Although we did see a lot of materials normally, it¡¯s really too troublesome to carry all of them on us. We really won¡¯t feel the need to collect them unless it¡¯s really some top-quality material,¡± Bai Yi said.


    The rest of them couldn¡¯t help but relax after they heard Bai Yi¡¯s words. From what he had said, they apparently met a lot of battles on the road but these fights didn¡¯t seem to pressure them. Normal materials wouldn¡¯t even enter their eyes or be collected. From this, it also proved the strength of Bai Yi¡¯s team. What more could let people feel at ease than joining a powerful team?


    ¡°Ok then, I¡¯ll repair the fang sword first. Actually, I can start now, but it would be for the best if you guys could help me collect some animal and plant materials. I need to concoct more of this solution. Other than that, do we have any plans soon? If we need to travel, then I need to make preparations as well.¡± Melvin nodded.


    ¡°We won¡¯t leave this valley for now, me and Gary still have some things to do. We still have to gather everyone in the snow valley to participate in this,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°We need to plan for the future of all evolved humans. To put it simply, it¡¯s to move all of our manpower together to fight for our future from now onward. The general direction hasn¡¯t been completely finalized yet, but the detailed plan will probably be out soon,¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°If it¡¯s this, then I can help!¡± Vala suddenly said.


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still quite proficient in various types of planning. If you are talking about how to let all evolved humans return to the safe and secure world, I have some ideas of my own too,¡± Vala said.


    ¡°Then that would really be a great help, we had to put Gary at the center of everything because our numbers were really too limited at that time.¡±


    ¡°Team leader¡¯s intention is to take all the credit for this in your hands?¡± Vala suddenly asked. Bai Yi heard this and immediately looked at Vala, and shook his head.


    ¡°Nope, what I want is balance. Undeniably, once this thing starts, all the evolved humans would gather and move together. Among all these people, many would climb up from the bottom rungs and become high-level personnel. I personally do not object to things like this, but I will not allow a minority to exploit this chance to gain benefits for themselves. Of course, I¡¯m not such a lofty person either. In truth, things like this can¡¯t be completely stopped, but at least everything must be done on the basis of the welfare of all evolved humans in mind,¡± Bai Yi slowly explained.


    ¡°Hmm, so things are like that. I will think about everything carefully then.¡± Vala nodded.


    ¡°Then I¡¯m relying on you too, and of course the same goes for Momo¡¯s education.¡± Bai Yi looked again at Momo. Momo heard this and immediately hugged Bai Yi¡¯s thigh, continuously twisting her body and whining to him. She hoped hard that he would be soft-hearted. Sadly, Bai Yi would never compromise at this time. It was not easy to find a suitable teacher at this time, and it was already overwhelming luck to find a teacher like Vala now.

 Chapter 139

    Chapter 139: Bai Yi¡¯s Plan


    After Raymond woke up, he did not complain or cause any problems. When he learned Bai Yi¡¯s identity, he immediately agreed to stay in the team. Actually, he couldn¡¯t have wish for anything more. Although he called himself the berserker, he was still very afraid of the berserk state, where he would completely lose his mind. Moreover, even though Bai Yi explained to him the power of his eyes, Raymond still developed a sense of respect and awe toward Bai Yi after losing to him mysteriously.


    The new members somewhat surprised Heloise after getting to know them for a few days. Putting aside their fighting abilities, these people that Bai Yi picked all had decent personalities, even though they were picked almost completely by chance. Even Raymond wasn¡¯t disliked by them once they got to know him.


    At this time, they finally begun on their goal in coming to this snow valley.


    The evolved humans faced a lot of problems in New Zealand now. Vala listed all these problems out and created a table for Bai Yi to look over. Bai Yi then shared these problems with everybody and got all of them to think of ideas to solve these problems. The solutions did not have to be immediate but they had to at least design a path for the evolved humans to take to escape from their current situation.


    During this period of time, Bai Yi had visited Gary once as well and had discussed these problems openly with him. Vala took on the role of Bai Yi¡¯s secretary and helped him out a lot.


    After coming back, Vala still had to guide Momo¡¯s studies. She taught her things from the most basic level before going in depth. Of course, because there wasn¡¯t sufficient time recently, Alodia had to guide Momo most of the time. Other than early education, Vala and Alodia also had to learn basic sword techniques. In the team, Bai Yi and a few others had already organized a systematic set of sword techniques. Maybe these sword techniques were far from being complete, but they were already ahead of everyone else.


    As for Melvin, he was busy repairing the fang sword. Repairing a weapon was not as simple as immersing it inside that solution.


    Raymond, Woolf, and Heloise went around to help Melvin collect the ingredients needed to concoct his special solution. With their strength, they basically wouldn¡¯t be in danger in this snow valley. After they returned, Raymond would also listen to Bai Yi explain sword techniques. Of course, Raymond didn¡¯t intend to learn it, but there wasn¡¯t any harm in knowing more. Some of the theories about usage of strength were still very useful when applied to himself.


    However, Vala and Alodia had received a slight shock when they witnessed Momo¡¯s combat abilities, they had never imagined that Momo would be so strong.


    If they were talking about purely sword techniques, Momo was actually the second strongest in the team.


    That¡¯s right, if it was purely on sword techniques, Momo would only lose to Bai Yi. Even Woolf and Heloise wouldn¡¯t be able to compete with her. Maybe because she was very young and had a very moldable mind, or perhaps she just naturally loved the sword, her learning was even more thorough than others. Of course, combat power wasn¡¯t calculated so simply like this, so Momo was still the one with the lowest combat power in the team previously. However, Momo had merged with the Spirit Devouring Butterflies now and gained the ability to damage spirits, so it was hard to say now.


    As Vala and Alodia taught Momo knowledge, they learned about sword techniques from Momo as well.


    Vala used a competition between Momo and Alodia to see who could learn better, and it actually motivated Momo to diligently study a children¡¯s textbook that Vala had made.


    They had to admit that Alodia¡¯s background was really extraordinary. Although she was only 15 years old, she was really a child of a noble family in New Zealand. She was very cultured and educated; even when she became like this, she still retained a gentle and serene air around her. Momo also slowly learned from Alodia and slowly started to change from all the time they spent together.


    Bai Yi could finally let out a breath of relief when he saw that Momo was no longer on the the path of a Amazon warrior.


    This was why people said early education was very important, it could very well influence a person¡¯s entire life.


    ¡­¡­


    Over this period of time, Bai Yi had finished his discussions with Gary as well. Using Bai Yi¡¯s name, they gathered everyone in the snow valley to fight for the future of all evolved humans. However, the general execution of this plan was left to Gary. This was a way of cooperation that Gary was more satisfied with. Although this would cause Bai Yi¡¯s reputation to become even greater, Bai Yi had too little manpower under him to do anything. Hence, both sides could compromise and cooperate like this. Otherwise, Gary would have to consider if he could tolerate Bai Yi¡¯s presence here.


    After a week of preparation, a notice was sent out through the snow valley. It announced Bai Yi¡¯s arrival to the snow valley, that he wanted to announce some things, and his hope for a change in the current of state of New Zealand for evolved humans.


    Bai Yi¡¯s appearance in the snow valley had long become common knowledge, and after this notice came out, everybody in the snow valley became incredibly excited. Was Bai Yi going to release some new information again? After getting to know of this information, everybody looked forward to the gathering one week later with great expectations. During this meeting, Bai Yi would not only release some information but also answer some questions.


    Within this week, Vala helped Bai Yi tidy up and organize all the information that they had. At this time, Bai Yi finally confirmed again that Vala¡¯s presence was a great help to him. Although she didn¡¯t have much combat power, she was miles ahead of anyone else when it came to planning and organizing.


    A week later, it had been more than half a month since Bai Yi¡¯s team had entered the snow valley. Early in the morning, on the day of the assembly, all the evolved humans had already gathered at the public square. They were all squeezed together and were discussing about what Bai Yi planned to announce.


    Gary, the ruler of the snow valley, went up on stage first to say a few words. However, from the looks of it, he didn¡¯t seem to be too popular among the crowd. Gary realized that continuing to speak would only bring about adverse effects, so he finally let Bai Yi go on stage.


    ¡°I am Bai Yi!¡± After coming up on stage, Bai Yi didn¡¯t bother saying any patronizing words and immediately announced this.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure many of you are curious about why am I standing here today. Then, let me tell you, the reason I am standing here today is for¡­the future of all evolved humans!¡± Bai Yi¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t heavy, but it felt like a hammer smashing into everyone¡¯s hearts. The individuals who initially took Bai Yi casually and lightly immediately focused their attention subconsciously.


    ¡°I have a timeline over here.¡± Bai Yi took out a piece of paper with a timeline on it.


    The Progenitor proliferated her activated cells to the entire country. The activated cells spread to practically the whole of New Zealand and its nearby waters. After 1 ¨C 2 days, all the activated cells in animals and humans had awakened and everyone entered the Binging Stage.


    The Binging Stage lasted for half a year, which was also the hardest period of time for all humans and animals to go through.


    The body crazily needed various kinds of nutrition and food, but New Zealand had a limited food supply. This resulted in various bloody killing, fights, and devouring. At this stage, all humans started to fuse with genes from other lifeforms and slowly transformed into monsters. Many people couldn¡¯t accept their transformations and slowly went crazy.


    Within this half a year, more than 5 million people are estimated to have died through various causes. Perhaps some people may say that 5 million wasn¡¯t a lot of people, but that was more than 80% of New Zealand¡¯s population.


    Half a year after the proliferation of the activated cells, the appetite of all lifeforms had stabilized. But this wasn¡¯t something to rejoice about because evolved humans and evolved animals had started to enter the LV1-2 Brutal Stage.


    The incongruence between the body and soul would cause the lifeform to enter the berserk state for no reason. In addition, the greater the number of times the lifeform entered the berserk state, the harder it was to wake up from that state. Eventually, the lifeform would turn into a completely mindless and savage monster.


    All the way until now, although all surviving evolved humans had slowly adapted to New Zealand¡¯s environment, this was far from a kind of lifestyle! We can only say that everybody was struggling!


    ¡°That¡¯s right, this is a struggle!¡±


    Bai Yi¡¯s voice was cold yet harsh, the vibrations from his voice seemingly brought everyone¡¯s minds into the world that he had described. In nearly a year, all the surviving evolved humans struggled desperately to survive in this New Zealand, and they would have to continue struggling in the future as well. Everyone subconsciously started to recall their pasts and felt a deep fear in their hearts.


    Struggle!


    ¡°Nobody came to save us, nobody. The only people that can save us, is ourselves,¡± Bai Yi said. Bit by bit, Bai Yi slowly drew everyone¡¯s attention toward the situation he was describing with his words. As a result, they couldn¡¯t help but turn solemn.


    ¡°There¡¯s quite a lot of people here and maybe some of you have acquired information about the outside world from some sources. New Zealand¡¯s official name in the outside world has already been changed to ¡®Devil Island¡¯. The people outside are not coming to save us, because the other countries treat this place as a natural ecosphere for them to research about activated cells.¡±


    ¡°However, we don¡¯t have to pray for other people to save us! We ourselves have the ability to save ourselves!¡± Bai Yi clenched his fist tightly.


    We can save ourselves!


    ¡°Bai Yi team leader, what exactly do we have to do?¡± At this time, even those who had some prejudice toward Bai Yi couldn¡¯t help but await Bai Yi¡¯s explanation with baited breath. Just what did they have to do to escape from New Zealand, the current Devil Island? Bai Yi¡¯s hands slammed down and the crowd started to quickly calm down.


    ¡°As for this issue, I have already drafted a simple plan for it. However, as for the specifics of what to do, I still need all of your help to complete it.¡± Bai Yi took out another list.


    Nothing is more important than surviving, because only life could give us infinite possibilities. That¡¯s why it is essential for everyone to do their best to survive.


    Protect!


    Protect the remaining various types of talents left amongst the evolved humans to the best of our abilities. Never underestimate their importance just because of New Zealand¡¯s current state. Among these people, the most important individuals were the talents in the biological field, especially those researchers who had participated in the research on the activated cells. Although we hate these researchers a lot, we still have to admit that they only they have the chance to develop the drug that can help everyone regain our human forms.


    Communicate!


    New Zealand shouldn¡¯t become an isolated Devil Island. Although all of the evolved humans look like monsters now, but most of us can still retain our rationality and minds. We need to get the support of the normal humans from the outside world. Hence, we need to rebuild the telecommunications network with the outside world.


    Rebuild!


    Collect the past technology and resources from the New Zealand before. Then, build a new and safe place for humans to stay in.


    Research!


    For evolved humans to return to the normal world, we must be able to control our brutal urges and solve the problem of our appearances. Even though New Zealand¡¯s change started from the activated cells, the researchers can¡¯t abandon this area of research. On the contrary, they must research this at an even deeper level and find a solution for these problems.


    All of this requires a safe and secure environment, so we need to build a new city.


    ¡­¡­


    Bai Yi spoke slowly and described the overarching direction and the miniscule details. As he spoke, everybody listened to him with incomparable seriousness.

 Chapter 140

    Chapter 140: Answering Questions


    Step by step, Bai Yi let everyone recall the despair they had felt over the year and gave them gave them infinite hope. He told them what they had to do to change their lives in New Zealand now to regain a safe and secure life.


    ¡°Bai Yi team leader, are you planning to unite all the evolved humans?¡± somebody below asked suddenly.


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°For change to happen among the evolved humans, unity is absolutely necessary. Only when everyone specializes can we display our greatest power. The process that I talked about just now can¡¯t possibly be achieved by just 1 or 2 teams. I know what everybody is afraid of. You fear that your team will be divided up and reallocated, losing your position of leadership in the process. What I want to say is ¨C stop indulging in that bit of power from being a team leader. If New Zealand remains as it is now for a long time, what use is that bit of authority you have? If you really have confidence in yourself, then you can completely take this opportunity to rise up again. As for how are you going to do that, that is a problem you have to think about yourself. That being said, I don¡¯t think that people who try to impede or harm others would get much approval.¡± Bai Yi described the reality of things very frankly and made everyone feel quite awkward.


    Although they really thought this way, nobody expected Bai Yi to expose things so explicitly.


    ¡°Then what about Bai Yi team leader? What is your position in this plan?¡±


    ¡°The founder.¡±


    ¡°Then if we have elections in the future, is Bai Yi team leader certain of getting the majority of the support?¡± Questioned somebody in a seemingly joking manner. However, if Bai Yi could not answer this question properly, his plan would probably fail.


    ¡°If everybody really supports me that much, of course I wouldn¡¯t push this responsibility away,¡± Bai Yi answered with a smile, seemingly joking as well. However, the connotations of his words immediately changed. ¡°In the countless revolutions and uprisings in history, the founder did have the greatest fame at the beginning. However, the person that benefited the most at the end was not usually them.¡±


    What did this mean? Everybody thought rapidly in their heads. Why did Bai Yi talk about these things so explicitly time and time again? Wasn¡¯t this going to create a big bunch of ambitious people?


    Bai Yi naturally knew that he would foster a big bunch of ambitious people by doing so, but would those ambitious people stay obedient if he didn¡¯t say this? Even if they wanted to fulfil their ambitions, they had to wait for New Zealand to develop into a place with a general level of safety and security. Otherwise, what use was ambition in an environment like now? This was precisely Bai Yi¡¯s goal. The people who would push the growth and development of the world was precisely these ambitious people.


    ¡°And this time, what I want to release is research information about the activated cells from the research facility¡­¡±


    ¡°Bai Yi team leader, I want to ask a question.¡± Suddenly, somebody interrupted Bai Yi.


    ¡°Please speak.¡±


    ¡°How did you learn so many things? Other than the core personnel, I¡¯m afraid that other people couldn¡¯t possibly know so much,¡± said a guy sitting on a rock in front of them with his body tilted. From his appearance, one could tell that this person was very proud. Moreover, there were more than 10 similar people around him. Saying that only core personnel could know this information at this time could only imply one thing.


    ¡°Would you believe me if I said that it was through coincidence?¡±


    ¡°You suspect my identity. In truth, I was just a chef in Waikato University before New Zealand changed. Although New Zealand turned into a Devil Island now, you could always ascertain this piece of information with a little effort,¡± Bai Yi said. Starting so soon? Interesting. However, just like Bai Yi had said, even though he couldn¡¯t be considered to be famous before, Waikato University was still a big university in New Zealand. As long as people tried to investigate, it was easy to prove Bai Yi¡¯s identity.


    ¡°My team and I entered a research facility by chance and acquired this information. What I released to everyone at the start was precisely this information about activated cells, from LV 1-1 to LV2 and the various ways to manage these stages. Of course, I did hide some more detailed information, because I am still somewhat selfish. I don¡¯t want to give out information that I sacrificed so many companions for so magnanimously,¡± Bai Yi said with a joking expression. The people below blanked for a moment and smiled.


    Selfishness huh!


    This was reality and perfectly human. If it was anybody else in Bai Yi¡¯s position, they might not even be as generous as Bai Yi. At the very least, Bai Yi released all of the basic information. Would other people do as much as him?


    ¡°Unfortunately, even after studying this information for a long time since I acquired it, I still have to admit something,¡± Bai Yi said. Then, he suddenly sighed.


    ¡°I am just a chef, asking me to study things like cells, genes, and chromosomes is just a waste of effort. Even my degree from university had to depend on others to do my work for me,¡± Bai Yi shrugged and said with a self-depreciating tone. This time, everyone below laughed at him. Even during peaceful times, those with the capability to engage in top-tier research was the minority among the minority. All of them would probably be just as confused as Bai Yi if they tried to study that information.


    ¡°So!¡± Bai Yi¡¯s tone immediately turned solemn again.


    ¡°Talents are extremely important at any time, it isn¡¯t possible for crude people like us to learn everything from scratch. So, I hope that everybody can try to protect those talents that already have background in the subject if you discover them. These people are our hope. Of course, I¡¯m not telling you guys to accommodate these people in every way, but just to protect them to the best of your abilities as much as possible,¡± Bai Yi said again.


    ¡°If you guys don¡¯t believe me, you can just wait until you see this information for yourself. Then, you will know that I¡¯m not just fearmongering. Unless your standard of knowledge reaches a certain level, you won¡¯t even be able to read this information,¡± Bai Yi said, and he raised the microchip with the information inside.


    ¡°Anybody who wants this research data can make a copy of it yourself. Although New Zealand is already ruined now, I think it¡¯s still possible to find a way to transfer data if you look carefully,¡± Bai Yi said, as he held up a portable hard disk and a thumb drive.


    ¡°Of course, if you are really unable to find any, I have written information as well. But the recorded information is really a lot, so you probably won¡¯t be able to copy much of it down,¡± Bai Yi said, as he held up a giant stack of papers.


    ¡°Then, does anybody still have any questions?¡±


    ¡°Does New Zealand only have one research facility?¡±


    ¡°Where is the location of the research facility that your team encountered before?¡±


    ¡°Bai Yi team leader, was there any secret to you making Raymond fall into deep sleep and bringing him back from the berserk state?¡±


    Questions sprang up continuously from the audience below. Bai Yi raised his hands and gestured for the crowd to calm down and slowly answered the questions one by one.


    ¡°New Zealand can¡¯t possibly only have one research facility. As far as I know, there are a total of 121 research facilities in this country. The facility that I encountered is only one of the many.¡±


    121? So many? Everyone immediately became overjoyed upon hearing this. Could they acquire information that other people didn¡¯t have if they entered these research facilities? They would be able to get ahead of others then!


    ¡°You probably can get valuable things if you enter the research facilities, but what I want to remind you is that there are various experimental monsters inside those facilities. I don¡¯t think anybody needs me to remind them how powerful these early experimental monsters are. You better be ready for death if you want to acquire anything from those places.¡± Bai Yi couldn¡¯t help but remind them when he saw the commotion in the crowd.


    His heavy tone immediately silenced everyone below!


    ¡°As for the location of the research facilities, I¡¯m very sorry, but we only found one by chance. Every research facility is independent of each other, so I don¡¯t know where the rest are either,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°As for the changes in Raymond that you mentioned, that¡¯s very simple. It¡¯s just hypnosis.¡± Bai Yi ignored the commotion below and continued speaking at his own pace.


    ¡°I already said before that the reason behind the brutality in the LV1-2 is due to the incongruence between the body and the soul. The physical shape of every living thing was a stable form slowly developed from a long process of evolution. The rapid changes in physical form during the Binging Stage and the lack of change in the soul leads to an the incongruence in the body and soul, which results in the Brutal Stage.¡±


    ¡°To rebalance the body and soul, sleeping is undoubtedly the best way. Both calming drugs and Soul Nourishing Physical Arts that can passively cultivate the soul can¡¯t be compared to sleep. However, it is extremely difficult to fall asleep in the Brutal Phase and entering a deep-level sleep is practically impossible.¡±


    ¡°Coincidentally, the ability that mutated in me after assimilating with the activated cells is mild hypnosis. This kind of power is just like any other ability that people can gain from fusing with genes from other animals like powerful physical strength, poison, fangs, and claws. It is just a little more special. I believe that among this crowd, there are definitely people who underwent mutation like me.¡± Bai Yi looked at the people below.


    ¡°I¡¯m not trying to hide anything. To put it simply, my ability is just a form of hypnosis. In reality, hypnotism had already existed even before New Zealand changed. If somebody could find some method to make people fall into deep-level sleep, the effects would be the same. As for how exactly you are supposed to do this, I¡¯m sorry but I have no idea either. This needs to be figured out yourself,¡± Bai Yi slowly said.


    ¡°Bai Yi team leader, can you give a small demonstration of your method of hypnosis?¡±


    Bai Yi looked at the guy talking and nodded. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll use you then!¡±


    ¡°My mutation is in my eyes and I happened to give it a cool name as well ¨C Reverse Flower Eyes!¡± Bai Yi said in a half-joking manner and pointed to his eyes. Under everyone¡¯s gazes, Bai Yi¡¯s eyes started changing and spun around like a flower blooming in reverse. In a short moment, the guy in front of Bai Yi fell to the floor with a ¡®pat!¡¯.


    The crowd was still chuckling at the ¡®cool name¡¯ when all them sucked in a breath of cold air at the same time, so this was this Reverse Flower Eyes!

 Chapter 141

    Chapter 141: Red Kiss


    He didn¡¯t try to keep his ability a secret, because he knew that it would be exposed eventually. A person who was truly strong would definitely become the center of everyone¡¯s attention. They didn¡¯t rely on their enemies not understanding their abilities, but how their enemies would be helpless before them even if they knew their abilities. Right now, Bai Yi already had that kind of mindset.


    Reverse Flower Eyes!


    After he fused with butterfly genes, his eyes started with the initial Confusion Mimicry and Warning Intimidation. Then, it evolved time and time again from the shock of his friends¡¯ death. Eventually, it became his currently powerful hypnosis. Every single time, the blood of his companions seemed to be the fountain of his eyes¡¯ growth. His eyes could completely be labelled as a pair of cursed eyes. However, Bai Yi had no choice but to place heavy importance on these eyes.


    The guy who had intentionally tried to scout out Bai Yi¡¯s secret immediately fell to the floor. At this moment, Bai Yi turned his head away and looked at the audience right below him. Simultaneously, blood started to flow slowly from his eyes.


    This kind of eyes!


    Everyone who looked up toward the stage felt intimidated simultaneously. Subconsciously, they averted their line of sight. Those bewitching eyes, combined with his cold expression and powerful intimidation, felt like a God was looking down on them. All of them couldn¡¯t help but look away from Bai Yi. After they realized that they had subconsciously averted their gazes, 4 people among the crowd forcefully stopped their own actions and turned their heads back to stare at Bai Yi.


    Bai Yi smiled faintly in his heart. The Reverse Flower Eyes could capture all the movements of everyone in the plaza right now. These 4 people could forcefully suppress their instincts to back down and stared back at him. Apparently, they were not ordinary either. However, now wasn¡¯t the time to contend with the 4 of them. Bai Yi¡¯s eyes slowly changed and gradually returned to a normal pair of eyes.


    However, everyone in the plaza had already deeply etched the name of this pair of eyes in their minds ¨C Reverse Flower Eyes!


    ¡°This is the ability I gained after my activated cells mutated. It can hypnotize anything that looks at my eyes to a certain extent. This powerful hypnotic ability can let evolved lifeforms enter deep-level sleep. This balances the body and soul at a deeper level and the reason why I can subdue Raymond,¡± Bai Yi slowly said. At this time, there were still many people who still hadn¡¯t recovered from their daze.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask me how I became like this, because I don¡¯t know either. All I can say is, this is all by chance.¡±


    ¡°Other than that, if it isn¡¯t an emergency, don¡¯t talk about asking me to help everyone fall into deep-level sleep, because that is impossible. Or I should say, I want to, but I don¡¯t have the power to do so. My eyes can¡¯t be used unlimitedly, and you guys saw it for yourself too. Every usage will cause my eyes to start bleeding. In truth, using it for more than a few times a day would greatly affect my vision. I even lost my sight for more than a month before from overuse of this ability.¡± Bai Yi pointed to his eyes, as the blood from it formed 2 red streaks down his face.


    Everyone looked at the red streaks on Bai Yi¡¯s face and subconsciously nodded.


    Looks like they couldn¡¯t rely on Bai Yi¡¯s eyes after all. They still had to rely on their own efforts to figure out a way to deal with the Brutal Stage. But now that they knew that hypnosis was effective, they could think about things in that direction as well.


    A few other people breathed a sigh of relief at his words. Although Bai Yi said that his eyes could only hypnotize people, in their hearts, the most effective usage of his eyes would be on the battlefield. Anybody who had to battle Bai Yi would find it incredibly troublesome, because vision was the sense that people used the most amongst the 5 senses. If they were afraid of looking at the opponent, it was easy to imagine how restrictive and troublesome a fight would be. Although they weren¡¯t enemies with Bai Yi now, nobody could be certain of the future.


    Ha~~!


    Bai Yi laughed in his heart. Of course, his eyes were not fragile to the point where it would bleed the moment he used it. He just did this to increase his persuasiveness. As for whether they really believed him or not, that was up to them. A powerful ability with an equally great restriction and flaw would still let many people be at ease.


    ¡°Of course, you guys can still come and find me in an emergency, I wouldn¡¯t turn anybody away during those times.¡± Bai Yi gave these people some hope with his words. However, these people wouldn¡¯t come and bother Bai Yi under normal circumstances anyway, and Bai Yi could reject them more easily as well since his eyes couldn¡¯t be used ¡®too much¡¯.


    After that, Bai Yi and Gary made some general plans for the problems of integrating and reorganizing the manpower. Of course, it was not feasible to break up all the teams at the start, as nobody would agree to that. However, they still gave out general missions and roles to every team. This included matters from collecting materials, looking for talented people, scavenging for resources remaining from the old New Zealand, and various other missions.


    Everyone became incredibly active due to Bai Yi¡¯s previous words, as they wanted to start to increase their influence now. They aimed to be in a better position and occupy a higher place in the future. Sometimes, ambitious people were the source of the development and progress in the world.


    Bai Yi smiled in his heart, as he looked at the few team leaders talking with Gary seriously.


    There were more than 3000 people in this snow valley. Within a few days, many talented people were discovered. These people started to prepare and plan for the future development of all evolved humans. In a short week, the atmosphere of the snow valley changed completely, and turned into a scene full of flourishing hope for the future. Although New Zealand was still the Devil Island, everyone¡¯s hearts had started to become positive and energetic.


    Perhaps it was a coincidence or maybe it was intentional, but Bai Yi didn¡¯t take up any job or roles in the snow valley. Seemingly, everyone subconsciously excluded Bai Yi. This wasn¡¯t solely because of Bai Yi having an overly-high reputation, but also because Bai Yi was Chinese. Racial discrimination was something that couldn¡¯t be avoided completely at any time.


    However, Bai Yi did not mind this anyway. If they stayed here, they couldn¡¯t fulfil their mission. They still had to travel across the whole of New Zealand and connect all the surviving evolved humans.


    Perhaps, when the communication network was re-established in New Zealand, Bai Yi¡¯s team would finally have an easier time.


    ¡­¡­


    After stopping for more than a week, all the matters inside the snow valley had more or less started to self-operate, Bai Yi¡¯s team prepared to set off again. The fact that they stayed in the valley for a week wasn¡¯t because Bai Yi was worried about the matters inside the snow valley. Instead, it was because he was waiting for Melvin to finish repairing the fang sword.


    Just like Melvin had estimated, it would be roughly a month until he finally finished repairing the fang sword.


    The repaired fang sword had a heavier and bewitching feel to it now. The dark red blade became even darker as it approached the back of the sword. In addition, Melvin had also made some adjustments to the shape of the sword, which made it appear even more exquisite. If the fang sword was still quite crude previously, the fang sword now could completely be seen as a work of art¡ªa work of art that was used for killing.


    ¡°Based on your request, the poison element is hidden inside, and this is still thanks to the solution that Bonnie concocted for me. I¡¯m not too sure what happened either, but when repairing it, I felt something flowing into the fang sword from my body. The poison element is concealed now, but I don¡¯t understand how to activate it either. It seems to need that ¡®something¡¯ to flow into the fang sword for the poison element to activate,¡± Melvin said to Bai Yi.


    Flow?


    The few of them stared at Melvin, this guy was even better than they had imagined.


    ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, that is the special energy in your body. Although we can¡¯t sense it normally, this energy does exist and has already enhanced the basic constitution of our bodies from the most fundamental level. I don¡¯t know what genes you fused with, but from the looks of it now, the genes fused is secondary, while the main thing is still mutation,¡± Bai Yi slowly explained.


    ¡°My eyes and Momo¡¯s eyes can both passively bring about the movement of the special energy in our bodies, and the special energy would automatically support the usage of our eye powers. The ability of your blood to soften the bones and teeth of other lifeforms should also be a form of mutation. Just like in the information released, before LV2 Metamorphose Stage, evolved humans and lifeforms aren¡¯t able to actively manipulate the special energy in their bodies. However, they can still passively bring about the movement of this special energy under certain circumstances. The feeling that you had should fall under this situation if I¡¯m not wrong.¡±


    ¡°Was it like that?¡± Melvin was quite hesitant and shocked. He was too busy trying to repair the fang sword and didn¡¯t try to understand the available information in detail.


    ¡°More or less!¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°Not bad huh. You are actually the third person in this team to able to sense the special energy flowing in your body. Although it¡¯s still a passive flow, it is already very impressive.¡± Woolf joked and patted Melvin¡¯s shoulder and almost smacked him onto the floor.


    However, Melvin still seemed to be in quite a daze. Me? Impressive? Mutation?


    Bai Yi knew that Melvin had no self-confidence; he could tell this from their first encounter. However, this kind of things couldn¡¯t be rushed, and Melvin would change bit by bit as time passed.


    Bai Yi held the fang sword and slowly sensed it. The sword had a very comfortable feeling and the dark red blade was translucent and crystal-like. However, how was he supposed to activate the poison element inside the blade? Bai Yi suddenly activated the Reverse Flower Eyes, and he could feel the special energy flowing in his body. Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t seem to have any influence on the fang sword.


    ¡°This thing looks completely different now huh!¡± said Woolf in surprised, as he looked on from the side. So Melvin still had some ability to him, it wasn¡¯t like how he described himself to be ordinary in all areas other than the special solution.


    ¡°En, it¡¯s completely different now.¡± Bai Yi held the sword in his hand and slowly raised it up.


    ¡°Want to give it a name like your eyes? Did you know that your Reverse Flower Eyes are so famous right now?¡± Heloise teased.


    ¡°Name huh!¡± Bai Yi looked at the dark red blade and thought about it silently.


    ¡°I think it should be called¡­¡± Raymond and Melvin wanted to give it a name, but suddenly Bai Yi interrupted them.


    ¡°Red Kiss, I¡¯ll call it Red Kiss.¡±


    Raymond and Melvin¡¯s words got stuck in their throats. When they looked at Bai Yi¡¯s firm appearance, they knew that their hopes of giving the sword a name was already dashed. Raymond was still murmuring at the side, talking about how the name was too tacky. However, Bai Yi just smiled and didn¡¯t explain. Only Woolf and Heloise, who saw Bai Yi¡¯s expression, thought of Hong Qi Hua. They could roughly guess the meaning behind the name.


    However, Bai Yi would never admit to it!


    (TN: So the ¡®Hong¡¯ in Hong Qi Hua means red, so red kiss is probably some form of remembrance for Hong Qi Hua.¡±)

 Chapter 142

    Chapter 142: Sharpei¡¯s Transformation


    ¡°Bai Yi, are you thinking of Hong Qi Hua?¡± Woolf asked dumbly. The moment he opened his mouth, Heloise pinched the flesh on his back. This idiot, why is he bringing up Hong Qi Hua now?


    ¡°Oh, nope, this is just purely for the sake of giving the sword a name. Isn¡¯t the sword dark red in color? What¡¯s wrong with the name Red Kiss?¡± Bai Yi smiled and replied.


    ¡°Red Kiss, I studied Chinese a bit too in the past. If we¡¯re just talking about the outer appearance and color, this name is actually quite suitable. Other than that, kiss also represents an intimate contact, so wouldn¡¯t a kiss from a sword imply fatality? Connecting this to the poison hidden inside the sword, it¡¯s definitely beautiful and fatal. So, I think that the name Red Kiss is really not bad for this sword.¡± Vala evaluated objectively.


    Woolf and Heloise both stared blankly at her, Wow you can really connect this to a lot of things, but the meaning behind this sword¡¯s name is definitely not this.


    ¡°See, even Vala says so.¡± Bai Yi placed Red Kiss back into the sheath.


    Woolf wasn¡¯t an idiot that liked to step on landmines intentionally. Although he blurted out the question accidentally, he understood what was going on by now. Since Bai Yi wanted to name the sword Red Kiss, then it shall be called Red Kiss. As for the meaning behind the name, what was the point of bothering about it so much?


    Bai Yi sheathed Red Kiss and hung it on his waist. Melvin adjusted the length of the sword well to Bai Yi¡¯s height. The handle of the sword could be seen peeking out from under his cloak, causing Bai Yi to look like a swordsman now.


    ¡°Is everything else prepared?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°En, everything is prepared, we can leave at anytime.¡± Vala nodded.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s set off,¡± Bai Yi said. Everything that they should have done, they had already completed, so they didn¡¯t have to rush anything now. They really had to admit that with the addition of Vala to the team, the planning and organization within the team had really improved drastically. Hearing Bai Yi¡¯s words, the team grabbed the supplies that were already allocated to them and walked out of the small house.


    Bai Yi¡¯s team walked toward the entrance of the valley and just happened to see a big group of people sending them off at the mouth of the valley. The leader of this group was naturally Gary. No matter what, he was the owner of this snow valley now. After a series of showing off his gratitude, thanks, tears, unwillingness to let them go, and various other messy farewells, Bai Yi¡¯s team finally left the snow valley with everyone¡¯s hopes on their shoulders. From now on, Bai Yi¡¯s team would travel the whole of New Zealand and circulate the plan for the future of all evolved humans to the rest of the survivors. Before the communication network became rebuilt, Bai Yi¡¯s team would probably have to take on the role of disseminating information and communicating between groups.


    The evolved humans had still kept in contact before, but it was very inconvenient. This was partially because of how everyone came from a developed society, so all of them more or less would be able to use some wireless communications like radios.


    After Bai Yi¡¯s team left the snow valley, they took out a new map. This map was drawn on top of the original map of New Zealand. On it there, were more than 10 marksthat indicated the locations of the gathering points for evolved humans. In truth, the number of humans in these 10-odd gathering points wouldn¡¯t exceed 100,000 people, while the number of humans that still survived in New Zealand was probably around 1,000,000. These people were of course all struggling to stay alive in the Devil Island now.


    New Zealand really wasn¡¯t too big, but since it was called Devil Island now, there weren¡¯t many people who had the capability to travel around this place safely. Even if it was Bai Yi¡¯s team, they wouldn¡¯t dare to say that they could walk around carefreely. If they were just a little careless, they would meet with danger all the same. If Bai Yi¡¯s team really managed to unite all of the evolved humans and reconstruct a safe haven for them, it was easy to imagine just how great their reputation would be.


    Precisely because of this, not only Bai Yi¡¯s team, but a few other teams took on this mission as well. Danger and fortune existed side by side. Once the evolved humans really united together, every person in these teams would become true heroes.


    However, Bai Yi¡¯s team didn¡¯t have the effort to spare to think about these things. Coming out from the snow valley meant returning to the real Devil Island. They couldn¡¯t afford to be careless or distracted at any moment. Otherwise, they might very well lose their lives.


    ¡­¡­


    Wairarapa Snow Valley was located at the Tararua Mountain Range, and it was basically the center of New Zealand. Bai Yi¡¯s team planned to move south, passing by the Cook Straits and heading to the southern half of New Zealand. Then, they would travel starting from the northern edge in an anti-clockwise direction. They would look for gathering points of evolved humans to unite everyone and work together. The other teams all had their own routes to follow as well. Whether they could walk all the way to the end or not depended on not only strength but also luck.


    To cross the Cook Straits, they had to use some form of transportation. In the end, Bai Yi¡¯s team decide to visit Ghost City Wellington again, because that place was a city next to the sea. It was also the sea port closest to the Cook Straits.


    After nearly half a month, their group finally arrived at the ghost city again. The newcomers to this ghost city were all a little afraid, as this city was still quite infamous in the world outside. The ex-capital of New Zealand had turned into a ghost city with a very serious case of paranormal activity. However, with Bai Yi leading them into the city and seeing those ghosts with their own eyes, they realized that these ghosts didn¡¯t seem to be so scary anymore.


    On the other hand, the newcomers didn¡¯t expect that Bai Yi¡¯s team actually had a member that fell in this place. Although Bai Yi did not talk about the battle that happened here, they still tried to ask about the past from Woolf and Heloise. After they learned the history of everything that had happened here, all of them couldn¡¯t help but sigh; this was really an era where human nature was revealed brutally. At the same time, they also felt some respect and admiration for Mavis¡¯ optimism. Even after turning into a ghost, Mavis didn¡¯t seem to be affected much. On the contrary, she seemed to enjoy this kind of life as a ghost very much.


    ¡°Looking for a ship to cross the Cook Straits?¡± Mavis asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, we want to go to the southern half of New Zealand and tell everyone about the plan for the future that we made,¡± Bai Yi nodded and told Mavis about their experiences over this period of time.


    Mavis nodded her head and observed Bai Yi. After he had finally thought things through, he had a slight change to his mentality and aura once again. He became even more outstanding than before. In addition, although she wasn¡¯t familiar with the few new teammates, they seemed quite reliable from the looks of it. ¡°I can ask the other ghosts for help. However, it¡¯s incomparably dangerous to cross the straits, so you guys better be fully prepared,¡± Mavis said.


    ¡°En, of course!¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    In just the battle at the internal lake with Yu Han in Wellington, there was already some unlucky guy from Yu Han¡¯s team that got dragged into the water and devoured by some aquatic monster. Only heaven knew what would they encounter, as they steered the boat past the straits. One must know that the number of animals in the sea was many times that on land. If they weren¡¯t well prepared, the most likely outcome was that some monster would pull their boat along with them into the depths of the sea.


    Mavis went to find the other ghosts for help. Meanwhile, Bai Yi¡¯s team rested and made preparations at the side.


    ¡°Daddy, Sharpei wants to go to the city center.¡± Momo looked for Bai Yi.


    ¡°Oh, really? Let¡¯s go together then.¡± Bai Yi was slightly surprised and nodded. Recently, Sharpei always seemed to be quite discontented, but he didn¡¯t seem to be sick either. Bai Yi knew that Sharpei¡¯s changes were definitely linked to Wellington¡¯s special environment, but he really couldn¡¯t figure out any of the details. His choice to return to Wellington was in part to try and figure out the reason behind Sharpei¡¯s change.


    Going deep into the city caused the few newcomers to feel very uneasy, as it was already ¡®thrilling¡¯ enough to meet the few ghosts at the perimeter. Now, they had to face the hundreds of thousands of vengeful spirits at the city center?


    However, no matter what, Bai Yi was still the team leader. At times like this, as long as the team leader didn¡¯t make any ridiculous decisions, the team members wouldn¡¯t defy them. In addition, though they were afraid, another part of them was very curious. Ghosts and vengeful spirits, just how mysterious was this ghost city?


    However, mystery came from the unknown. They traveled with Bai Yi¡¯s team, heard their explanations, and on top of that, Momo could see ghosts very clearly. With all these factors combined, they realized that ghosts weren¡¯t all that.


    However, at this time Bai Yi wasn¡¯t in the mood to care about their feelings, as he was carefully observing the changes in Sharpei. After entering the center of Wellington, a layer of dark mist seemed to envelop Sharpei¡¯s body. If their guesses weren¡¯t wrong, then this dark mist was the atmosphere created by Wellington¡¯s special environment. If they really had to use a phrase to explain this mist, then they could only call it ¡®underworld aura¡¯!


    When they entered the city center, the 4 newcomers were also shocked by enormous number of corpses stacked into a hill in front of them. At this time, Sharpei walked over and with a few leaps, he came to the roots of the Soul Release Tree at the center. He opened his mouth wide, biting and devouring the corpses at the roots of the giant tree.


    The newcomers got a shock again and even jumped in fright.


    Just when the few of them wanted to do something, Bai Yi stretched out his hand to stop them from moving. After all, they had just recently joined the team and they didn¡¯t have that much trust in their team members. For example, Woolf and Heloise didn¡¯t seem shaken at all, as both of them believed that Sharpei would never hurt them no matter what he turned into.


    For 3 whole days, Sharpei¡¯s stomach was like a bottomless pit. Sharpei continuously devoured the corpses at the city center. At this time Sharpei¡¯s blood soaked body seemed even more sinister. As he stood on top of the corpse hill, he looked just like a real brutal beast that walked out from the underworld. After frenziedly devouring corpses for 3 days, Sharpei finally seemed to be full and crawled below the Soul Release Tree and fell into a deep sleep.


    ¡°This is¡­deep-level sleep!¡±


    Bai Yi checked on Sharpei¡¯s state and said in shock. Sharpei¡¯s state of deep-level sleep now was even better than the deep-level sleep his hypnosis induced. This probably reached the rumoured ¡®Womb Sleep¡¯ state. Looking at the dark mist slowly flowing around Sharpei¡¯s body, even the dumbest person would know that Sharpei was in the middle of a transformation.


    ***

 Chapter 143

    Chapter 143: 10,000 Ton Cargo Ship


    Mavis got along quite well with the ghosts in Wellington, so very quickly, she learned where they could find a ship. Wellington was a port city in the first place, so there were actually a lot of ships there. Since their goal was to cross the Cook Straits, a normal small-sized vessel wasn¡¯t suitable for this mission. New Zealand was a Devil Island now, only heaven knew what kind of monsters would appear from the seas. In the end, after enquiring a group of ghosts, they finally got to know of a piece of good news.


    ¡°Let me introduce a person to everyone. This is captain, Captain Marshall,¡± said Mavis to everyone, as she pointed at a blurry ghost. Although they had all turned into ghosts, their previous habits still affected them, and they referred to each other as ¡®people¡¯.


    ¡°How are you? I am Bai Yi.¡± Bai Yi nodded his head slightly.


    ¡°I am the captain of a cargo ship, Marshall,¡± the ghost said passively. As for their interaction afterward, Marshall did not continue talking like this. It cost a lot of soul power for ghosts to speak in the real world. Although they didn¡¯t understand what this soul power was, most of the ghosts wouldn¡¯t bear to waste it.


    ¡°Then, Captain Marshall¡­¡± Bai Yi¡¯s team slowly communicated with the Captain, as they tried to understand everything in detail.


    A cargo ship was anchored at the Lyall Bay on the southernmost side of Wellington. Overall, it was 180.5 meters long, 24 meters wide, 14.7 meters tall, and weighed 25,000 tonnes. It was an absolutely humongous ship. This Marshall was the captain of this cargo ship. After stopping his ship at the port, he had arrived at Wellington city before meeting with the tragedy that happened at this place by chance, and died here.


    This cargo ship named ¡®Big Tummy¡¯ completely fulfilled the requirements of Bai Yi¡¯s team. Even if they encountered some monsters in the sea, it wouldn¡¯t be able to sink the ship unless it was those kinds of monsters in fantasies. Moreover, they didn¡¯t have to worry about the ship being unusable. The activated cells only affected living things. Although the cargo ship was somewhat dirty from long periods of unuse, it could still be operated. However, their current worry was if they could operate such a giant ship.


    ¡°If it¡¯s just steering the ship, it¡¯s actually very simple. A captain can¡¯t possibly stay at the bridge the entire day. The most important things for a captain is still to consider the slipstream, ocean current, ascertaining the ocean environment, and making correct judgments based on those things,¡± Marshall explained to Bai Yi after he learned of their worries.


    After Marshall¡¯s explanation, Bai Yi¡¯s team could finally breath a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Since it isn¡¯t hard to operate the ship, is the ship still here?¡± Bai Yi¡¯s suspicion wasn¡¯t baseless. Wellington was close to the seaport. From what Bai Yi knew, many people had tried to escape from New Zealand in various ways when the activated cells erupted. Many ships at the seaport in Wellington had already been taken away and steered toward Australia. As for what happened to those people, it wasn¡¯t something they were concerned about.


    ¡°It couldn¡¯t be steered away, Big Tummy was undergoing maintenance back then and 3 of its turbine engines were taken down temporarily. It would be strange if it could be steered away!¡± Marshall laughed loudly. Without using soul power to speak, his voice just sounded like a mess of random vibrations.


    After Marshal explained, Bai Yi¡¯s team finally knew that to operate the Big Tummy. They still had to equip the 3 turbine engines back onto the cargo ship. As for how would they do that, it was of course up to Marshall to teach them the procedure. Moreover, there were still the original workers at the shipyard among the ghosts, and they could assist them as well. However, it was just verbal assistance, and all the manual labour still had to be done by the living.


    ¡°Captain Marshall, why are you so willing to help us like this?¡± Bai Yi asked afterward.


    ¡°Do I still need a reason for that? I already heard about everything from Mavis, you guys are working hard for the future of all surviving humans. Even if I¡¯m already dead, this kind of small help isn¡¯t an issue to me,¡± Marshall said magnanimously.


    ¡°Thank you!¡± Bai Yi said seriously.


    Since they already had the cargo ship, what they had to do now was to fix the ship according to Marshall¡¯s instructions. Although Marshall said that the ship wasn¡¯t damaged, and they were just doing regular maintenance on it, Bai Yi¡¯s team had never touched a ship before. So, they were still very confused. It was already inconvenient for ghosts and humans to interact in the first place. In addition to the lack of electricity in the shipyard, Bai Yi¡¯s team had to do everything manually. After struggling for more than 3 weeks, they finally fixed back the first turbine engine.


    During this period of time, they really suffered badly trying to fix the engine.


    After they fixed first turbine engine, the remaining two were easier to do. It was a lot faster to fix those two since they already had the experience from the first one. Even so, they still took two full weeks to do so. By then, one and a half month had passed since Bai Yi¡¯s team had left the snow valley, and they weren¡¯t sure about the progress of the other teams.


    With Marshall¡¯s guidance, the cargo ship was finally switched on again, and all the humans and ghosts cheered happily together at this accomplishment. At this time, Bai Yi was just like a worker in a car garage, his entire body covered in oil stains. His usual ¡®leader¡¯ appearance was thrown away beyond the nine heavens. Even Woolf and Raymond weren¡¯t as dirty and messy as Bai Yi now.


    ¡°Finally, let¡¯s go! We¡¯ve finally repaired this big guy, so let¡¯s go back to Wellington and throw a party,¡± Bai Yi said understandingly.


    ¡°That¡¯s an awesome idea!¡± Woolf and Raymond of course agreed with him.


    After talking, the two of them dragged the corpses of a few sea monsters down from the ship and threw it on top of a run-down cargo truck. Over this period of time, Bai Yi¡¯s team had encountered many aquatic monsters, and there was even a bird-type monster that made its nest on top of the ship. When these monsters tried to target them, they of course unabashedly killed these monsters and turned them into their food.


    The run-down cargo truck started and gave a grinding rumble, driving off into the city. This was one of the gains that Bai Yi¡¯s team had acquired over this period of time. They finally found a vehicle that could still move. However, they didn¡¯t drive the truck for too long a distance. They had to be very careful of other lifeforms entering the city, especially that bunch of Giant Devil Mosquitos. Rumbling noises were extremely dangerous to have around them.


    Cautiously dragging the preys that they had hunted toward the city center, they finally relaxed when they reached their destination. This place was the territory of the vengeful spirits, so the Giant Devil Mosquitos wouldn¡¯t come to this place. Then, Bai Yi discovered with some surprise that there was an additional person among the members that stayed back to guard the place.


    ¡°Hello, I am Nancy, a Medicinal Maker.¡±


    ¡°Hello, I am Bai Yi.¡±


    ¡°Hehe I knew that long ago. I¡¯ve long heard of Bai Yi team leader¡¯s great fame.¡± Nancy nodded. She heard about Bai Yi from various channels. In particular, she heard a lot from Yu Han¡¯s mouth in the period of time before. Now that she saw Bai Yi lathered in oil, looking sloppy and casual, the image of Bai Yi in Nancy¡¯s head changed slightly again.


    ¡°Is it? I¡¯m not sure what you heard about me?¡± Bai Yi smiled and asked.


    ¡°Oh? What does Bai Yi team leader think I heard?¡± Nancy replied with a question intentionally. Just like Vala said, Bai Yi was a very amiable and approachable team leader. He didn¡¯t put on much airs around him and was very easy-going. The two of them chatted randomly like they were already familiar with each other, as the rest of them dragged the preys into their villa.


    ¡°You are really lucky Nancy, we happened to catch a few preys while fixing the ship. Now that the ship is fully fixed, we intend to throw a party to celebrate, want to come with us?¡± Bai Yi invited.


    ¡°Sure! Thanks!¡± Nancy didn¡¯t reject him.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t ask anything about Nancy¡¯s background. Instead, he just treated her like a friend that he had met by chance. After bringing the preys into the villa¡¯s kitchen, Bai Yi started to display his culinary skills and prepared a delicious feast for them. During this period of time, Momo, Vala, and the few others who stayed back in the city had some decent harvests as well. This villa that was still very well-furnished was one of them.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t have the chance to use such modern kitchen appliances for a long time. After taking in a deep breath, he started to prepare delicious food for the party with a smile on his face.


    The rest of them smelled the delicious aroma of the food wafting out from the kitchen, and their saliva almost flowed out of their mouths. After the change in New Zealand, it was very rare for them to able to eat a good meal. As for Nancy, she became even more curious about Bai Yi. Somebody with such great fame was actually a chef?


    This party went on from the evening all the way deep into the night. Not just all those who were living, but many ghosts came to this place as well. There were so many ghosts in this place, causing this place to become very eerie with shadows of ghosts flickering about the place, but nobody felt afraid here. On the contrary, everyone was chatting happily with these ghosts.


    A few of the ghosts were originally chefs and gave pointers to Bai Yi¡¯s culinary skills, telling him what to do at which step to make his food even more delectable. To speak of it, although Bai Yi was a chef, he couldn¡¯t be considered a top-tier chef. He was just somebody who could cook more delicious food. After getting the guidance from these old ghost chefs, Bai Yi immediately tried to learn from them humbly. However, it wasn¡¯t really possible for him to learn much at this time, and it just helped them to get along better.


    As for the rest of them, they all found their own topics to talk about and chatted happily with each other. The distance between humans and ghosts seemed to completely disappear in those moments.


    At midnight, Bai Yi and a few others immediately turned their heads to look toward the outside. Very quickly, all those who had more acute senses felt that something was coming. That something was very powerful.


    ¡®Da, da, da¡¯. Soft but heavy footsteps slowly headed toward this villa and a terrifying and sinister monster appeared before their eyes. The monster was more than 5 meters long, 2 meters tall, and its giant mouth seemed to split open from the sides. It seemed like another mouth opened wide and grew from the side of its head, revealing all of its sharp fangs on the outside.


    All of them were stunned, as they looked at this monster. Nancy, who was closest to the monster, was practically rooted to the spot from fear.


    ¡°Sharpei!¡± Momo shouted with joy and ran toward the monster, hugging it tightly with love.


    ¡°Welcome back Sharpei!¡± Bai Yi also came in front of the monster and patted Sharpei¡¯s head lightly, while Momo hung her entire body around Sharpei¡¯s neck. Facing such a terrifying monster, their intimate actions made everyone blank out from shock.

 Chapter 144

    C hapter 144: Set Sail


    The mouth that opened again from its side was obviously another head. However, it hadn¡¯t grown out completely yet. Even if it was an evolution, it wasn¡¯t possible to grow a new head in more than a month. However, Sharpei now looked like he was full of energy. He had apparently broken through the limitations of his own body and evolved again. Different from Bai Yi¡¯s eyes, Sharpei¡¯s evolution seemed to be mostly his physical body. However, the exact trigger of Sharpei¡¯s evolution was still unclear to them.


    Sharpei barked in a low tone and let Momo play around with his head.


    ¡°This is?¡± Nancy asked in shock.


    ¡°Oh right, I forgot to introduce you. This is also a member of my team, Sharpei. He was in the middle of a transformation before.¡± Bai Yi pointed at Sharpei and introduced him. After that, Bai Yi asked again, ¡°Miss Nancy, would you be interested to join my team? I am inviting you to join my team with full sincerity.¡±


    ¡°Haha, you finally want to invite me?¡± Nancy laughed.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s not too late now.¡± Bai Yi smiled gently.


    ¡°Sure then. Since you are asking so sincerely, I¡¯ll join your team. However, before joining your team, I have something to tell you,¡± Nancy said.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°That old enemy of yours, Yu Han. I saved him,¡± Nancy said softly.


    Woolf immediately sprang up and Heloise looked at Nancy sharply. Even Bai Yi was quite taken aback, but he still stopped any impulsive actions that the two of them might take. ¡°Can you tell me the details?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Nancy nodded.


    Nancy talked about her discovery of the battle between the Giant Devil Mosquitos and the vengeful spirits. Then, she had found Yu Han, Ning Xue, and Adam by chance after looking around for a few days. Bai Yi¡¯s team didn¡¯t know how to feel about this. How the hell was that guy¡¯s luck always so good to keep on surviving? However, when Bai Yi learned that Ning Xue didn¡¯t die, he didn¡¯t know why, but he felt happy inside. If it was possible, Bai Yi still didn¡¯t wish for his friend in the past to die in his own hands.


    ¡°It¡¯s like that? What a crossing of fate, I understand now.¡± Bai Yi¡¯s expressions was unexpectedly calm.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about unhappy things for now. The party hasn¡¯t ended yet. Sharpei just came back, and we got a new team member as well. Shouldn¡¯t we be celebrating all these happily now?¡± Bai Yi smiled and said to everyone.


    ¡°YEAH~!¡±


    ¡°Hehe!¡± Momo was the happiest among all of them, and she started cheering happily beside Sharpei. After its initial hesitation, Chinchilla climbed on top of Sharpei¡¯s head again and cried out happily as well. Chinchilla really had no fear of death, it always liked to climb on top of Sharpei¡¯s head. Didn¡¯t it know that they had a huge difference in size between them?


    After that, they partied for another round and played all the way until the dawn of the next day. Sunlight actually shone in Wellington for once, and the warm morning sun illuminated the villa brightly through the gaps in the clouds.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you suspicious of her identity?¡± Vala asked.


    ¡°You mean a spy? I don¡¯t think she is.¡± Bai Yi shook his head. ¡°Go and wake everybody up, we¡¯re setting off. Good weather like today is hard to come by,¡± Bai Yi said to Vala. When the sun came out, all the ghosts, including Mavis, retreated to the shadows. This sunlight seemed to be greatly damaging to them. Although it was a pity that they couldn¡¯t send Bai Yi¡¯s team off, this good weather was really hard to come by.


    Hearing Bai Yi¡¯s words, Vala also nodded. She was just reminding Bai Yi. It was his problem what he did with her words.


    ¡­¡­


    The group of them set out for Lyall Bay. Nothing much happened along the way and all of them reached the port safely. When she saw the giant cargo ship, Momo was overjoyed and immediately ran toward the ship, as she cheered excitedly. The rest of them had a faint smile on their faces, as they followed Momo and walked toward the ship.


    A total length of 180.5 meters and a weight of 25,000 tons. This was indeed a giant cargo ship.


    When everyone boarded the ship, Bai Yi proficiently started the ship and the giant mass of metal slowly started to move, heading toward the southern half of New Zealand. Momo ran about excitedly in the bridge, shouting that she wanted to pilot the ship as well. It was just like a little kid to have so much curiosity toward everything. Bai Yi carried a loving smile on his face, as he saw Momo running about, with her little minion Chinchilla following her around. After a while, Momo felt that the bridge was boring and whined about wanting to go outside.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the navigation route, you bring Momo out to play,¡± Heloise said.


    ¡°Ok then.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    Coming to the deck of the ship, Bai Yi realized that everyone else was standing at the side of the ship, looking at the sea view. The sea bathed in the gentle light of the morning sun; it appeared to be serene and beautiful. However, Bai Yi immediately creased his eyebrows. They are too careless. Bai Yi clapped his hands and immediately got the attention of everyone.


    ¡°Everyone, be more aware of your surroundings. We aren¡¯t on a cruise now, nobody knows what we would meet in New Zealand. Standing by the sides of the ship like this is very dangerous.¡± Bai Yi reminded.


    Bai Yi¡¯s words woke them all up ,and they realized that they were really too relaxed here. Woolf waved to Bai Yi and wanted to say something, but at this moment a loud crash came from the surface of the ocean. A sea serpent more than a meter in diameter instantly shot out from the ocean and bit toward Woolf.


    Instinctively, Woolf instantly raised his greatsword and hacked it down behind him. With a ¡®puchi!¡¯, the immense strength instantly ripped open the skin of the sea serpent and made a deep cut into its flesh.


    The unexpected change made all their faces tense up instantly. Bai Yi and Sharpei dashed toward the sea serpent at a moment¡¯s notice. The monster had came onto the deck and it became even more vicious due to its injuries. As for Vala and a few others, they hurriedly ran toward the cabin inside the ship.


    Sharpei was the fastest, just when the serpent was about to tackle Woolf to the floo, Sharpei opened his jaws wide and viciously bit the neck of the sea serpent. Then, two wide open mouths that were like two horns locked themselves around the sea serpent, and did not budge at all. However, the sea serpent¡¯s body immediately started to wriggle and flail about, as it tried to swing Sharpei into the sea. Sharpei¡¯s four claws instantly powerfully dug into the deck of the ship. Sounds of metal scratching and grinding instantly came from the steel-plated deck, Sharpei¡¯s claws broke open the deck boards and left long tears on the it.


    Bai Yi was only moments behind Sharpei, as he rushed toward the sea serpent. He swung his sword toward the sea serpent at the same time as Woolf, who had just stabilized himself behind the monster.


    Bai Yi unsheathed Red Kiss, which left a faint mark across the air. With a soft ¡®puchi!¡¯, this sea serpent which was more than 1 meter in diameter immediately split into two halves from the center. Woolf¡¯s side was a lot more violent, and he completely used brute force to rip the sea serpent apart. The immense force behind the greatsword tore a great wound on the sea serpent¡¯s body.


    So sharp!


    Bai Yi exclaimed in his heart. This was still the first time he used Red Kiss to fight against an enemy. But the moment he used the sword, Bai Yi could sense that the sword was several times sharper than the old fang sword. Sure enough, Melvin wasn¡¯t as talentless as he described himself to be. He actually had immense talent.


    Sharpei also tore at the sea serpent viciously and bit off a huge chunk of the sea serpent¡¯s neck with his humongous jaw. The sea serpent that they broke into a few parts slowly writhed about, but from the looks of it, it wouldn¡¯t live for much longer.


    At this time, the rest of them still hadn¡¯t reacted as everything had started and ended too quickly. The few of them had easily finished the vicious and savage sea serpent. Moreover, they didn¡¯t even use their real strength. Especially Vala and Alodia, they were extremely delighted to find such powerful teammates, and it put their hearts at incomparable ease.


    ¡°See, we just left the port and we already encountered a monster like this, so everyone has to be really careful.¡± Bai Yi sheathed Red Kiss, and the crystal-like sword actually didn¡¯t even have a single blood stain on it.


    ¡°Got it!¡± Woolf immediately answered loudly.


    ¡°But this guy is really too weak, the only thing it has is a big body,¡± Woolf continued.


    ¡°Many aquatic creatures are larger in size. They are all animals that live in the sea, they would definitely be not as agile on the deck. You can try getting thrown into the sea to see who¡¯s stronger there,¡± Bai Yi said. Suddenly, he thought that none of them had ever experienced a battle in the water. Although it wasn¡¯t too likely for them to encounter a scenario like that, he still thought about finding an opportunity to train the rest of them in that area.


    ¡°Tidy up the deck and move this thing into the storeroom. Our first destination is Queen Charlotte Bay, the corpses of these sea monsters can still be a decent first gift,¡± Bai Yi said.


    Bai Yi took the lead to get busy after speaking. He dragged the carcass of this sea serpent into the storeroom. The rest of them came to help as well, this sea serpent wasn¡¯t small at all at, as it was more than 20 meters long. Bai Yi dragged a part of the sea serpent into the storeroom. However, what he didn¡¯t realize was that the blood of the sea serpent slowly flowed out through the drainage hole on the deck and trickled into sea from behind the cargo ship, dyeing a faint streak of red behind them.


    After this experience, nobody wanted to stay on the deck anymore. It was really too dangerous.


    If this sea serpent didn¡¯t pick Woolf as its target this time but somebody else, then it was very likely that somebody among the team would have died. This wasn¡¯t a joke at all, the other people in the team probably didn¡¯t have the ability to deal with such a sea monster like this under an ambush.


    ¡°Momo, you aren¡¯t scared?¡± Alodia looked at the overly-excited Momo and asked.


    ¡°En, why should I be scared?¡± responded Momo. She looked at Alodia, her eyes containing some slight confusion.


    Alodia looked at Momo¡¯s pure eyes and knew that she really didn¡¯t feel even a trace of fear. Thinking about Momo¡¯s outstanding combat ability that she displayed normally and that kind of calm battle state, she felt completely inferior to Momo. In addition, the Momo now was only 6 years old.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, why should we be afraid.¡± Alodia caressed the long sword she had just obtained and made a firm resolution in her heart. She must change as well. She can¡¯t always rely on Teacher Vala and the others to protect her. Instead, she must become strong as well.


    ¡­¡­


    The faint scent of blood permeated through the ocean. Within an ocean trench, a gigantic black figure slowly opened its eyes.

 Chapter 145

No content

 Chapter 146

    Chapter 146: Not To Be Eaten


    Although the research into activated cells involved all the countries in the world, there were still both competition and cooperation between various countries and powers. No matter which power, they all closely monitored every single movement in New Zealand. There were dozens of geostationary satellites that operated continuously in the air above New Zealand. If it was a battle in the forest, the satellites may still be unable to capture the scenes properly, but if it was a battle on the sea¡­


    The various powers that discovered the battle immediately got busy, as they transmitted the images from the satellites to the large-scale computers and started to calculate various figures. Not just the figures of Bai Yi¡¯s team, but also the sea serpent-like creature.


    ¡°That fellow is really fierce, this is the first time we discovered this creature too?¡± In an observation room in China, a young man wearing military uniform said jokingly, as he looked at the details of the sea serpent on the screen.


    ¡°Yes, Lieutenant Colonel!¡±


    ¡°Luckily, this guy didn¡¯t appear in the waters of the surrounding countries. Otherwise, it would really be a headache. But this guy looks quite cool huh, much better than that shark in the eastern sea,¡± the Lieutenant Colonel said sloppily.


    ¡°This¡­!¡± The soldier did not know how to reply.


    The shark that the Lieutenant Colonel talked about was a gigantic terrifying shark named the ¡®Giant Exploding Lightning Shark¡¯, and it was incomparably ferocious. It was not only gigantic in size, but it could also glide right over the surface of the ocean for a short time. Moreover, It could release an astounding amount of voltage and had already destroyed dozens of ships. Shipping and sea travel in China¡¯s eastern sea had basically come to a halt because of that shark. Of course, there wasn¡¯t only the Giant Exploding Lightning Shark in the sea, just that the sea was extremely vast. It wasn¡¯t too easy to meet other evolved lifeforms.


    Other than that, in the deep seas, shallow seas, coastal areas of other countries, many different types of super-sized terrifying aquatic evolved lifeforms appeared as well. It was just that these lifeforms normally wouldn¡¯t leave the sea, so they still hadn¡¯t felt too much pressure from those existences.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine it¡¯s fine, I¡¯m just saying. This time, that Bai Yi is most probably finished. It¡¯s really too bad, New Zealand had always been mostly made up of white people, so it¡¯s hard to come by that a fellow Chinese was doing quite well there. Once he dies, we¡¯re going to lose some confidence in front of the other countries,¡± the Lieutenant Colonel said casually.


    Was it that you would lose confidence, or that you would lose your bragging rights?


    Of course, that soldier would never dare to speak those thoughts in his head, he only felt indignant for the bunch of evolved humans in New Zealand in his heart. All of them struggled so desperately in the Devil Island, only to be used as a tool for gambling by a small number of people. However, a small soldier like him could only think these things in his heart. For the sake of his future, he wouldn¡¯t try and be one of those ¡®special¡¯ people.


    ¡°Oh right, this guy doesn¡¯t have a name yet. I thought of a stylish name, let¡¯s call it Sea Serpent Emperor. No matter what those westerners want to call this guy, we¡¯ll call it Sea Serpent Emperor in Chinese, what a domineering name,¡± continued the Lieutenant Colonel at his own pace as he talked to himself, chuckling in glee after.


    ¡­¡­


    Bai Yi¡¯s team would never be able to guess that others treated them as some gamble pieces. At this time, all they thought about in their heads was to kill this guy and survive.


    The 10,000 ton tier cargo ship was extremely heavy. Although it started to tilt due to the Sea Serpent Emperor¡¯s sudden attack, the ship very quickly regained its balance and stability. At the very least, Bai Yi¡¯s team didn¡¯t have to worry about the Sea Serpent Emperor capsizing the ship. Of course, they still had to hurry. The longer they let the giant serpent wreck havoc on the ship, the more dangerous things would become. If the cargo ship became too damaged to move, they could only wait for their deaths floating around in the middle of the sea.


    Bai Yi, Woolf, Raymond, and Sharpei immediately rushed toward the Sea Serpent Emperor on the tilted deck. Ferocious killing intent flashed in their eyes, while Heloise flew in the air and waited for a suitable opportunity.


    Multiple ¡®dang!¡¯s rang out. Bai Yi¡¯s Red Kiss, Woolf¡¯s greatsword, Raymond¡¯s sharp claws, and Sharpei¡¯s fangs struck the body of the Sea Serpent Emperor at the same time, but their attacks all bounced off instantly from the unimaginably hard and smooth scales. At this time, the Sea Serpent Emperor had already started moving again, and it bit toward Woolf.


    If it had to hunt prey, it would choose something bigger. After all, a prey like Bai Yi would probably not have much meat in him.


    Immediately, Sharpei reacted and pounced at it from the side, his four limbs forcefully pushed against the deck boards. His claws instantly ripped apart the metal alloy deck boards, and it was easy to imagine just how much strength Sharpei possessed right now. In the instant the Sea Serpent Emperor was about to bite onto Woolf, Sharpei rushed in from the side and heavily rammed into the neck of the Sea Serpent Emperor. Although their sizes were immensely different, the powerful strength behind Sharpei¡¯s charge still forced the head of the Sea Serpent Emperor aside, saving Woolf from the jaws of the sea monster.


    However, although Sharpei had managed to ram the head of the Sea Serpent Emperor aside slightly, it caused his agile body to pause in mid-air. In that instant, the tentacles of the Sea Serpent Emperor shot out and wrapped themselves around Sharpei; the tentacles trapped him inside and dragged him toward the serpent¡¯s giant mouth. Sharpei immediately dug his claws into the deck boards and used his jaws in an attempt to tear away at the tentacles.


    At the same time, Bai Yi dashed out as well, as his Reverse Flower Eyes captured every single movement of the tentacles. He dashed through the gaps in between the tentacles in an instant. Red Kiss drew a faint red line across the air, and Bai Yi¡¯s mind was incomparably focused at this instant. With a ¡®pu!¡¯, Bai Yi viciously sliced apart one of the tentacles.


    Sharpei took advantage of this opportunity and forcefully pulled himself away from the restraint of another tentacle. Then, he abruptly shot backward. However, Bai Yi was the one in trouble now as had just finished exerting the force of his swing, so he didn¡¯t have time to move and dodge the next tentacle that headed for him. The tentacle smacked him hard and sent him flying toward the mouth of the Sea Serpent Emperor.


    Bai Yi¡¯s pupils abruptly shrunk in that instant, those who had never experienced this situation would never be able to understand what it felt like to face that giant and terrifying maw directly in front of you.


    The difference in strength was overwhelming huge, a few of them already had close shaves with just the first clash and Bai Yi¡¯s life was even hanging by a thread now. Seeing the horrifying giant mouth in front of him, Bai Yi¡¯s thoughts spun to the limit. It was only a split-second, but it seemed like a long time had passed. Bai Yi¡¯s body flew forward at a high speed, as he wasn¡¯t able to change his direction in mid-air. Apparently, he wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge this. The Reverse Flower Eyes were also ineffective, then¡­!


    Bai Yi¡¯s body flew into the giant mouth of the Sea Serpent Emperor in an instant and the giant mouth full of sharp teeth closed viciously.


    ¡°BAI YI!¡± Everyone shouted in horror and shock.


    ¡°DADDY!¡± Momo and the rest were at the edge of the storeroom, and she immediately shouted loudly when she saw this scene.


    However, at this time, Bai Yi¡¯s heart was incomparably calm, like a pool of still water. When flying in the air, he had already adjusted the angle of his body and flew inside the mouth horizontally. At this time, Bai Yi held Red Kiss vertically upward from his waist and placed it by his side.


    ¡®Kacha!¡¯, the sound of teeth colliding with each other rang out, but the Sea Serpent Emperor opened its mouth again with an even faster speed than when it closed its mouth. It shook its head vigorously at the same time.


    How does it feel like biting a needle in your mouth when you¡¯re trying to eat?


    Red Kiss was 1.2 meters long, it was completely insignificant to the Sea Serpent Emperor. It was just like using a needle to deal with a human being. If a human accidentally bit onto a needle, he would definitely feel a sudden pain and instinctively open his mouth.


    Bai Yi tried his best to keep his body horizontally within the length of Red Kiss, but the closing teeth still brutally cut across his body. Fortunately, the Sea Serpent Emperor opened its mouth again in an instant. Otherwise, Bai Yi would have turned into meat paste there and then. ¡®Cha!¡¯, in the middle of the giant serpent¡¯s mouth, Bai Yi violently pulled Red Kiss out from its mouth and landed in the oral cavity of the giant serpent and rolled to a stop.


    The tongue of the Sea Serpent Emperor instantly shot out toward Bai Yi, but at this moment Bai Yi grabbed onto Red Kiss tightly.


    Maybe, being too big wasn¡¯t such a good thing!


    In Chinese mythology, Sun Wu Kong turned into a small bug many times and wrecked havoc in the stomachs of other demons. Perhaps, Bai Yi could learn from this once. Of course, Bai Yi¡¯s situation was much more dangerous than Sun Wu Kong¡¯s. If he had just the slightest bit of hesitation or carelessness just now, he would have already become food for this Sea Serpent Emperor. If that happened, he could only wait to be digested and turned into serpent shit.


    ¡®Dang!¡¯, although he still hadn¡¯t stabilized himself, Bai Yi still swung his Red Kiss across and instantly split the giant forked tongue into two halves.


    The Sea Serpent Emperor was already pouncing toward Woolf, who was still in great shock and pain over Bai Yi¡¯s apparent death. But at this moment, the serpent suddenly stopped and started to writhe and roll about violently.


    Woolf and the few others did not continue to attack the Sea Serpent Emperor at this time either. It was already very good that they could remain standing now. The Sea Serpent Emperor had even grazed Sharpei and sent him flying out into the sea. Heloise immediately flew after Sharpei and grabbed hold of him, and they slowly moved back onto the cargo ship.


    Very quickly, the Sea Serpent Emperor removed itself from the ship and struggled vigorously on the surface of the sea, appearing to be in great pain. It¡¯s pitiful cries and the fresh blood gushing out of its mouth shocked and astonished everyone.


    At this time, Bai Yi was rapidly hacking away inside the oral cavity of the Sea Serpent Emperor. Its tongue, mucous membrane, muscles¡­, anything that Bai Yi could reach was the target of his frenzied hacking. While the Sea Serpent Emperor struggled vigorously, blood and flesh gushed out of its mouth continuously. Finally, it closed its mouth tightly and squeezed all of its muscles together. This action trapped and restrained Bai Yi inside its mouth.


    However, even if it restrained Bai Yi inside its mouth, the Sea Serpent Emperor still felt like there was a needle poking the inside of its mouth, making it feel a sharp pain that was hard to bear. In addition, the needle seemed to be trying to move up, as it attempted to pierce into its brain.


    The Sea Serpent Emperor finally gave up on trying to eat Bai Yi. Its stomach rumbled vigorously. Before Bai Yi could react, a huge force pushed Bai Yi out of the serpent¡¯s mouth and he skipped across the surface of the sea, creating multiple splashes along with a few other objects.


    Bai Yi flew more than a hundred meters into the sea. When his speed gradually slowed, he suddenly grabbed onto a broken piece of the cargo ship that floated near him. Bai Yi didn¡¯t know what part this was, but it was just floating on the surface. After he grabbed onto this thing, Bai Yi coughed out a mouthful of blood and slowly stood on the object on top of the tumultuous surface of the sea.


    Opposite Bai Yi, the Sea Serpent Emperor at this time seemed incredibly pitiful. Its head that was erected vertically on the surface of the sea was still as sinister as before, but blood continuously flowed out from its mouth.


    The 6 eyes from big to small of the Sea Serpent Emperor glared at Bai Yi viciously. At this time, Bai Yi didn¡¯t want to show any weakness and stared back at it. His eyes slowly spun, Reverse Flower Eyes!


    ¡°ROARRRR~~!¡± The Sea Serpent Emperor roared toward Bai Yi savagely, but its voice was strange and hoarse, apparently due to the severe injuries inside its mouth. After it roared, the Sea Serpent Emperor glared at Bai Yi again. Finally, after a sweep of its tail, it dived deep into the sea again and disappeared quickly.

 Chapter 147

    Chapter 147: Cocooning


    Heloise flew over to support Bai Yi only after the Sea Serpent Emperor disappeared and the sea regained its calm. However, Bai Yi stopped Heloise from helping himself, he gently swung Red Kiss and sheathed it with a soft ¡®ding!¡¯.


    ¡°Bring me to the deck!¡± It seemed like Bai Yi really didn¡¯t receive many injuries from the battle.


    ¡°En.¡± Heloise put her heart at ease as well.


    Bai Yi returned to the storeroom and exited the sight of the sea. The moment he entered the storeroom, the rest of them saw his legs suddenly go soft and he fell flat on the floor. At this time deep in the sea, the Sea Serpent Emperor quietly observed the cargo ship floating on the sea and the piece of floating scrap that Bai Yi had left behind. In the end, it swept its tail and swam deep toward the bottom of the sea.


    The rest of them initially thought that Bai Yi only seemed to look miserable, but all of them started to panic when they saw him fall inside the storeroom. Nancy was the Medicinal Maker and immediately came to give Bai Yi a check-up. Although Medicinal Maker and Doctor weren¡¯t the same jobs, there were still some similarities between these two classes.


    Nancy cut open Bai Yi¡¯s clothes, and everyone immediately sucked in a breath of cold air.


    Multiple deep teeth puncture wounds were visible on Bai Yi¡¯s body, and the teeth brutally lacerated a few giant wounds from his chest all the way to his legs. Everyone could see Bai Yi¡¯s breastbone and ribs were long broken as they stabbed into his internal organs. Although the Sea Serpent Emperor did not close its mouth completely due to the pain from Red Kiss, it was easy to imagine the level of danger and riskiness of the situation. Up until now, nobody other than Bai Yi knew exactly how he escaped from the mouth of the Sea Serpent Emperor. Luckily, Bai Yi¡¯s head didn¡¯t seem to receive any wounds from the Serpent¡¯s teeth.


    Nancy immediately looked for the blood-clotting potion that she concocted and wanted to apply it on Bai Yi. But at this moment, Bai Yi¡¯s eyes abruptly shot open.


    Nancy immediately jumped in fright. He could actually still wake up when he was already in such a terrible state!


    ¡°Pilot the boat and leave this place!¡± said Bai Yi in a low voice even though he did not see clearly just who was beside him.


    ¡°I know, we will handle this, you rest and recuperate your wounds first.¡± Nancy knew that normal people would have died long ago from wounds like this. Bai Yi fainting just now was his body¡¯s automatic self-protection mechanism to prevent him from suffering too much pain. However, Bai Yi was apparently worried about everyone else and woke up in such a short while.


    Bai Yi heard Nancy¡¯s words and didn¡¯t try to continue forcing himself, closing his eyes again.


    Although the battle even didn¡¯t even last for 1 minute, the danger and close shaves in that time couldn¡¯t be fully described by words. If not for the Goddess of Luck standing on Bai Yi¡¯s side, they would have become food for the giant serpent if it chose to attack in any other way.


    After hearing Bai Yi¡¯s words, Heloise immediately ran toward the bridge and tried to start the cargo ship again. Luckily, although the Sea Serpent Emperor had constricted the ship, it was still a gigantic heavy metal structure. As such, only the outside of the ship was deformed. There was also a huge hole at the head of the ship from the Sea Serpent Emperor¡¯s bite as well, but other than that, the ship was still operational. However, very quickly, everyone realized that something was wrong. The sea was rising higher and higher up the sides of the ship.


    ¡°There¡¯s a leak!¡± anxiously said Raymond, as he ran up from the bottom of the ship.


    ¡°Let Bai Yi rest, we¡¯ll think of something.¡± At this time, Vala stood up. Within this team, there were probably only Bai Yi, Vala, and Heloise that were better at leading. Heloise was still piloting the cargo ship now. Although Vala was new, she took the initiative to lead at this critical time.


    Under Vala¡¯s instructions, everyone immediately started to deal with the crisis, looking for ways to plug the leaks. After Heloise knew that the cargo ship was leaking, she didn¡¯t continue on the original path to head to Queen Charlotte Bay either. Instead, she headed toward the closest shore. After half a day of panicking and trying to resolve the crisis, they finally realized that their actions were all futile. However, this cargo ship still didn¡¯t sink, it just moved very slowly. It was almost like the ship would stop moving completely in the next instant.


    Everyone held in their feelings of unease and anxiousness, as they stood in the cargo ship. When land was finally in sight, all of them went crazy with joy.


    Heloise didn¡¯t bother looking for a port and directly steered the cargo ship into the beach. The gigantic ship charged onto the beach heavily and got stuck in the sand.


    Everyone¡¯s hearts could finally relax when they touched land. The cargo ship seemed to be on the verge of sinking, so it really gave them great fear and anxiousness. The sea was really too dangerous, and they were all afraid of meeting some sea monster again. If that happened, then they would probably be buried in some fish¡¯s stomach. Everyone immediately carried the unconscious Bai Yi down and looked for a suitable place on this group of islands.


    ¡°This should be somewhere down from Queen Charlotte Bay, it¡¯s a patch of islands randomly distributed about. Small marine trenches separate each island, but they aren¡¯t considered too far from each other,¡± Vala said after analyzing the map.


    ¡°Let¡¯s find a safe place first, Bai Yi¡¯s injuries need immediate attention, and he needs peaceful recuperation,¡± Heloise said. None of them had any objections and made a simple stretcher, putting Bai Yi on it and walking inside the island.


    ¡­¡­


    At this time, various other countries continuously replayed the battle between Bai Yi¡¯s team and the Sea Serpent Emperor. The battle lasted only for a minute, but it was already incredibly thrilling and dangerous. The satellites high up in the air couldn¡¯t perfectly capture scenes like that. However, this wasn¡¯t the main point, the most important thing was that none of them had imagined that everyone from Bai Yi¡¯s team would survive, and it was actually the Sea Serpent Emperor that ran away.


    Bai Yi¡¯s outer appearance was very similar to that of a normal human, he only had some colored fur on him. However, his combat ability and rationality was incomparable to the other Brutal Stage lifeforms. In addition to the information collected on Bai Yi previously, practically every country treated Bai Yi as a target to observe carefully.


    They couldn¡¯t be certain now, but perhaps the research into activated cells might achieve a breakthrough from Bai Yi.


    New Zealand was really too dangerous now and even airplanes found it difficult to fly into this space. If not for that, some of the countries might have already sent people in to control Bai Yi in their own hands. Although New Zealand was the publicly recognized natural ecosphere for activated cells research, it wasn¡¯t possible for the rest of the world to let it develop completely autonomously.


    However, even though rationally everyone knew that sending a normal human to New Zealand was just a death mission, some people still couldn¡¯t bear it, especially those who were naturally crazier.


    ¡­¡­


    At this time, Bai Yi¡¯s team had found a cave and chased away a bunch of animals that lived inside. Vala took the initiative to light up a big fire inside and let it burn for a few hours. After that, all the random things and smells inside the cave were finally exterminated and cleared. This place would become their residence for this period of time. Luckily, after such a long time, all of them had grown used to life like this.


    After they found a quiet place to stay, everyone looked at Bai Yi worriedly. Then, they turned to looked at Nancy after that.


    ¡°His bones are already set in place, and he has stopped bleeding as well. But Bai Yi¡¯s vital signs are still extremely weak. His pulse is less than 10 times a minute and there are still signs of it continuing to fall. However, although his vital signs are very weak, somehow it¡¯s very stable. As for what exactly is going on now, I¡¯m just somebody that decided to become a Medicinal Maker halfway and not a doctor, so I¡¯m not too sure either,¡± Nancy explained.


    Everyone could only give a blank look when they heard her words. None of them were doctors either, so it would be strange if they knew what was going on.


    ¡°Anyway, I will try my best,¡± Nancy consoled.


    ¡°We¡¯re depending on you,¡± everyone said seriously.


    ¡°No need for words like that, aren¡¯t we a team? And Bai Yi is also our team leader.¡± Nancy waved her hands. After Nancy looked over Bai Yi¡¯s injuries, she concocted a few self-developed potions and wanted to feed them to Bai Yi. However, after a few tries, Nancy got stuck at a problem. Bai Yi wasn¡¯t able to swallow any of these potions now on his own accord.


    ¡°What do we do?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we feed it to him?¡±


    ¡°It is possible. Actually, this isn¡¯t something difficult. Many hospitals have tools to help feed their patients, but the thing is, we are in Devil Island now. We definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to find things like that now,¡± Nancy explained.


    ¡°Just tell us directly what we have to do.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s actually really simple. We just have to feed him mouth to mouth.¡± Nancy shrugged.


    So, it was that simple. This was actually the simplest method to feed somebody. Everybody looked at each other, and anyone who got looked at immediately stepped backward subconsciously. Were they joking? Although it was the simplest method of feeding, who dared to do something like that to Bai Yi? It was just like asking for death when Bai Yi woke up. In the end, everyone looked at Momo unanimously.


    ¡°Eh?¡± Momo looked at everyone in puzzlement.


    ¡°Momo, we¡¯ll leave this to you! Help feed your daddy this medicine. Hold some in your mouth first then pass it into your daddy¡¯s mouth,¡± Nancy slowly explained.


    ¡°Ya sure!¡± Momo nodded.


    Everyone saw Momo¡¯s pure eyes and couldn¡¯t help but turn their heads away. Sure enough, little kids were the purest, the bunch of them were just too evil in comparison. After that, Momo followed Nancy¡¯s instructions and fed the potion to Bai Yi mouth-to-mouth. While concocting the potion, Nancy thought about it for a while and added an extra ingredient at the end.


    Fostsoul Soul Nourishing Dew ¨C A potion Nancy developed using the Dead Soul Flowers that only appeared in the ghost city Wellington. It could bring out the effects of the Dead Soul Flower to a very large extent. (TN: Fostsoul was in English in the raws, so I assume that¡¯s the name the author gave the potion in English.).


    Although Bai Yi¡¯s injuries were only physical, Nancy had the feeling that she should add this component. As for why, Nancy didn¡¯t know herself. Perhaps this was just her talent, or the so-called intuition.


    After feeding the potion to Bai Yi for two weeks, his vital signs were actually getting weaker and weaker. If not for Bai Yi¡¯s face looking extremely calm, everyone would have thought that Bai Yi was going to die soon. After two weeks, Nancy, who looked after Bai Yi all this while, realized that there were some slight changes to Bai Yi.


    On Bai Yi¡¯s body, the colored soft fur had slowly grown longer, and a small portion of them connected together and formed a web.


    This is?


    Bai Yi¡¯s changes confused everyone, and they slowly observed Bai Yi like that for a whole week. A dense series of colored webs formed from his soft fur practically enveloped his entire body. By now, they didn¡¯t let Momo feed Bai Yi the potion anymore. Anyone would be able to guess what was happening to Bai Yi right now.


    Butterfly ¨C Cocooning!

 Chapter 148

    Chapter 148: Just Like Before


    Half a year, in this half a year the evolved humans on New Zealand gradually changed. Although many people still lost their lives, many people still went berserk and lost their sanity forever, those who remained alive and sane were full of confidence and hope.


    Without relying on those people outside, they could save themselves with their own power!


    Within this half a year, those teams that traveled around New Zealand and spread the word to unite all evolved humans all achieved great fame. As for Bai Yi, who had incomparably great fame before, seemed to have disappeared completely in this half a year. Although Bai Yi had disappeared, many other outstanding people rose up within this half a year to lead the remaining evolved humans in their efforts. The world was huge, and it would never stop moving just because one person was missing.


    However, although Bai Yi disappeared, nobody had forgotten him. This was because of the power that Bai Yi had revealed in the snow valley ¨C Reverse Flower Eyes!


    The name of that pair of eyes, along with the evolved human teams, traveled and spread throughout the whole of New Zealand. An unknown number of evolved humans who had their companions fall in the berserk state looked for Bai Yi in secret, hoping that he could help their companions regain consciousness. The Brutal Phase became more and more severe, and the number of people who went permanently berserk increased unendingly. The longer Bai Yi disappeared for, the greater the hope and expectations these people held for Bai Yi.


    ¡­¡­


    At this time, just where was Bai Yi?


    After the initial stage, his team discovered that the fur on Bai Yi¡¯s body grew at a crazy pace and enveloped both himself and the objects around him. The rest of them that stayed in the cave with Bai Yi for a single night was almost similarly wrapped up in the fur threads.


    ¡°Sssii!¡±


    Woolf tore off a thin fur thread around his body, it was sticky yet tough. After that, he looked at the others. They rested with Bai Yi together in the same cave, but they would always discover some of Bai Yi¡¯s fur threads on them when they woke up in the morning. Although they could clear it very quickly, it still felt abnormally uncomfortable on their bodies. It was just like a mild piercing pain on their bodies, along with a sense of tiredness.


    Teacher, this isn¡¯t right! You never said that when a caterpillar cocooned itself, it would envelop others in it as well!


    All of them couldn¡¯t help but harbor complaints about how they didn¡¯t study biology seriously back then. In the end, all of them seriously had no solution for this and just decided to bring Bai Yi¡¯s giant cocoon to the middle of the forest outside. After just three days, they realized that the threads had spread from the giant cocoon and had already grown over the other plants. The cocoon had wrapped itself over those large trees. Without them noticing, the giant cocoon actually hung itself the air from the threads that formed a huge web.


    None of them understood what was happening to Bai Yi, so they could only stay in the cave and continue to wait.


    Up until one day, Woolf woke up in the morning to discover that a prey that he had tied up at the side of the forest went missing. Woolf looked around and realized that Bai Yi¡¯s thin threads had wrapped up the prey and killed it.


    ¡°You actually stole the food tsk.¡± Woolf looked at the giant cocoon formed from white threads and grumbled.


    Naturally, Woolf was joking, as he wasn¡¯t petty to that extent. However, Vala, who was recording Bai Yi¡¯s changes, suddenly raised her head. Then, she looked at the prey that was wrapped up in the threads. In just a single night, Bai Yi¡¯s threads hadn¡¯t managed to wrap up the prey completely. Through those slight gaps, she could see that the Bai Yi¡¯s threads looked as though they grew out from within the prey¡¯s body.


    No, that¡¯s not right!


    It wasn¡¯t that the threads grew out from inside the body of the prey, but the threads grew into its body.


    Vala immediately had a realization, and she carefully observed the forest surrounding Bai Yi¡¯s cocoon. She didn¡¯t realize it before, but now that she looked out for it, the vegetation growing within the area of Bai Yi¡¯s threads all didn¡¯t seem to be growing too well. It was just like they were all malnourished. With her previous discovery combined with this realization, a thought immediately flashed across Vala¡¯s mind¡­If indeed!


    Very quickly, Vala gathered everyone and told them about her discovery.


    ¡°Today Woolf said that Bai Yi stole the food that he hunted.¡± Vala didn¡¯t beat around the bush.


    ¡°I¡¯m just joking, joking!¡± Woolf immediately waved his hand nervously. It couldn¡¯t be that she wanted to pursue even this?


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not a joke. You are right, Bai Yi did indeed steal your food.¡± On the contrary, Vala shook her head and said seriously, ¡°Everyone look at that prey, Bai Yi¡¯s threads wrapped up it up last night. In just a day, it looks like it has dried up, and it became a size skinner.¡± Vala brought everyone to the prey that Woolf had caught.


    ¡°And now, observe the vegetation that Bai Yi¡¯s threads cover and compare it to the surrounding forest. Do you guys notice anything?¡± Vala asked everyone.


    ¡°Notice?¡± Everyone immediately followed Vala¡¯s hint and started to look carefully.


    ¡°Did you guys see it? The vegetation around Bai Yi are all relatively shorter, and they all look slightly yellowish as well. To plants that have assimilated with activated cells, this is something absolutely impossible. In addition, you guys mentioned it before as well, that you would feel your body itching and uncomfortable after Bai Yi¡¯s threads wrapped you. From all these points, I can make a conclusion.¡± Vala raised a finger.


    ¡°Absorption!¡± Heloise opened her eyes wide.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Bai Yi is absorbing the nutrients from these plants through these tiny threads that are even thinner than hair. Moreover, he isn¡¯t just absorbing nutrients from plants but also animals, and it would be even faster for animals. It¡¯s just that these threads do not have the ability to actively hunt prey, so we never realized this point until Woolf tied the prey up at this area,¡± Vala explained.


    So that was what¡¯s happening, but then, so what?


    Most of the people in the team stared at Vala. For the past one and a half months, Vala¡¯s meticulous and thorough planning in all areas obtained much of their admiration. Although Vala¡¯s combat ability was pretty much the bottom, she had become the director in the team. Vala looked at the eyes of everyone looking at her, and she didn¡¯t purposely leave them hanging either.


    ¡°We need to catch prey and tie them up here. I think Bai Yi would absorb however much he needs,¡± Vala said.


    ¡°Got it.¡± Everyone nodded their heads seriously.


    After that, various evolved lifeforms in the surrounding area were all down on their luck. Woolf and the rest moved out and captured all the animals they could see, no matter big or small. They tied all these evolved lifeforms besides Bai Yi¡¯s giant cocoon. These lifeforms were all unable to escape. Slowly the white threads wrapped all of them up and turned them into another giant cocoon.


    With sufficient nutrients now, Bai Yi¡¯s threads spread even further. If somebody looked down from the sky, they would find that a mysterious stretch of the forest 100 meters in diameter. Within this patch of forest, countless white threads covered all the vegetation densely. Within this mass of white threads, numerous giant cocoons either laid on the ground or hung in the air. Occasionally, there would be a few giant cocoons that broke. But what fell out from within were just some broken skeletons.


    In the heart of this mysterious stretch of forest, there was a giant cocoon more than 3 meters tall. It didn¡¯t seem to be too special at first glance but, upon closer observation, one would realize that all the thin threads seemed to originate from this giant cocoon.


    ¡°What do you think Bai Yi will turn into? Will he grow a pair of wings and turn into a butterfly?¡± Woolf suddenly asked. He seemed to be quite bored.


    ¡°Who knows, we¡¯ll see when Bai Yi comes out. It probably wouldn¡¯t take much longer now,¡± Heloise replied.


    ¡°En, it shouldn¡¯t take much longer. Bai Yi¡¯s rate of absorption has recently decreased significantly, even if we tied those evolved lifeforms at the side of the web, he didn¡¯t continue to absorb them either. He has probably absorbed a sufficient amount of nutrients, and he would come out soon after,¡± Vala added.


    ¡°Oh is it?¡± Those who didn¡¯t understand at first nodded their heads and stared at the stretch of vegetation in front of them.


    Momo stood beside Sharpei, as she silently stared at the stretch of forest in front of her with eyes full of protection and anticipation. At 7 years old, Momo was already 1.2 meters tall. With Vala¡¯s guidance over this half a year, she also gradually shed the restlessness and tenderness of a little kid and gained a serene and noble air around her. Vala was a specialized etiquette teacher for noble families, so it was very much expected for her to bring Momo up like this.


    Humans would always grow faster in special environments. In this half a year of Bai Yi¡¯s absence, although there was still the care and concern from others, Momo still felt the difference without her daddy around. Without somebody to whine to, Momo really grew up a lot.


    Momo stretched out her finger and two Spirit Devouring Butterflies flew out toward the giant cocoon at the center. They gently landed on it and flapped their wings.


    Daddy!


    Almost as if he had heard Momo¡¯s call, Bai Yi in the heart of the cocoon felt like a drop of water had fallen onto a completely calm and still lake, ¡®drip!¡¯. Bai Yi consciousness, that had initially fallen into hibernation, immediately started to slowly wake up with the slight sound of the water dropping. Inside the giant cocoon, Bai Yi gradually opened his eyes, and the Reverse Flower Eyes activated by itself. Everyone outside of the forest immediately felt a sensation and looked toward the center of the forest in shock.


    Just now, that was?


    Bai Yi stretched out his finger, and his nail suddenly grew a centimeter in length. Although it wasn¡¯t long, it still looked incredibly sharp. ¡®Puchi!¡¯, his nails pierced the tough cocoon and Bai Yi forcefully tore open a gap in it. Initially, Momo had just wanted to let the Spirit Devouring Butterflies check on her daddy. But at this moment, Momo suddenly looked in that direction in shock and started to run. She jumped on top of a tree branch and jumped off from it again.


    At this time, the calm and cultured air around Momo completely disappeared.


    Bai Yi had just broken open the cocoon and climbed out from within. At this moment, he saw a small figure that rushed toward him. Although it had been half a year since he saw her, Bai Yi still recognized Momo with a look.


    ¡°Momo, you grew fatter again,¡± smilingly said Bai Yi, as he hugged Momo. She had rushed into his arms tightly, just like before.


    ¡°I¡¯m not fat at all now!¡± Momo looked up at Bai Yi.


    ¡°Is it? That¡¯s right, you grew taller!¡± Bai Yi looked at Momo¡¯s little delicate face. Suddenly, he realized with a start the Momo really wasn¡¯t fatter, but she had grown taller.


    ***


    TN: 4/7 of the chapters i owe! Yes i¡¯m clearing my debt steadily

 Chapter 149

    Chapter 149: Change


    After Bai Yi hugged Momo, he took a look at the situation around him. In reality, Bai Yi wasn¡¯t too clear about the changes in his body either. He only had a vague feeling. He had seemingly cocooned like a caterpillar, but he didn¡¯t know what happened during the process. When he saw this massive web-like structure formed from white threads around him, Bai Yi was quite taken aback.


    ¡°Bai Yi, Bai Yi you are awake?¡±


    Woolf and the rest also walked toward the center of the webs, but the webs were too sticky and tough, which made it extremely difficult to move through. Only Momo, who also fused with butterfly genes, seemed to be relatively unaffected by these webs. Bai Yi saw Woolf and the rest and immediately smiled, as he walked out toward them.


    Just when Bai Yi started moving, a pair of wings behind his back automatically opened up, but his wings only opened up halfway before it drooped down. It seemed to be unable to support itself. At this time, Bai Yi suddenly realized that he had actually grown a pair of wings. However, it wasn¡¯t too accurate to say that those were wings, as it seemed more like two soft pennants behind his back. Overall, it was very strange.


    Bai Yi prepared to step outside, but at this time, Heloise flew down from the sky and immediately turned her head away. ¡°Bai Yi, your clothes, clothes!¡±


    Bai Yi only realized after these words that he was completely naked right now. If not for the bit of soft fur covering him, he would really be completely exposing himself. However, Bai Yi still became extremely embarrassed and awkward, especially with Momo¡¯s height now. She just happened to be hugging him around his abdomen area. He gently moved aside Momo, and the two wings that looked like it was made out of thin silk threads instantly covered his body. This was a completely subconscious action, but Bai Yi instinctively felt that he could control his wings to do this.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Bai Yi, how do you feel?¡± Inside a cave in the middle of the mountain, everyone sat around Bai Yi and looked at him curiously. Making such a huge commotion and spending half a year in a cocoon, just what changes had Bai Yi experienced?


    ¡°This¡­There are definitely changes, but as for what is it exactly, I¡¯m not too sure either. I need to experiment and test it out for myself,¡± Bai Yi said.


    On the surface, Bai Yi apparently grew a pair of wings. After all, a caterpillar would turn into a butterfly after cocooning. But in reality, it didn¡¯t seem like that was the case. Everyone looked at the pair of wings behind Bai Yi and knew with a glance that he definitely couldn¡¯t fly with that. Although the wings grew from Bai Yi¡¯s shoulder blades, there wasn¡¯t any supporting skeletal structure for those wings. The wings were completely like pennants knitted together from thin threads. They only held the shape of a pair of wings, but it was incredibly soft. It wasn¡¯t possible to fly with those wings.


    ¡°Anyway, you guys tell me about the situation now first,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°En, things are like this.¡± Vala nodded. The changes in the body couldn¡¯t be figured out so quickly, and Bai Yi probably had to spend a significant amount of time to understand his new body. ¡°Actually, after that giant yellow sea serpent wounded you, you fell into a deep sleep and started to form a cocoon out of threads¡­¡±


    Vala detailed Bai Yi¡¯S changes, and even Bai Yi became lost in her words. He never imagined that his own body would have such a huge change. When he heard that half a year had passed, Bai Yi could only laugh bitterly at himself. He was still talking about uniting the other evolved humans to fight for the future together, but in the end, he failed in the mission before even starting on it. However, the other teams should be doing quite well.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take a week to familiarize myself with my new body. After a week, we¡¯ll leave this place. No matter what, we have to go and take a look at the current state of New Zealand now,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°En.¡±


    Everyone else nodded, this place was located at the edge of the coast and was just a scattering of small islands. Information had been cut off from them for more than half a year. They would have left this place long ago if not for Bai Yi. In the following days, Bai Yi diligently familiarized himself with his new body and finally discovered the changes.


    But this was really!


    Slowly, Bai Yi moved his wings. The initially soft threads seemingly grew a set of skeletons, and it gradually spread out. After more than 10 minutes, Bai Yi¡¯s wings only became slightly bigger. However, he was still unable to make his wings flap. After relaxing his mind, the countless thin threads on his wings seemed to withdraw inside and disappeared into Bai Yi¡¯s body. Bai Yi looked at his hands for a while and heavily punched the rock in front of him.


    What kind of feeling was this? It was almost as if there was a layer of web cushioning the force for him. The recoil of the blow continuously disappeared part by part. In the end, the effect on Bai Yi¡¯s body was almost insignificant.


    ¡°Woolf, come and help me do a test,¡± Bai Yi said to Woolf, who was sitting by the side.


    ¡°Sure, what test?¡± Woolf immediately said happily.


    ¡°Hit me hard in the chest,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Woolf thought that he had heard wrong.


    ¡°I said, punch me hard, but start with a smaller amount of force,¡± Bai Yi repeated.


    ¡°Hey Bai Yi, are you sick?¡± Woolf wanted to touch Bai Yi¡¯s forehead.


    ¡°I¡¯m being serious, you¡¯ll know it when you try.¡± Bai Yi slapped aside Woolf¡¯s big hand.


    ¡°Then I¡¯m going punch you for real ok? Don¡¯t blame me later.¡± Woolf rubbed his knuckles, this kind of opportunity to bash Bai Yi righteously didn¡¯t come by often. After Bai Yi nodded again, Woolf swung heavily his fist into Bai Yi¡¯s chest. His fist was the same size as Bai Yi¡¯s waist. Even if Woolf only used 10% of his strength, Bai Yi still got sent flying immediately, his physical strength now was absolutely monstrous.


    Seeing that Bai Yi really took the punch without defending at all, Woolf immediately panicked and immediately ran over to help Bai Yi up.


    However, Bai Yi actually got up by himself before Woolf could help him. Then, he felt the state of his body. After that, he revealed a delighted smile. ¡°Continue, punch me twice as hard.¡±


    ¡°Again?¡± Woolf said in astonishment, but from the looks of it, Bai Yi really didn¡¯t seem to be injured. So, he followed Bai Yi¡¯s instructions again and sent another fist flying at him.


    This time, Bai Yi flew even further, and he even broke a tree that was as wide as a bowl in his path of flight. After that, he landed heavily on the ground. Everyone else who heard the commotion immediately ran out from their resting place and worriedly stood in between the two of them. They thought that Bai Yi and Woolf were having some conflict.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, I asked Woolf to hit me to test if my guess was correct,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Just what is going on?¡± Heloise asked.


    ¡°Actually, I just realized that there¡¯s a kind of thin thread inside my body, and it¡¯s extremely durable. It seems to extend throughout my entire body in a certain pattern. The purpose of this thread seems to be to protect my body. I tested it just now, the cushioning ability of this internal web structure in my body is extremely good, Woolf¡¯s blow to me just now was pretty much ineffective,¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°It¡¯s like that?¡± Everyone looked at Bai Yi with surprise.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s my body now.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°The reason why I formed a cocoon was due to the injury from that yellow sea serpent. The injuries were too severe. Seemingly because of this reason, my body naturally restructured itself and formed countless threads inside my body for the sake of resisting impacts. However, this seems to come at a price as well. If I didn¡¯t guess wrong, the components of these webs should have come from my wings, that¡¯s why my wings are so strange now. It doesn¡¯t even have a skeleton to support it, and I can¡¯t fly at all,¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°There are losses with every gain!¡± Vala said.


    ¡°Probably, but I think perhaps I can gain the ability to fly. However, I need to pull these threads out from within my body and reform my wings again,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°You can do that?¡± Everyone was astonished.


    ¡°But I¡¯m completely unfamiliar with doing that now. After using more than 10 minutes just now, I only managed to raise my wings by a little bit.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°Daddy, I want to look at your wings.¡± Momo¡¯s eyes had already turned into stars long ago. They were wings! Her daddy could fly in the sky now. Momo was always very envious when Aunt Heloise took her to fly in the sky.


    ¡°Ok.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    Bai Yi took off his shirt for the rest of them to see more clearly. Sure enough, everyone saw Bai Yi¡¯s pennant-like wings slowly swaying about. His wings slowly spread itself, becoming wider and heavier bit by bit. Everyone stared at this transformation fixated, but after a while, Woolf yawned and felt that it was boring.


    It was indeed very boring, it had already been 3 hours since Bai Yi started but his pair of wings still hadn¡¯t opened.


    In truth, Bai Yi was very speechless now too. Why did it require so much effort to use these wings of his? Those countless thin threads left his body at a painfully slow pace, and he had to endure that numb and itchy feeling as those threads left. However, Bai Yi did not want to give up just like that. He had a feeling that if he was unable to fully open his wings this time, then he would have to wait a long, long time before he would be able to do it again.


    Using 5 full days, Bai Yi didn¡¯t rest nor sleep a wink at all. Nobody knew why was Bai Yi so determined to spread his wings fully, but after 5 long days, Bai Yi finally let out a long breath and the wings behind his back slowly opened.


    At this time, the sun had almost set. However, everyone was still staring at the pair of wings behind Bai Yi. They had become completely speechless.


    It was too beautiful, most of the wings were made up of transparent thin threads, and they seemed crystal-like under the sunlight. But if they took a closer look, the wings seemed to carry a faint light within it, adding a deep illusionary hue to the transparent wings. Momo immediately couldn¡¯t bear it anymore and went to touch her daddy¡¯s wings. His wings were warm yet smooth, lithe yet beautiful, it was absolutely like a work of art.


    ¡°Bai Yi, can you fly?¡± Heloise asked.


    ¡°I probably can,¡± Bai Yi said and flapped his wings to fly. However, in the end, he didn¡¯t even fly up to 2 meters before his body tilted and he almost fell to the ground. Everyone immediately burst out laughing, he was definitely not used to it since it was his first time dealing with wings. Heloise spent a long time to practice flying back then as well.


    ¡°It¡¯s really very beautiful, but Bai Yi you still didn¡¯t need to spend 5 full days without a single moment of rest to extend it, right?¡± Heloise said.


    ¡°Why? I don¡¯t know either, it¡¯s just a feeling that I have. If I¡¯m unable to fully extend this pair of wings this time, I would have to wait for a very distant future to do so again,¡± Bai Yi slowly said.


    Bai Yi did not know, but his feeling was extremely accurate!


    If he did not manage to spread his wings this time and etched the feeling of these two different forms inside his mind, he would have to wait for the future ¡®LV4¡¯ to spread his wings again. Only at LV4 and gaining the ability to slightly manipulate his physical form would he be able to control those countless thin threads again.

 Chapter 150

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 Chapter 151

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 Chapter 152

    Chapter 152: The Real Objective


    Old man Ji Hua Qing was the important person in their team. To put it bluntly, the other special forces members were just here to protect him. What the old man did wasn¡¯t up to them to decide or influence. Moreover, the bunch of them were all downtrodden and disheartened now, so they didn¡¯t have the motivation or mood to do anything either. Ji Hua Qing slowly told them the reason why they appeared in this place.


    ¡°You should know this, but a portion of the people in the outside world treats New Zealand as a natural ecosphere for researching activated cells.¡± Ji Hua Qing opened with these words.


    ¡°En.¡± Bai Yi nodded and sheathed Red Kiss.


    ¡°Then, I don¡¯t have to explain from the very beginning. You guys should know, the so-called research is just manually inducing certain conditions or forcing changes to the evolved lifeforms, so as to test the characteristics of the activated cells. However, it was useless to just observe these processes from the outside to get any research done on the activated cells. Active contact with the experimental subjects was still necessary, so the outside world had always maintained its connections with New Zealand.¡± Ji Hua Qing slowly talked about the entire process. Not just Bai Yi¡¯s team was listening carefully, but the other 5 special forces members were as well.


    ¡°It¡¯s obvious that actively keeping in contact with New Zealand was something incredibly dangerous. Of course, those people in high positions would never come here and risk their lives. They just have to wait and reap the fruits of the research. Those people that came to risk their lives were people who came due to their loyalty to their country, or for the sake of their devotion to their countries¡­A bunch of idiots!¡± Ji Hua Qing said with a face full of ridicule.


    The few special forces members immediately grabbed their guns after they heard his words, their faces full of rage.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell about this, get to the main point.¡± In contrast, Bai Yi was very calm. All these things like loyalty and devotion weren¡¯t very valuable in modern society. As for whether it was worth it or not, everyone held different values in their hearts, so he wouldn¡¯t go and judge or comment on anything.


    ¡°Right right, the main point.¡± Ji Hua Qing nodded. ¡°The activated cells were the fruit of Doctor Wang¡¯s research, and because he¡¯s a Chinese, China has a slight advantage in the understanding of activated cells over other countries. You guys can understand this, even if all the countries in the world came together to support this research, there are still many competitive and cooperative relations between various countries and powers.¡±


    ¡°En.¡±


    ¡°Due to the slight lead in China in activated cells research, China has a huge say in the field of activated cells. Of course, along with this influence, there were also the so-called money and power involved in this, along with pulling other countries to ally with them. Unfortunately, an old enemy of mine secretly colluded with the United States. Perhaps with the promise of helping him rise up to the position of chief researcher, I got tricked into coming to this place.¡± Ji Hua Qing was more vague when talking about this part.


    Apparently, he was not in the mood to talk about all these politics and power struggles.


    ¡°Actually, I thought that I was attending a conference on activated cells before I got on the plane. Although I don¡¯t really like these pompous conferences, I can¡¯t be absent either with my status. I really didn¡¯t expect all this, and I only discovered something was wrong after I boarded the plane. After that, the plane flew all the way to New Zealand.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t request for the plane to fly back after realizing that something was wrong?¡± Vala asked.


    ¡°The enemy planned everything so perfectly, I didn¡¯t even discover anything off when I boarded the plane. Do you think they would agree to fly the plane back so easily? Moreover, even though I knew it was dangerous, I thought that coming to New Zealand wasn¡¯t a bad choice either. Although there were many experimental lifeforms brought back from New Zealand through various means outside, how could it be compared to directly viewing them here!¡± Ji Hua Qing said excitedly.


    A fanatic researcher!


    When he knew that his enemy tricked him, he didn¡¯t think about how to leave this place but went along with the plot and prepared to start his research on New Zealand! However, the ¡®various means¡¯ to bring back experimental subjects from New Zealand, did that mean the outside world was still capturing evolved humans and lifeforms?


    ¡°What about you guys?¡± Bai Yi looked at the special forces soldiers.


    ¡°We only got an order from the higher-ups to protect an important researcher going to Devil Island to conduct important research.¡± The team leader didn¡¯t try to hide things at this point in time.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the plane?¡±


    ¡°It has already returned.¡±


    Bai Yi acted lazily as if he didn¡¯t really care much about what they said, but he was actually trying to judge how much of their words were the truth. From the looks of it, even though it seemed like they were telling the truth, Bai Yi felt that something was a little off. Rubbing the area in between his brows, Bai Yi looked at them again.


    ¡°Separate for individual questioning,¡± Bai Yi said unhurriedly.


    ¡°You want to interrogate us like criminals?¡± One of the special forces members immediately creased his eyebrows and looked at Bai Yi.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, you have something to say about it?¡± Bai Yi looked back at the guy. He wasn¡¯t using his Reverse Flower Eyes now, but that bottomless eyes, in addition to the brightly colored soft fur made the people in front of him instinctively feel a sense of wariness and pressure. Thinking about how the man in front of them caught a bullet with his bare hands, along with his strange-looking companions, the few special forces soldiers did not say anything anymore.


    A person under a roof has no choice but to lower his head! (TN: Idiom that means that for the sake of your own good, it was best to not go against your superiors.)


    ¡°Tell the truth!¡± After the few special forces soldiers were taken away, Bai Yi looked at Ji Hua Qing again. Unfortunately, Bai Yi¡¯s hypnosis wasn¡¯t the kind of hypnosis that could control other people, but could only make lifeforms fall into deep sleep. Otherwise, questioning things and getting information wouldn¡¯t be so troublesome.


    ¡°Everything that I said was the truth!¡± Ji Hua Qing looked at Bai Yi angrily, seemingly furious about the fact that Bai Yi did not believe his words.


    ¡°90% of it was true, I need that 10% of lies to turn into the truth as well.¡± Bai Yi¡¯s eyes transformed into the Reverse Flower Eyes in an instant, intimidation! In the blink of an eye, the stubborn old man in front of Bai Yi immediately fell into a daze. In his eyes, in his mind, Bai Yi¡¯s bewitching pair of eyes filled everything. It was as if the entire world had become Bai Yi¡¯s eyes, that kind of immense intimidation immediately caused Ji Hua Qing to lose his mind completely, and after that¡­his heart stopped.


    Nancy immediately discovered that something was wrong and rushed forward to do emergency treatment on the old man. After busying herself for a period of time, the old man finally started to breathe again, and his heartbeat restarted as well.


    Woolf and the few others looked at Bai Yi teasingly. Bai Yi¡¯s original intention was definitely not to kill this old guy, as that was completely meaningless. However, Bai Yi probably never expected that the ordinary people from outside had such weak tolerance. This was just purely intimidation, he didn¡¯t even use his hypnosis, and it already caused the old man¡¯s heart to stop.


    Bai Yi felt quite embarrassed himself, but he would never show that expression on the outside, at least not now. The Bai Yi now had an apathetic in his eyes like he was looking down on people below him.


    Old man Ji Hua Qing finally started to breathe again when he met with Bai Yi¡¯s eyes, and the old man immediately wanted to go back to being unconscious.


    ¡°You can stop pretending to be dead. If you like it that much, I can help you to die for real.¡± Bai Yi¡¯s voice was very calm, it was like a normal person telling his friend that he would bring him out to play. However, it was this calm and apathetic tone of voice that made the old man¡¯s heart quiver. The pressure he felt from this was greater than any loud and forceful coercion.


    ¡°I¡¯ll speak!¡± Ji Hua Qing raised both of his hands in the air.


    ¡­¡­


    So it was actually like this, the members of Bai Yi¡¯s team all looked at Bai Yi, as they waited for his decision. Bai Yi looked at Ji Hua Qing and judged that this was most probably his true objective. It was the reason why he was willing to stay in this place even though he knew his enemies tricked him. Bai Yi never imagined that it would actually be such a critical piece of information as well. Although he said that it wasn¡¯t confirmed yet, they still had to go and check it out.


    They didn¡¯t expect that other than Doctor Wang, there was still another monstrous fellow among the researchers in New Zealand. In comparison to Doctor Wang, this guy¡¯s research into activated cells could be said to be completely demented.


    ¡°Bai Yi, what do we do now?¡±


    ¡°Bring him along to the mini research facility first. Then, we head to Christchurch.¡± From the exchange just now, Bai Yi¡¯s team got to know that the evolved humans had plans to rebuild a city. The northern peninsula chose to rebuild Hamilton. Although Hamilton was the city that the experimental monster escaped from the earliest, the place was not much different from other locations after so such a long time. On the southern peninsula, the evolved humans chose to base themselves on the left of Christchurch, as they prepared to build a new Christchurch city.


    The reason why they didn¡¯t choose to rebuild on Christchurch itself was because that place was close to the sea. In the normal human world, being close to the sea was a good thing. The ports and shipping industry would prosper and cities close to the sea were usually flourished very well. However, in New Zealand now, being close to the sea meant facing many deep-sea monsters. Doing something like that was just the same as seeking death.


    ¡°Then, what about them?¡± Woolf looked at the few special forces soldiers.


    ¡°Up to them.¡± Bai Yi looked at the few of them and ignored them. The reason they brought Ji Hua Qing along was that he was a true researcher, so he would be very useful in the future. As for these few people, Bai Yi didn¡¯t really have much interest in protecting them. Moreover, these people may not even want to follow Bai Yi.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the blood source serum you extracted just now?¡± Bai Yi asked Ji Hua Qing before leaving.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Your words just now were completely right, they would definitely die if they stayed here like this. Their only chance of survival lies with assimilating with the activated cells,¡± Bai Yi said, and he placed the blood source serum that Ji Hua Qing had taken out on that shabby table.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave it here, whether you use it or not is up to yourselves. In reality, the activated cells have very strong infectious capability, so you didn¡¯t have to go to so much trouble actually. If you lose this, you just have to come into contact with fluids from other evolved lifeforms and you probably could get infected as well. So what are you guys going to choose? To become food for other lifeforms in New Zealand, or to turn into evolved humans as well and struggle to survive as you embrace this change?¡± Bai Yi looked at the few of them, while his words were like the whispers of the Devil.


    Ah!


    Bai Yi left a few syringes of the blood source serum there and slowly turned around to leave along with his team. Only the few special forces soldiers who were still normal humans looked at the few syringes on the table dumbly.

 Chapter 153

    Chapter 153: Alodia


    The activated cells had an immense impact on living things, but the purpose of the initial stages of the research was the so-called ¡®longevity¡¯. But in the process of the research, due to various different people having different discoveries and different ideas about things, the direction of the research had some changes to it. Most of them still continued their research toward the original objective, but similarly there were some who veered off from that original direction. However, sometimes the power these demented side paths created was completely unimaginable compared to the original route.


    In the Mount Pleasant region below Picton, there was a small research facility and an unimaginable thing was being researched inside this place.


    The connection between activated cells!


    This doesn¡¯t sound too special, but once one thought about how all the activated cells originated from the Progenitor, they would understand the importance of this topic. Seemingly, the mysterious connection between activated cells could result in a new creation under certain conditions.


    Unfortunately, even Ji Hua Qing wasn¡¯t too clear about the details of this research. The researcher that escaped from that research facility belonged to Brazil. This information was also something China¡¯s special agents acquired after much effort.


    ¡°I once worked with Gomez before, so I¡¯m still quite familiar with him. That guy was really quite crazy. Anybody in New Zealand had already been infected with the activated cells, so in order to not become a new experimental subject in someone¡¯s else hands, he had to produce something that had value and importance,¡± Ji Hua Qing explained.


    ¡°The connection between activated cells!¡±


    ¡°Maybe it doesn¡¯t sound very impressive, but based on my understanding of Gomez, that guy definitely produced something amazing. Unfortunately, New Zealand was too dangerous, and the higher ups didn¡¯t see the importance of this piece of information, so they weren¡¯t willing to send people to execute this dangerous mission. When my old enemy tricked me this time, I initially wanted to return as well. But suddenly, I recalled this piece of information. Since I was already at the edge of New Zealand, I might as well head to that research facility. However, New Zealand¡¯s dangers were still way beyond our expectations. In just a short while after landing, we encountered evolved lifeforms and suffered casualties,¡± Ji Hua Qing continued.


    ¡°After that you extracted the blood source serum, intending to make those soldiers assimilate with the activated cells.¡± Bai Yi¡¯s voice was very cold.


    ¡°Yes, only then could they have the ability to protect themselves.¡±


    ¡°Why not just say instead that they¡¯ll have the ability to protect you to head toward that research facility.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the difference? Didn¡¯t you say too that this was their only chance to survive in this place,¡± Ji Hua Qing¡¯s beard bounced, as he talked. ¡°Fine, I admit that I¡¯m quite selfish, but I really am curious about the thing Gomez left behind. The connection between activated cells, just what did the research into such a subject contain?¡± Ji Hua Qing saw the unfriendly faces of the others in Bai Yi¡¯s team and immediately softened his words.


    ¡°I¡¯m not interested in whatever happened between you guys, but you better not try to have to any special thoughts in my team.¡± Bai Yi only reminded him simply and looked away. However, it was this unhurried way of speaking that made Ji Hua Qing quiver in his heart. He was already an old man, and had met many different types of people before in his life. He could tell that Bai Yi wasn¡¯t joking with him, his outcome would definitely be very tragic if he did have any strange plans in his head.


    The Bai Yi now was no longer the gentle and mild Bai Yi at the beginning of New Zealand¡¯s change.


    ¡­¡­


    Bai Yi¡¯s team didn¡¯t want to waste any more time and immediately set out for the Mount Pleasant region. However, without walking for even a kilometer, everyone looked at Ji Hua Qing¡¯s face full of melancholy; he was way too slow. Due to Bai Yi emphasizing on independence in the team, everybody always walked by themselves. Even though they had Sharpei and Pupu in their team, other than when they were playing around or under special circumstances, even Momo wouldn¡¯t ride Sharpei. Instead, she would walk on her own legs. After moving for a while like this out of habit, they realized that this old man was really too slow.


    ¡°Sharpei, carry this old guy.¡± Bai Yi tried to pacify Sharpei first.


    ¡°What?¡± Ji Hua Qing panted heavily, walking 1 kilometer in New Zealand now wasn¡¯t like walking 1 kilometer on a flat road. Ji Hua Qing was already so tired to the point where he had difficulty breathing.


    ¡°You should be happy that you can sit on Sharpei, normal people would never have this chance.¡± Woolf added in from the side. Even this Dr. Ji Hua Qing who had long gotten used to looking at the evolved lifeforms inside the research facility got a fright from this. After hearing Woolf¡¯s words and looking at Sharpei standing over there, his face looked like he had just eaten shit. Could he not sit on him?


    However, Sharpei immediately walked over, bit Ji Hua Qing¡¯s collar and swung the old man onto his back. Ji Hua Qing¡¯s heart almost popped out of his chest, this was extremely close contact! The Sharpei now could star in any monster movie and frighten people to death.


    ¡°Move!¡± Bai Yi immediately said again after seeing that Ji Hua Qing had climbed onto Sharpei¡¯s back.


    The bunch of them started running again .At this moment, Ji Hua Qing realized just how big the difference in speed was. After a while, he realized that there was little cat in front of him. At this time, this little cat stared at him with curious eyes.


    A normal chinchilla cat!


    Ji Hua Qing immediately let out a breath of relief, there was finally something normal in this team! However, in the next moment, he suddenly woke up with a start. How could there be anything normal in New Zealand now? This little cat should be one of the members of Bai Yi¡¯s team, so how could it still retain its original form? In an instant, the fanatical researcher in Ji Hua Qing¡¯s head came out.


    ¡°Hi!¡± He called out to Chinchilla, intending to form a good relationship with it first.


    However, Chinchilla seemed to see something from Ji Hua Qing¡¯s eyes, and it immediately sent its paw scratching at him. Although its form didn¡¯t change much, it was still extremely restless and active in all the time it spent in Bai Yi¡¯s team. Its claws were already polished sharp from all its activity. With a ¡®puchi!¡¯, Ji Hua Qing immediately felt a pain on his face and a section of his beard got torn off. Shit! To think that I would get disfigured when I¡¯m already so old and from a cat too!


    Chinchilla looked at him arrogantly and did a catwalk toward Sharpei¡¯s head. Then, it slowly laid down on Sharpei¡¯s head just like a proud little princess. Who would tell Ji Hua Qing that in the half a year with Momo, Chinchilla was also learning these so-called noble etiquettes with her? It had even learned it so well that the etiquettes was a part of it now.


    In that moment, Dr. Ji Hua Qing felt a mysterious sorrow in his heart. The cat had definitely looked down on him!


    All of the members in Bai Yi¡¯s team were a bunch of freaks!


    ¡­¡­


    Their speed now was a lot faster. Ji Hua Qing and his group had initially landed at Picton, and it wasn¡¯t too far away from the Mount Pleasant region. In less than two hours, they had finally reached a small town in that place. Obviously, the research facility that the old man talked about was one of the 121 research facilities in New Zealand. However, how were they supposed to find that small research facility in an environment like this?


    ¡°Do you know the exact location?¡± Bai Yi looked at Ji Hua Qing.


    ¡°The research facility is under the guise of a factory, and it¡¯s close to the railroad for ease of transportation of resources. But I¡¯m not too sure about where exactly it is either,¡± Ji Hua Qing said.


    ¡°Then we have to search carefully, let¡¯s start,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to split into a few teams?¡± Ji Hua Qing asked in puzzlement after hearing Bai Yi¡¯s words.


    ¡°Split into a few teams?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, the Mount Pleasant region isn¡¯t too big, so we can definitely find the research facility very quickly if we split into a few teams,¡± Ji Hua Qing said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.


    ¡°Keep quiet if you don¡¯t know anything, it doesn¡¯t matter if we are slow, the important thing is safety. New Zealand now isn¡¯t like the outside world, nobody can say that they can handle any situation that may come at them. Hence, it¡¯s best for a team to stick together, so that we can help each other if we encounter any dangers. The chances of surviving would be a lot higher this way as well,¡± Bai Yi looked at Ji Hua Qing and explained.


    Was it like this?


    Ji Hua Qing immediately became speechless. Perhaps he was way ahead of Bai Yi¡¯s team when it came to activated cells research, but he had almost no understanding of New Zealand¡¯s environment now. Or maybe after hearing Bai Yi¡¯s words, there was a sense of guilt in his heart. After all, researchers like him caused all of this.


    With a clear target, they only had to look for an hour before finding the factory close to the railway. This research facility was built underground like before, so Woolf and a few others couldn¡¯t enter the place. Hence, there were only Bai Yi, Heloise, and Ji Hua Qing who entered.


    ¡°Team leader, wait!¡±


    ¡°En, what is it?¡± Bai Yi looked at Alodia.


    ¡°I want to go as well.¡± Alodia¡¯s voice was somewhat uneasy.


    ¡°Ok!¡± Bai Yi was taken aback for a moment, but he quickly smiled and nodded after. Bai Yi didn¡¯t know which noble family Alodia was born in, but her background was apparently not ordinary. In the period of time after New Zealand had changed, it could be said that many times it was due to Vala¡¯s protection that she could survive until now. However, this young girl finally seemed to be starting to grow and gained the courage to face everything in front of her. Although this kind of resolution was somewhat late, it was already a very good start.


    ¡°Are you worried about Alodia?¡± Raymond couldn¡¯t help but ask after the few of them entered from the entrance when he saw that Vala seemed to be thinking about something.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s sense of gratification!¡± Vala looked at Raymond and smiled.


    Alodia wasn¡¯t Vala¡¯s only student, but she was the student that Vala liked the most. She was a true young noble lady ¨C humble, elegant, serene, and not like those other young noble girls who were unruly and wilful. Unfortunately, faced with New Zealand¡¯s sudden change, Vala felt that Alodia would be eliminated sooner or later if she didn¡¯t change. The New Zealand now had no use for a serene personality like Alodia¡¯s.


    Luckily, this wasn¡¯t considered too late. Awakening at this time in Bai Yi¡¯s team still gave her plenty of chances to grow.

 Chapter 154

    Chapter 154: Yeye Appears


    The four of them entered the research facility through the passageway and slowly headed downward. This was indeed a small-scale research facility, so they only had to walk through two doors before they entered the inner area of this research facility. Bai Yi looked at the faint marks of damage on the two doors and shook his head with slight regret in his heart.


    People came here before!


    Although he didn¡¯t know who came here before them, he could tell very clearly from the marks on those doors that somebody had already been here. After knowing this, Bai Yi made some mental preparations about the harvests that he may reap from this trip. It would still be okay if the people that came here before didn¡¯t know anything, but if people who could make use of the research data came here, they would probably not be able to get anything on this trip.


    Although it was a small-scale research facility, it still had its own internal electricity generator. Very quickly, they switched on the lights inside. Ji Hua Qing immediately ran toward the main research lab, as he wanted to check the files on the computer to see if there was anything important. Alodia immediately followed by his side and watched this old man.


    ¡°I¡¯m quite skilled in computers,¡± Alodia looked at Heloise¡¯s questioning eyes and explained.


    ¡°Oh really, then that¡¯s great.¡± Heloise nodded.


    As for Bai Yi, he went around examining this research facility in detail. Honestly speaking, this research facility really couldn¡¯t be considered big, but they could tell that a group of people had stayed in this place for a period of time. However, they seemed to have given up on this place afterward. What Bai Yi placed the most importance on was a giant cultivation pool more than 20 meters in diameter at the center. There were still some traces of blood and flesh on top of it, but they were all long dried up long ago. It really made him very curious, just what was being cultivated and nurtured here?


    After a while, Bai Yi returned and saw Ji Hua Qing¡¯s dejected face.


    ¡°How is it, did you find anything?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s no use, the computer is still fine but the data inside has already been wiped clean. It would be very difficult to retrieve it again.¡± Ji Hua Qing¡¯s face was full of disappointment. It was really a pity, the people who left this place were very thorough and wiped all the hard disks inside the computers. However, this also proved that the data inside this research facility had to be quite important. Even if the group of people wasn¡¯t researchers, they still didn¡¯t want other people to acquire this information after they understood it.


    ¡°I can try to recover the data, but I only learned about all this as a hobby, so I might not succeed,¡± Alodia said.


    ¡°Then you can wait for a moment, I think I have a companion that can help you,¡± Bai Yi said. Then, he walked toward the outside.


    Companion?


    Who was more proficient in computers than her? Maybe Teacher Vala? That¡¯s not right, Teacher Vala didn¡¯t seem to be too skilled in computers either. Alodia thought for a while in her heart, but she really couldn¡¯t figure out who was good at computers in the team. Even Heloise stood there blankly, but after a while, her eyes finally lit up. The companion that Bai Yi mentioned, it was her!


    Sure enough, Bai Yi came down again after a while. He carried a sealed protective case. Vala and Nancy followed him back this time, but Raymond still didn¡¯t come down because his body couldn¡¯t fit in this place.


    ¡°I forgot to introduce you guys, but there¡¯s still one more person on this team. It¡¯s just that all along the circumstances weren¡¯t right, so you guys would probably not have much impression even if I introduced her. But now seems like a pretty good time,¡± Bai Yi said and opened the protective case, revealing a CPU inside.


    ¡°A computer?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, a computer. Don¡¯t get shocked later, ok?¡± Bai Yi said to Alodia and the rest. After that, the few of them worked together and connected the computer to the research facility¡¯s system.


    ¡°Bai Yi, just how long did you forget about me?! It has been so long, yet you haven¡¯t even let me out once!¡± After the system finished starting up, a girl suddenly popped up on the screen and shouted angrily at Bai Yi. Yeye¡¯s mouth went off like a machinegun grumbling at Bai Yi, and her words seemed unending.


    ¡°Sorry, sorry! There really weren¡¯t any suitable conditions to let you out before!¡± Bai Yi hurriedly raised both his hands and apologized quickly.


    ¡°Hmph, your apology is so insincere.¡±


    ¡°Then Yeye, what do you want me to do?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you help me to create a body? A body with the appearance of a human and with an independent internal energy system. I could stay outside permanently then!¡± Yeye¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up.


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible, I really don¡¯t have that ability.¡± Bai Yi could only laugh helplessly.


    ¡°Hmph, I knew you would say that. So, what do you want, letting me out this time?¡± Yeye grumbled for a while before changing her background to a wide-open balcony and making herself a cup of milk tea.


    ¡°Let me introduce a few friends to you first,¡± Bai Yi said, as he pointed to the people beside him. The surveillance cameras placed all around the research facility immediately turned around and focused on these few people. Vala, Nancy, and Alodia. When the camera turned to Heloise, she immediately waved and gave a smile.


    ¡°Who¡¯s this old guy?¡±


    ¡°You can consider him to be our captive, as he¡¯s somebody who came into New Zealand from the outside world. He¡¯s also a researcher. I think he should be quite useful, so I brought him along as well. His name is Ji Hua Qing,¡± Bia Yi looked at Ji Hua Qing and explained.


    ¡°Idiot! Ji Hua Qing is a titan in biology research in China, and he was even the teacher of Dr. Wang for a period of time. You guys actually took him captive!¡± Yeye said carelessly. However, these words immediately stunned Bai Yi¡¯s team for a moment, so this old man was actually somebody so awesome? But this old guy never mentioned anything about this before!


    ¡°I am Yeye, an artificial intelligence.¡± Yeye stood up and gave everyone an elegant self-introduction after the rest of them had finished introducing themselves.


    ¡°Oh!¡±


    Everyone was still in a bit of daze now, and their minds couldn¡¯t wrap around this. The computer inside the protective case was actually an artificial intelligence! That unassuming old man was actually a titan in the field of biology in China and even the ex-teacher of Dr. Wang! However, very quickly, all of them regained their composure. Obviously, the reason Bai Yi brought Yeye out was to ask her to recover the deleted data.


    ¡°You are an artificial intelligence? That can¡¯t be, I¡¯ve seen artificial intelligences before, and I have never seen one that¡¯s as life-like as you! Although the various data would simulate an image, it would always be limited by the programming settings.¡± Ji Hua Qing looked at the young girl in the screen with doubt.


    ¡°Hmph~!¡± Yeye snorted and couldn¡¯t be bothered to explain.


    ¡°Talk, what is it this time?¡± Yeye put down her teacup and asked Bai Yi.


    ¡°This used to be one of the research facilities, and the thing being researched here was the activated cells as well, but it should be a branch of the original research direction. There were people who came here before us and they deleted all the data before leaving. Can you help and see if you could recover the deleted data?¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t beat around the bush either and said directly.


    ¡°Just this? No problem, but it¡¯s impossible to recover everything completely. After all, the data has already been deleted, so there will definitely be some loss,¡± Yeye said. In the next moment, all the computers within the research facility switched on by themselves and started running.


    ¡°It has already been 1 year and 7 months since then, just what does New Zealand look like now?¡± Recovering the deleted files didn¡¯t expend too much of Yeye¡¯s processing power. While executing those processes, Yeye also asked Bai Yi about some things.


    ¡°Is today already October 14th of the second year? I really didn¡¯t imagine that time would go by so quickly.¡± Bai Yi was surprised himself.


    ¡°You guys don¡¯t even keep track of the date?¡± Yeye said with a face full of disdain.


    ¡°What to do? The people now wouldn¡¯t keep track of things like this so clearly, and it was already very good to be able to survive for another day. We only have a general sense of the days, but we aren¡¯t sure which day it is exactly,¡± Bai Yi explained. Lifeforms like humans had a lot of limitations once they separated from their tools. They couldn¡¯t be like Yeye with an internal power source and could track the passing of every second.


    After chatting with her for a few sentences, Bai Yi told her about their experiences over this period of time. When she heard about Mavis¡¯ death, and how Warner went missing, Yeye was also apparently quite dispirited.


    At this time, Ji Hua Qing, who heard Bai Yi¡¯s story from the side, was also quite affected. Bai Yi¡¯s words completely detailed the most directly observed scene in New Zealand now ¨C a cruel struggle!


    In addition, Ji Hua Qing also noticed how different Yeye was from the other artificial intelligences that he had seen. Emotions, Yeye had her own complete emotions! If he didn¡¯t know that she was such a computer, there really wasn¡¯t any difference between her and a true intelligent lifeform. No, that¡¯s not right, she was a true intelligent lifeform, just that humans created her.


    Ji Hua Qing instantly became excited again when he thought till here.


    The Bai Yi whom the outside world wanted to grasp but couldn¡¯t reach; his daughter Momo that had a strange butterfly merged within; a little cat Chinchilla that clearly assimilated with activated cells but had no physical changes; and this artificial intelligence Yeye that had developed her own autonomous consciousness. If it was possible, Ji Hua Qing really wanted to study this group of people properly, but now¡­


    Bai Yi only glanced at him plainly and Ji Hua Qing knew that he shouldn¡¯t do things to endanger his own life.


    One could say that the more Ji Hua Qing knew about Bai Yi¡¯s team, the harder it was for him to leave. The more a person knew, the more dangerous it would become.


    ¡°I already recovered a portion of the data. Do you guys want to take a look first?¡± Yeye asked when a soft ¡®ding!¡¯ came from the computers, while Bai Yi detailed everything that had happened over this period of time.


    ¡°En, take a look first.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°You guys can find a computer each. I can send the data to all the computers at the same time,¡± Yeye said while the few of them each found a computer close by and carefully looked through the data that she had recovered.

 Chapter 155

    Chapter 155: Welcome


    Everyone waited excitedly for the data that Yeye had recovered, but the information stunned all of them the moment they saw it. Then, they turned their heads away with incredibly awkward expressions on their faces. How to describe this¡­the data recovered completely exceeded all of their expectations, it was really too shocking. That¡¯s right, way too shocking. A black man hugged a white woman, as they were crazily ¡®rode¡¯ each other.


    Fuck, classic uncensored blockbuster movie!


    Nobody expected that the ¡®data¡¯ that Yeye first retrieved would be something like this. The contrast between reality and their expectations, in addition to the scene they saw, really left them stupefied.


    ¡°Yeye, did you do this on purpose?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°What on purpose? I don¡¯t have that kind of interests! In the end, I¡¯m completely unable to understand this weird behavior of you humans. Is this the so-called ¡®mating¡¯?¡± Yeye¡¯s face looked like it was in deep thought. An image of a cute little girl thinking about something like this so seriously, was it really ok?


    ¡°That¡¯s not exactly right, mating usually refers to what animals do. Humans usually call it sex.¡± Ji Hua Qing corrected her with a straight face.


    ¡°Oh really? But what is the difference between what animals and humans do? Moreover, you humans named this file ¡®Crazy Mating Party¡¯.¡±


    The old guy and little girl actually started to discuss this issue seriously. Bai Yi and the others couldn¡¯t help but look at each other in dismay, and after that Bai Yi immediately hurriedly tried to stop them. However, at this moment, Yeye suddenly brought the topic to Heloise and Woolf.


    ¡°It¡¯s clearly mating. Look at this if you don¡¯t believe me!¡± Yeye said and played a video. This video was actually the video of Heloise and Woolf making love back in Tongariro National Park Research Facility. Their actions were very frenzied and many dirty words were mixed inside, such as¡­mating.


    Heloise¡¯s face instantly changed, and she became extremely awkward.


    That¡¯s enough!!


    Bai Yi immediately hit Ji Hua Qing with his Reverse Flower Eyes, and the old man immediately fell asleep on the table. After that, Bai Yi knocked on the table seriously and said, ¡°Yeye that¡¯s enough, don¡¯t talk about this thing anymore. Recover the rest of the data seriously, and don¡¯t display the content anymore, let us look at it for ourselves.¡±


    ¡°Hmph, a classical example of tearing the bridge apart before even crossing it!¡± Yeye pouted and look at Bai Yi angrily. (TN: This means offending the person before the person helps you.)


    ¡°A demure lady wouldn¡¯t discuss something like that like you,¡± Vala suddenly said.


    ¡°Is that really the case?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m a noble etiquette teacher!¡± Vala slowly nodded her head. Vala could tell that this artificial intelligence called Yeye seemed to mind her image quite a bit. Based on what she showed them, she should be a refined lady as well in her settings. Hence, Vala planned to guide her from this aspect.


    ¡°Noble etiquette, I don¡¯t have complete data on this thing! What is it like?¡± Sure enough, Yeye felt interested in this topic.


    After a random farce, Yeye continued recovering the information, while Bai Yi headed outside to check on Woolf and Raymond. When Bai Yi went out, he discovered the two of them being bored to death training their battle techniques.


    ¡°Bai Yi, how is it?¡±


    ¡°A portion of the data was recovered, but it was completely useless, so it¡¯s still ongoing now.¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t talk about the farce inside.


    It was still quite difficult to recover data that had already been deleted, and the amount of data inside a research facility was also unimaginably huge. Needless to say, in this huge amount of data, there were still many trash files similar to ¡®Crazy Mating Party¡¯. After taking up half a day, Yeye finally recovered all the data. At this time, they finally had the chance to look at this research data.


    The research data was all in English, so Bai Yi could only understand a few commonly used words and not the unfamiliar technical terms. If he combined these words together, Bai Yi became even more clueless about it. However, just from looking at Ji Hua Qing looking at the research data with an incomparably serious expression, Bai Yi knew the importance of this data.


    ¡°Can you explain what all this mean?¡±


    ¡°En, en,¡± Ji Hua Qing replied to Bai Yi absent-mindedly, seemingly patronizing him. After he got a hold of what was going on, Ji Hua Qing started to explain things to Bai Yi, but it still contained many technical terms. Bai Yi couldn¡¯t understand most of it still. Most importantly, he could tell that Ji Hua Qing, this old man, was hiding something.


    Bai Yi rubbed the center of his eyebrows, as his mood turned for the worse.


    Regarding the research into activated cells in the future and the research into regaining their human form, they had to pass all these to the researchers. If none of them could understand this research, then how would they know what were these people were researching exactly? This bunch of people might even trick them and turn them into their lab rats.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t continue pressing Ji Hua Qing for the true content inside, but he took out all the books on biology he could find in this research facility.


    ¡°Dr. Ji, from now on, you will teach me about basic biological research,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°En, wait what?¡± Bai Yi¡¯s sudden request apparently left Ji Hua Qing stunned.


    ¡°Teach me about basic biological research,¡± Bai Yi said without leaving any room for negotiation.


    ¡°If you really insist, but don¡¯t expect to learn anything in this short period of time. Which true researcher wasn¡¯t developed through countless experiments and accumulations?¡± Ji Hua Qing understood his position in the team, so he didn¡¯t have the option to reject Bai Yi.


    Bai Yi nodded. His goal wasn¡¯t to participate in research after all, as he didn¡¯t have so much free time. Bai Yi just wanted to be able to understand this research data. At the very least, he had to know what these people were researching so as to not get scammed.


    They stayed in the research facility for a whole day and finally left after they made a copy of everything useful inside. Moreover, Bai Yi similarly asked Yeye to delete all the data this time, a complete wipe of the data so that not even a trace remained. Even if there were people who came here afterward, they probably wouldn¡¯t be able to find any useful information any more. Bai Yi didn¡¯t know why, but he felt that the group of people who came before him were people who could really understand this data, and they understood it even better than them. In the future, perhaps¡­


    Anyway, they had to go to New Christchurch first.


    ¡­¡­


    Bai Yi¡¯s team walked for one and a half months before they reached the outskirts of New Christchurch. Even from the outside, they could see the city hidden within the forest, and it was a unique city that had a fantasy feel to it. This was because the people living in the city were indeed a bunch of monsters. There weren¡¯t too many people in this New Christchurch city, only about 100,000 people. However, these 100,000 people were already a rare bustling scene in New Zealand now.


    Although there weren¡¯t many people in this new city, the buildings were all very huge. After all, more than 90% of the evolved humans experienced huge changes in their bodies. If they followed the original blueprints to build this city, most of them would not be able to stay in this place.


    Bai Yi¡¯s team could tell that the construction of the city was just at the beginning of the beginning stages. After all, it had only been half a year. The organizing, planning, looking for talents, new construction blueprints, defending against evolved lifeforms outside, all of these took up a lot of time. Moreover, the evolved humans were all newly gathered in this place. Amongst them, how to lead, who to lead, all of these were very critical problems.


    Bai Yi¡¯s team walked into the city without drawing any attention to themselves, but there were still people who felt that something was off.


    There was a guy whose lower half of his body was that of a scorpion. His 6 legs moved around on the floor, as he tried to build a house for himself. Suddenly, he stunned for a moment and looked toward their direction. After taking another look, this guy completely blanked out, That guy, that team, it¡¯s so similar to the rumors! After blanking out for a long while, this guy immediately threw the wood onto the floor and crawled over to Bai Yi¡¯s team. His 6 legs made sounds as they cut through the air.


    It was very apparent that this guy had grown used to his 6 legs after such a long time and crawled extremely swiftly.


    ¡°Wait, the team in front, please wait!¡±


    ¡°En, is there anything?¡± Bai Yi¡¯s team turned around and looked at this scorpion-like fellow.


    ¡°Can I ask if you are Bai Yi team leader?¡± The scorpion-like guy replied.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I am Bai Yi.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    How could he describe this? Although he had already guessed that it could be Bai Yi previously, when Bai Yi really admitted it himself, this guy unexpectedly went dumb. It¡¯s Bai Yi, it¡¯s really Bai Yi! One must know, even if somebody really wanted to impersonate someone else, they still wouldn¡¯t impersonate Bai Yi. It was because that pair of eyes couldn¡¯t be faked!


    ¡°You are really Bai Yi team leader, that¡¯s great, that¡¯s really great!¡± This scorpion-man immediately became incoherent, as a mysterious scorpion¡¯s cry mixed into his voice. Apparently, he was really too agitated.


    ¡°Calm down, calm down. Is there anything you want?¡± Bai Yi immediately tried to pacify this guy.


    ¡°Please save my companions! My team leader and two of my teammates went berserk! Bai Yi team leader, please help them.¡± This scorpion-man immediately kneeled down with all 6 of his legs. This scene seemed a bit out of place somewhere, but Bai Yi still felt a great shock from this.


    ¡°Get up first, we¡¯ll talk about it after you get up.¡± Bai Yi immediately went to help this guy up.


    At this time, a few other evolved humans nearby saw the commotion going on and their initial surprise very quickly turned into shock. It was Bai Yi, that man was really Bai Yi! The Bai Yi who disappeared for more than half a year reappeared in New Christchurch city! There¡¯s hope for their companions that fell into the berserk state now! In a short while, the people nearby immediately crowded around Bai Yi¡¯s team and surrounded them.


    This is serious!


    Bai Yi said in his heart, as he looked at the crowd growing bigger and more agitated. Bai Yi himself never imagined that he would be so welcomed in this place!

 Chapter 156

    Chapter 156: Thin Power


    The unexpected crowd that flocked together and squeezed toward the center quickly attracted the attention of everyone nearby. Soon after, everyone knew that Bai Yi had come to New Christchurch. Regardless of whether it was to join in the festivities, or they really hoped that Bai Yi could save their companions that went berserk,, most of the people in this city who knew of this congregated to this location. As things appeared, the situation started to get more and more out of hand.


    Of course, the commotion also alarmed the group of people in ¡®power¡¯ in this city.


    Bai Yi is here!


    After they learned this, these people in power immediately became astonished as well, but also started to become slightly nervous. Although it had already been half a year, it still wasn¡¯t completely clear who was the one in control of this city. Roughly 5 different factions controlled New Christchurch at this point in time, but the number of smaller groups or teams below them was countless. Bai Yi¡¯s words at the beginning indeed pushed a bunch of ambitious people on.


    And at this time, Bai Yi¡¯s appearance would undoubtedly threaten their unstable positions.


    How could they let go of the power that they were already holding in their hands!


    Don¡¯t talk about how this kind of thinking was very old-fashioned. Power had always been a force that drove the majority of people onward, so it wasn¡¯t so easily disregarded or abandoned. Although in reality, these people in power didn¡¯t welcome Bai Yi¡¯s presence, they still had to appear so on the surface, and they even had to give him a very warm welcome. The people who could sit in those positions were all not ordinary. Very quickly, some people headed to Bai Yi¡¯s location as well.


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Somebody is coming, it¡¯s Minister Alcott.¡± A voice came from somewhere. Immediately, the crowd split apart to let a group of people inside the crowd. Bai Yi looked over and saw that this Alcott had a body covered in scales, but other than that, there weren¡¯t any strange characteristics on him.


    ¡°Is this Team Leader Bai Yi? I am Alcott, the Minister of Public Security for New Christchurch.¡± Alcott immediately walked toward Bai Yi when he entered the circle of people around him.


    ¡°Hello, I am Bai Yi.¡±


    ¡°I have long heard of Team Leader Bai Yi¡¯s great name, but I didn¡¯t expect that Team Leader Bai Yi would grace New Christchurch city at this time. We have really been waiting for this for too long, so many of our companions have fallen into the berserk state! We haven¡¯t been able to find a good solution to this so far, so the fact that Bai Yi team leader could come here is really great! However, this isn¡¯t really the place to talk. Why don¡¯t we head toward the Ministry of Public Security and continue chatting there?¡± Alcott asked.


    ¡°Sure!¡± Bai Yi blinked slightly and nodded his head.


    ¡°Then, this is really my pleasure.¡± Alcott seemed to be very honored, and he waved his hand at the crowd around him, gesturing for them to not cause any trouble. ¡°I know that everyone is very excited over Team Leader Bai Yi¡¯s appearance in New Christchurch, and I believe that Team Leader Bai Yi wouldn¡¯t ignore all your companions that fell into the berserk state. But, can everyone make way first? Everything still needs to follow a rational process. Please wait patiently, I believe that very soon, Team Leader Bai Yi will meet with everybody again,¡± Alcott said toward the crowd around him. The tightly packed and agitated crowd slowly started to calm down.


    ¡°Then, please!¡±


    ¡°No need to stand on ceremony!¡± Bai Yi had a slight smile at the corner of his lips, but inside he was smiling widely. Just as expected!


    In reality, even before coming to New Christchurch, Bai Yi¡¯s team already had a discussion about the situations that they may face when they came here. In the end, they felt that Bai Yi would very likely be turned into a figurehead for them. Perhaps, he would have a certain amount of reputation, but he wouldn¡¯t have much real power in the end. It couldn¡¯t be helped, Bai Yi was slower than other people by half a year. New Christchurch had definitely developed its own power structure by now. Nobody would be willing give up their position to Bai Yi.


    Sure enough, right at the start, this Alcott had set Bai Yi¡¯s mission for him ¨C helping all the evolved humans who had fallen into the berserk state to regain their consciousness!


    Reject him?


    How was that possible! Bai Yi really couldn¡¯t reject him because he was the only one who could wake people up from the berserk state so far. Looking at the agitated crowd full of anticipation and hope, it was obvious what would happen if Bai Yi really rejected them. When the hope in their hearts gets ruthlessly dashed, it was extremely easy for the excited anticipation to turn into vilification and hate. At that time, could Bai Yi still establish himself among the evolved humans?


    This guy ¨C Bai Yi couldn¡¯t help but glance at Alcott, so the Minister of Public Security, huh?


    However, Bai Yi laughed in his heart¡­haha!


    Before they came to this place, they had already imagined that such a result was possible. In fact, Bai Yi¡¯s team had studied the possible future environment of New Zealand as well as the situation of the evolved humans in detail.


    One would really have to admit that Bai Yi¡¯s team understanding of activated cells were really much deeper than the majority of people. And because they understood it so much, they were really astonished. Based on the current classification of the levels, it could be split into Nascent Stage, LV1-1 Binging Stage, LV1-2 Brutal Stage, LV1-3 Hypersomnia Stage, and LV2 Metamorphose Stage. Other people¡¯s understanding of the LV2 Metamorphose Stage may stop at just its name, but Bai Yi¡¯s team understood it more.


    Immense power! Even just the initial stages of LV2 Metamorphose Stage already possessed frightening strength. As for what it would become if the lifeform continued evolving, they weren¡¯t clear about it either. However, they still let Yeye simulate and calculate the possible futures.


    The final result was ¨C Individual strength would dominate the rights of the masses!


    To put it simply, if the lifeforms continued to evolve, then the strength of a powerful individual would bring about a much greater ruling authority and domination than the kind of power given democratically.


    This was the conclusion that Yeye predicted, so Bai Yi¡¯s team had also set their future goals. Their goal was definitely not to fight for power at this point in time but to make full use of the time they had now to understand the changes in their bodies and increase their strength. Moreover, Bai Yi had just broken out of his cocoon, so he still wasn¡¯t too clear about the changes to his body. He definitely did not have the time to waste on power struggles. The power given by the masses did not belong to oneself, and in the end, only personal strength would never betray.


    Ambition? It couldn¡¯t really be said to be ambition actually, Bai Yi just wanted to have the strength to protect himself and his friends.


    ¡­¡­


    Of course, the greatly nervous temporary rulers of this city would never know Bai Yi¡¯s plans.


    Although they said it was the Ministry of Public Security, Bai Yi¡¯s team saw a big church when they came here instead. Looking at the two 3 meters tall evolved humans that stood guard at the entrance, Bai Yi understood as well. Indeed, only a grand building like a church would be big enough to fit the evolved humans who all grew a lot bigger.


    After they invited Bai Yi to the Ministry of Public Security, the other ministers of other ministries in New Christchurch City came to this place very quickly as well. No matter how much they didn¡¯t want Bai Yi to be here, they still had to display their high regard for Bai Yi on the surface.


    Through these few people, Bai Yi¡¯s team got to know of New Christchurch¡¯s current power structure. Of course, the city now couldn¡¯t be split into as many different ministries like before, so there were only a few essential ones.


    After getting to know of the makeup of the powers in the city now, Bai Yi couldn¡¯t help but sigh. They really formed the various factions really quickly, just that there wasn¡¯t a clear leader due to them dragging each other¡¯s feet.


    All of them had their own thoughts as to Bai Yi¡¯s appearance, but apparently, nobody was willing to have somebody pop out on top of them from nowhere. However, they didn¡¯t have a choice but to treat Bai Yi seriously with his level of fame.


    Before coming here, the few of them had apparently heard about Alcott¡¯s words on the streets and all approved of it in secret. Wasn¡¯t Bai Yi¡¯s reputation really great? Now that they had somebody here who could save everybody¡¯s companions that went berserk, this noble mission was definitely his for the keeping! Could he even reject it?


    ¡°Sure, my pleasure!¡± Outside of everyone¡¯s expectations, Bai Yi agreed to it easily.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try to wake all those who went berserk, but my eyes can¡¯t be used limitlessly, so I need a lot of time to rest. I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t save that many people,¡± Bai Yi said unhurriedly with a smile on his face.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, it¡¯s already a great help to have somebody that can reverse the berserk state. To everyone else, this is also an extremely heartening news and a big source of hope,¡± three of the ministers immediately said hurriedly, while the other two didn¡¯t say anything and stared at Bai Yi, as they silently thought, This Bai Yi, did he really not intend to fight for power?


    That was indeed one of the reasons. Bai Yi really wasn¡¯t too interested in power. The most important thing was that Yeye had analyzed and predicted that in the future, individual strength would dominate over any sort of society-given power. Since they already knew this, then was there a need to waste time now? Moreover, if he could really help the evolved humans, then it wasn¡¯t like he was unwilling either.


    It was just that the ministers couldn¡¯t understand this!

 Chapter 157

    Chapter 157: Chairman


    In the end, Bai Yi became the Chairman of the Recovery Center for Berserk Evolved Humans. Of course, his team followed along as well. Maybe some people had the intention to split up Bai Yi¡¯s team, but at this time, even an idiot knew that it wasn¡¯t possible to bring this up now. Bai Yi did not reject it either but accepted the position with a smiling face.


    Chairman of the Recovery Center¡­ Bai Yi gave a small laugh in his heart, heh.


    The few ministers very quickly announced this news to the public, seemingly afraid that Bai Yi would go back on his words. Afterward, somebody brought Bai Yi to the Recovery Center. The place was originally a large hospital in Christchurch, and it was still usable after tidying it up. Other than that, they brought Bai Yi to a large-scale prison, and inside the prison, they saw hundreds of berserk evolved humans.


    ¡°Team Leader Bai Yi, these are all the berserk evolved humans,¡± Lucretia said.


    Since Lucretia was the Minister of the Ministry of Medicine, she had also studied how to let these berserk humans regain their minds. In the end, she was the one to bring Bai Yi around and introduce him to the place. Seemingly, Lucretia also wanted to know herself just how different the rumored mysterious pair of eyes were. They sounded like they had special abilities that came right out of an anime.


    ¡°Only more than a hundred?¡± Bai Yi asked in doubt.


    ¡°En, only a hundred-odd people, but these are the people that got brought back here and imprisoned after going berserk. Many people who went berserk either got killed or integrated with the natural world, becoming one of the evolved animals. It¡¯s difficult to tell who is an evolved human and who is an evolved animal nowadays.¡± Lucretia¡¯s voice had a trace of sadness to it.


    ¡°I understand.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    Putting aside the issue of whether they could bring back those people who went berserk, but the way to deal with them after bringing them back was a big problem as well. Luckily, they found a large-scale prison on the outskirts of Christchurch and they could have a place to imprison these people. Other than that, Bai Yi also realized that the evolved humans imprisoned here weren¡¯t too strong. Thinking about it, that made sense as well. If it was somebody on Woolf¡¯s level of strength, a prison like this wouldn¡¯t be able to hold them.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s start.¡± Bai Yi nodded, as he prepared to open the door to one of the prison cells.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Lucretia immediately stopped Bai YI.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Is it ok opening it just like this? They are Brutal Phase lifeforms after all. It¡¯s easy for something to go wrong,¡± Lucretia said.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Bai Yi replied and opened the prison cell door. A guy like this, there wouldn¡¯t be a problem even if there were dozens of them. Within the evolved humans, the differences in fused genes also came with an incredibly huge gap in personal strength.


    After Bai Yi opened the door, the guy inside stared at Bai Yi like a wild beast and immediately pounced toward Bai Yi. Lucretia¡¯s eyes immediately opened wide and her entire body tensed. Although Lucretia was quite worried, she didn¡¯t retreat. This was a basic inner quality that she had. Any evolved human that could live until now knew the maxim that the more scared of death you were, the quicker you would die. However, what Lucretia saw now was¡­


    Bai Yi¡¯s left hand moved unhurriedly and easily slapped aside the claw of the guy that pounced out. His right leg swung right and left, and he interrupted that guy¡¯s movements again. Finally, Bai Yi rammed his shoulder into the berserk fellow and followed up with an elbow strike. Lucretia could only feel that his movements flowed like water, and an immense force sent this Brutal Phase lifeform flying backward. Then, Bai Yi trapped him against the cell wall by holding his neck.


    Tai Ji Fist! Lucretia immediately thought of the thing that Bai Yi had released to the world.


    Reverse Flower Eyes!


    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes immediately started to spin, and the hypnosis effect gradually increased. Lucretia behind him couldn¡¯t see his eyes and immediately became anxious. The whole reason why she took on this mission to bring him here was to see what was so special about Bai Yi¡¯s eyes! She couldn¡¯t have imagined that Bai Yi¡¯s treatment would be so violent and simple. All she could see now was his back view, what was the use of that?


    After more than 10 seconds, Bai Yi¡¯s Reverse Flower Eyes powered up to the maximum and the figure that still struggled slowly stopped and fell asleep where he stood.


    After Bai Yi turned his body around, his eyes had already returned to normal. Lucretia stared at Bai Yi¡¯s eyes with a face full of disappointment. It ended just like that? But I haven¡¯t seen anything yet!


    ¡°Minister Lucretia, do you guys have any potions that can nourish the soul?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°Are you referring to Clearyheart?¡± Lucretia immediately replied. She was a minister after all, so she could control her emotions very quickly.


    ¡°Clearyheart?¡±


    ¡°This is a medicine that we developed over this period of time. The main ingredients are the Calming Wormwood and the Joyful Devil¡¯s Snare. We used these 2 along with more than 10 other supplementary plant and animal essences to create this medicine. It can calm the heart and mind, and also let somebody go into a deeper level of sleep. It¡¯s the most popular medicine in New Christchurch City now,¡± Lucretia said proudly to Bai Yi.


    ¡°Can you let me see the formula for this medicine?¡± Nancy asked directly.


    ¡°This¡­ok!¡± Lucretia hesitated for a while before nodding.


    The formulas of a Medicinal Maker had always been a secret, but it was never that big a secret. This was completely due to the strange and unique plants and animals in New Zealand now. Even the plants that mutated from the same original plant would only be about 90% similar, and the remaining 10% would still result in great differences in the outcome of the final product.


    Such as Clearyheart. The main components were definitely the Calming Wormwood and Joyful Devil¡¯s Snare. But in reality, every stalk of Calming Wormwood and every stalk of Joyful Devil¡¯s Snare had significant differences. This was the special nature of New Zealand now. It was due to this difference that it wasn¡¯t possible to produce these medicines like in modern factories, even if they knew the formula. It was utterly pointless even if somebody managed the precision of the mass of the compounds to a milligram because every stalk of every plant was different.


    What was necessary now was the Medicinal Maker¡¯s grasp of the medicinal properties of every stalk of plant, and the intuition and talent in their bones. This was why Medicinal Makers like this were extremely rare and hard to come by in New Zealand now.


    ¡°The main components are Calming Wormwood, Joyful Devil¡¯s Snare, the supplementary components are¡­¡± Lucretia could tell that Nancy was definitely the Medicinal Maker in Bai Yi¡¯s team, and that was why she wanted to know about this. As for Lucretia herself, she seemed to have the intention of bragging as well. This was something the bunch of them had developed together at the Ministry of Medicine, so Nancy shouldn¡¯t know all this.


    However, contrary to Lucretia¡¯s expectations, Nancy asked about the medicinal properties of a few other types of natural plants before she shook her head.


    ¡°Why?¡± Lucretia¡¯s tone turned a bit unhappy. Anybody would probably feel the same way if somebody else shook their heads at something one felt extremely proud of.


    ¡°This kind of medicine is indeed not bad, it can calm the heart and quiet the mind, but it isn¡¯t what we need.¡± Nancy had stayed by herself in Wellington for quite a long time, so she probably wasn¡¯t the kind used to being tactful in front of people.


    ¡°The biggest cause of the Brutal Phase is the incongruence with the soul. Clearyheart¡¯s effect is actually to let people fall asleep so as to re-calibrate this incongruence. But this is just a basic requirement for such a type of medicine. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t think that there¡¯s any calming medicine that can compare to Bai Yi¡¯s Reverse Flower Eyes. The most important thing for Brutal Stage lifeforms now is to speed up the growth and repair of the damage to the soul, and that was why Bai Yi asked you if you have had any medicines to nourish the soul,¡± Nancy explained.


    ¡°Nourish the soul? Who knows if the soul really exists, nobody can sense it!¡± Lucretia got angry at this time. In reality, she believed in the existence of the soul, but indeed nobody could sense it at this point in time. Moreover, Nancy¡¯s attitude infuriated her. Those in power never liked to see those they thought of as below them oppose their words.


    ¡°The soul does exist; don¡¯t tell me you¡¯ve never even heard of the Ghost City Wellington?¡± Nancy immediately retorted.


    ¡°Ok, that¡¯s enough. Don¡¯t argue about this so much. Minister Lucretia, if you want to wake these people who fell into the berserk state up, soul-nourishing medicines are an absolute necessity. Otherwise, you would have to wait for a long time,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Then do you guys have it?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Nancy replied straightforwardly.


    ¡°Fostsoul ¨C Soul Nourishing Dew. A potion that I concocted from the Dead Soul Flower, it can use the flower¡¯s medicinal properties more efficiently and foster the growth of the soul. Other than that, this potion can also be used to heal damage to the soul normally,¡± Nancy said, as she looked at Lucretia without giving an inch.


    Bai Yi immediately felt speechless at this scene. Although Bai Yi did not intend to hide something like this, they should have still waited for a more opportune situation to reveal this potion so as to achieve a better result. Anyway, forget about it. Since Nancy had already revealed this medicine that they had, they shall just go along with it.


    ¡°Dead Soul Flower?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, a flower that grows through absorbing human souls. So far, this flower only grows in the ex-capital of New Zealand, Ghost City Wellington. We still have some here, but it isn¡¯t many either. It¡¯s difficult to say how many people we can save this way,¡± Nancy nodded.


    In the end, they decided to use 5 people as experiments. One of them was the guy that Bai Yi chose at the start, while the remaining 4 were also chosen by Bai Yi¡¯s team. Based on their judgment, the severity of the berserk state of these people was quite similar. Among the 5 people, 2 of them consumed Fostsoul (Soul Nourishing Dew), 2 of them used Clearyheart (Clearing Heart Dew)1, and the last person was only hypnotized to sleep without consuming anything as a control.


    ¡°Why only 5 people? We still have a lot of medicine!¡± Lucretia asked.


    ¡°Because of this!¡± Bai Yi pointed at his own eyes.


    ¡°I already said before, my eyes can¡¯t be used limitlessly. Since you heard about the special characteristics of my eyes, you should have heard about the limitations of it as well,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Yes, I heard of it, but it can only be used 5 times?¡± Lucretia asked.


    ¡°I can still use it, but it would be forcing myself and it would cause great harm to my eyes. Under normal circumstances, I can use my eyes between 3 ¨C 8 times depending on the degree of usage.¡± Bai Yi¡¯s ability to use the Reverse Flower Eyes was of course not limited to just 5 times. However, he wanted to hold some things back as well. In the end, the kind of person that gave his everything for the sake of others didn¡¯t exist. Moreover, Bai Yi still wanted to leave more time for himself to grasp the changes in his body.


    Looking at Bai Yi¡¯s tired expression, Lucretia nodded her head¡­3 ¨C 8 times huh?


    Bai Yi sighed in his heart. They would probably try to sound him out in the near future. Scheming and plotting was really something so disgusting yet unavoidable.

 Chapter 158

    Chapter 158: I¡¯m Very Busy


    Sleep has actually always been a very magical state; even in normal societies, sleep was differentiated into shallow sleep, deep sleep, and dreamless deep sleep. In some Taoist theories, there were also several different states like meditation, womb sleep, One With Heaven1, and a few others. In reality, those states were also a form of sleep, it was just that normal humans weren¡¯t able to reach them. To do so required a long period of cultivation and also a certain degree of fate. Hence, even in the ancient records, these states were described as a kind of extremely lucky encounter. Those so-called Instant Enlightenment2 was one of the key factors to breaking through into those mysterious states.


    The state that Bai Yi let these five people enter was dreamless deep sleep. It could be said that this was the best state of sleep that normal humans could reach. Based on scientific research, just one hour of dreamless deep sleep was enough rest for the entire day. Moreover, based on the quality of sleep, it was far superior to even more than ten hours of normal sleep a day.


    Under Bai Yi¡¯s hypnosis, the bodies and souls of these five people rapidly rebalanced and automatically readjusted themselves. This was a higher level of adjustment than the homeostasis process that the body usually undergoes. Bai Yi simply gave them a suitable environment, but it was precisely this environment that was the hardest for people to reach.


    On the first day, the evolved human that received only the hypnosis treatment slept for nine hours, the two that received Clearyheart slept for ten hours, and the two that used Fostsoul slept for a full seventeen hours. After they woke up, all of them became calmer, and at the same time required plenty of food to replenish their energy.


    ¡°Why is the difference so big?¡±


    ¡°I already said it before, your Clearyheart is only capable of letting people enter a peaceful sleep. There really isn¡¯t any drug or medicine that can compare to Bai Yi¡¯s hypnosis, so even if they consumed that medicine, it would only be adding flowers to a brocade3. You are a doctor, you definitely know that the body will automatically readjust itself during sleep. Fostsoul is the medicine that these people need the most in their state of sleep now.¡± Nancy said plainly.


    ¡°But other than the Dead Soul Flower, so far nobody has found any other plant that can nourish the soul.¡± At this time, Lucretia also had to admit to the truth.


    ¡°Then that is your problem. Register this as a mission: the team that discovers a new soul nourishing plant can choose five members to undergo free treatment by me for a month.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°They didn¡¯t even fall into the berserk state, what treatment would they need from you?!¡± A man behind Lucretia suddenly said.


    ¡°Ask your boss to tell you what Body Maintenance is!¡± Bai Yi waved his hand and ignored this man¡¯s hostility.


    ¡°Body Maintenance refers to daily activities that nurture the body in various ways so as to enhance its constitution. By doing so, it could extend our longevity. It isn¡¯t that we only have to care for our bodies after we are sick; Body Maintenance during normal times is extremely important as well. In reality, all of us are currently in the Brutal Stage and the body and soul are constantly in a state of rebalancing themselves. The fact that we aren¡¯t in the berserk state does not mean that our bodies are in a perfect balance. On the contrary, all of us are carrying a huge concealed threat to ourselves, and receiving treatment from Bai Yi is the best way to remove this threat.¡± Lucretia quietly explained and glanced at the man behind her. He wouldn¡¯t reveal such rash hostility usually, as expected¡­!


    ¡­


    For five days straight, Bai Yi used the Reverse Flower Eyes on these five people. In reality, what Bai Yi did was just let these five people enter dreamless deep sleep to rebalance their bodies and souls themselves.


    After five days, the two Brutal Stage lifeforms that consumed Fostsoul managed to have a rational conversation for the first time, although their states weren¡¯t very stable yet.


    After eight days, Bai Yi announced that the two of them could now completely control their actions, and weren¡¯t any different from normal evolved humans. Actually, after Bai Yi¡¯s treatment, their states were better than many other evolved humans. As long as they did not receive excessive amounts of shock or stimulation, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for them to go berserk anymore.


    Just when Bai Yi prepared to rest for two days, however, he suddenly received an invitation from Minister of Defence Freud.


    Bai Yi thought about it for a while and decided to accept Freud¡¯s invitation in the end. After exchanging pleasantries with each other, Freud finally revealed his request to Bai Yi¡­ to treat his people. Locked up in the Ministry of Defence were Freud¡¯s original companions, who had gone berserk. These weren¡¯t normal evolved humans like those detained in the prison of Christchurch, but truly strong evolved humans. With just a look, Bai Yi could tell that these guys were definitely not weak.


    ¡°Chairman Bai Yi, please help to treat these two people,¡± Freud said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you my response after thinking about it.¡± Bai Yi smiled and said.


    The other ministers didn¡¯t move as fast, but they knew of Bai Yi¡¯s reply as well and started to plan for the future.


    However, somehow the general public learned of the two people who managed to recover from the berserk state before Bai Yi had given his response. Although it was only two people, it proved that Bai Yi¡¯s treatment was useful, and that gave them a glimmer of hope. As the central figure in this development, Bai Yi became insanely popular among the general public. In New Zealand now, there was nothing more worrying that falling into the berserk state.


    Given the agitation and excitement of the public, the ministers had no choice but to organize a news conference for Bai Yi.


    However, Bai Yi actually announced not-so-good news to them at the news conference: the speed of recovery was simply far too slow if they relied solely on his treatment. If they wanted quick and effective treatment, then they needed soul nourishing medicine. Unfortunately, Nancy already had fewer than 100 Fostsouls. The two evolved humans that recovered had each used two Fostsouls during their eight days of treatment.


    ¡°Just what is soul-nourishing medicine?¡± A representative asked. The use of representatives wasn¡¯t discrimination, it was just that the meeting location would never be able to hold every single person. It was common to have news conferences like this in the normal world, and everyone definitely understood this as people who had originally come from the normal world.


    ¡°Fostsoul! A potion concocted from the Dead Soul Flower growing in Ghost City Wellington. We also refer to it as Soul Nourishing Dew, and it possesses the effects of nourishing as well as healing damage to the soul.¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°Dead Soul Flower, a plant that only grows in Ghost City Wellington, and which is rumored to grow from absorbing souls¡ªI can tell you simply now that the rumors are true,¡± Bai Yi continued. ¡°Hence, soul-nourishing plants may very possibly not grow in normal environments, so everyone will need to put in more effort to search for them.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by ¡®put in more effort to search¡¯?¡±


    ¡°The team that finds a new soul nourishing plant may choose five people who shall receive free treatment from me for a month.¡± Bai Yi raised his index finger.


    ¡°You said it¡¯s free. Does that imply that there are normally some conditions to receive treatment at the Recovery Center For Berserk Evolved Humans?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a given, otherwise I won¡¯t be able to manage it if everyone came at once. As for the detailed conditions,¡± Bai Yi began and paused.


    ¡°I¡¯ll treat those whom already fell into the berserk state first, but the order of treatment is up to me. Of course, due to the contributions of the five ministers to New Christchurch City, they will be given three nominations each for whom to send to my place for treatment. I¡¯ll help these fifteen people undergo treatment first. As for evolved humans that did not fall into the berserk state, don¡¯t you guys have a points system for rebuilding New Christchurch City? Everyone can use a certain number of points to exchange for one treatment session with me. Everyone needs to queue up, no matter who you are and there¡¯s also a limited number of treatment slots every day.¡± Bai Yi said plainly.


    ¡°If you make all the decisions yourself, Chairman Bai Yi, then isn¡¯t all the power in your hands?¡±


    Was this representative stupid? He obviously knew that only Bai Yi had the Reverse Flower Eyes but still asked such a question anyway. Even in the normal world, there wasn¡¯t anything absolutely fair. Bai Yi looked at this guy and paused for a moment before revealing a bewitching smile.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, all the power is in my hands.¡± Exceeding everyone¡¯s expectations, Bai Yi actually nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll choose who to treat among the berserk evolved humans, while normal evolved humans will have to expend their points and queue up to get their turn. You have a problem with it?¡± Bai Yi said, looking down on all of them from the stage with a smile that did not reach his eyes.


    ¡°You¡¯re monopolizing treatment!¡±


    ¡°You just lost your qualifications for it.¡± Bai Yi said coldly.


    ¡°You¡­!¡± This representative instantly went speechless. ¡°I don¡¯t believe that we won¡¯t be able to continue living without your treatment!¡± This representative said furiously, while secretly throwing glances toward the five ministers. As I expected, he was ordered by somebody to do so? There was somebody who wanted to use this to diminish Bai Yi¡¯s reputation.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯ll have it easier if there are fewer people.¡± Bai Yi waved his hand indifferently before turning around and exposing his carefree back view to the audience.


    Bai Yi¡¯s actions really made the few ministers more and more puzzled. Did Bai Yi really not care about reputation at all? Did he not want to become the true ruler of New Christchurch City through the support of the majority of the people?


    At this time, Bai Yi chuckled to himself in his heart. Although he said he would make the choices himself, he believed that he would still choose in a fair manner most of the time. Of course, if there were patients that were friends of his, then he would give them some priority; this was just human nature. Absolute fairness didn¡¯t exist in the world in the first place.


    But it really felt disgusting¡ªalthough he knew long ago that he would face obstruction and difficulties from various powers, seeing all this scheming and plotting really made him feel uncomfortable.


    At this time, Bai Yi felt really fortunate that he didn¡¯t come to New Christchurch to fight for power.


    ¡­


    New Christchurch¡¯s newspaper very quickly reported what Bai Yi said during the news conference, and that pitiful representative served as a bright contrast to him. One really had to admit that the majority of people in this world just dumbly followed the masses. Very quickly, Bai Yi¡¯s reputation crashed, and many people even loudly declared that they would rather stay like this forever than go to Bai Yi¡¯s treatment center.


    Little buddy, have you given up on treatment?!4


    ¡°Why did you do that? You clearly had a better way to deal with this.¡± Vala asked Bai Yi after everything was over.


    ¡°Do you know how much time I spend studying biology, how much time I spend familiarizing myself with my body¡¯s changes, how much time I spend practicing combat techniques every day? My time is very tight, and I don¡¯t have the time to care about those people. As long as they haven¡¯t fallen into the berserk state, the fewer people that come the better¡ªI¡¯m very busy!¡± Bai Yi said.


    Was it like that?


    Vala looked at Bai Yi¡¯s back as he left. That¡¯s right, didn¡¯t Yeye already analyze it before? Give up on the power bestowed by the masses and focus on increasing our personal strength.


    Many people thought that Bai Yi¡¯s reputation would continue to fall like this. However, that was only until the first batch of people received treatment from Bai Yi of their own accord and understood him¡­


    ***


    Translator Notes

 Chapter 159

    Chapter 159: Test


    Bai Yi¡¯s words and deeds truly surprised the majority of the ministers, and his attitude caused somebody¡¯s scheme to work slightly better than expected as well. Bai Yi indeed sat firmly within his position as Chairman of the Recovery Center, but his reputation among evolved humans gradually fell. However, Bai Yi didn¡¯t seem to mind this at all. After acquiring a stable environment for himself, he began on his own plans.


    The Recovery Center was built on the foundation of a large hospital. Although there were cracks in the building left by various plants, and signs of activity by animals all over the place, their requirements weren¡¯t that high. For the time being, they only needed a place to stay and rest.


    Their primary concern was electricity. Two of the power stations in the city had been repaired, and no matter what, Bai Yi was one those with ¡®status¡¯, so he very quickly got priority access to the electrical grid. After acquiring electricity, Bai Yi¡¯s team set up a few computers inside the hospital. However, there were only six of them, and these computers were only found after much effort searching the marketplace. With these six computers, they could finally connect with Yeye again, and these six computers could be considered to be Yeye¡¯s little intranet.


    ¡°Seriously, only six of these lousy computers? I feel so much more worthless now.¡± Yeye said with dissatisfaction.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be helped, this is all we have now. I checked before, and there are indeed some talents that are skilled in producing electronics, but not many people have the energy now to do something like that.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Anyway, you already promised to make a human-shaped body for me so that I can move around freely!¡± Yeye whined.


    When did I say something like that? That¡¯s just your wishful thinking! Bai Yi complained in his heart, but at this time he nodded seriously instead. ¡°If I have the ability, I will definitely help you to accomplish this. Definitely!¡± Bai Yi nodded again. No matter what, Yeye had helped them a lot. Bai Yi didn¡¯t have prejudiced notions that artificial intelligences would harm humans once they attained their own autonomous consciousness either.


    ¡°Yeye, you mentioned last time that you have a knowledge vault in you containing information on biology from the most basic to the most advanced level. Can you teach me?¡± Bai Yi asked again after promising her.


    ¡°Of course!¡± Yeye immediately and happily agreed after receiving Bai Yi¡¯s promise.


    However, Bai Yi could only stare dumbly when Yeye brought the knowledge vault up. This is basic biology knowledge? This is totally the culmination of all human knowledge! The information covered everything from the elementary school level all the way to something so complex that Bai Yi couldn¡¯t make heads or tails of it. He couldn¡¯t help but stare at Yeye inside the computer screen.


    ¡°This much? When would I have to study this until?¡±


    ¡°You think it¡¯s a lot? But I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a lot at all, it¡¯s at most only a few million words worth of content. It¡¯s just that the learning speed of you humans greatly limits you. Based on Dr. Wang¡¯s explanation before, a human going from elementary school to university, or even attaining a Ph.D., takes around fifteen to twenty years. However, in reality, more than 95% of that time isn¡¯t spent on studying.¡± Yeye explained.


    ¡°That can¡¯t be, 95% of the time isn¡¯t spent on studying?¡± Bai Yi could remember that he spent at least seven to eight hours a day in class back in school.


    ¡°Don¡¯t believe me? Why not try to think back to your time in school? From elementary school to senior high school, how much time each day was spent on learning? And out of all the time spent learning, for how much of it were you 100% focused? All the time spent daydreaming, playing, and on many other random activities, how much of your ¡®studying¡¯ time did it occupy? This is the so-called studying efficiency. If a person was 100% focused all the time, the true amount of time needed to go from being illiterate to a learned professor is actually twenty years multiplied by 5%, that is to say¡­ one year!¡± Yeye gave an example using numbers. Not only was Bai Yi struck dumb, but even the rest of them listening in from the side were as well.


    One year? From an elementary school student to a professor? Then weren¡¯t their lives before eaten by dogs?!1


    ¡°But you humans can¡¯t do this because in that one year you would have to use every second on studying. No rest, no distractions, and you would have to maintain 100% focus at all times too. Nobody can actually do that.¡± Yeye continued and giggled.


    ¡°Fine, Yeye, just tell me directly: what do you want me to do?¡± Bai Yi surrendered.


    ¡°Start reviewing the content from the most basic level. After you finish learning and seriously trying to understand it, I¡¯ll give you a test. Only after getting full marks on this test will you be able to continue on to the next part. Also, try using your eyes to hypnotize yourself while studying to maintain absolute focus. I guarantee that your level of studying efficiency will astonish yourself.¡± Yeye explained.


    ¡°Absolute focus, huh¡­ Ok then!¡± Bai Yi nodded and prepared to start studying based on Yeye¡¯s plans.


    What Bai Yi received first was a set of elementary school studying materials. He gave up on anything related to literature, and it only contained knowledge on mathematical sciences. Looking at the simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems, one corner of Bai Yi¡¯s lips went up. Heh, something like this is too easy! Bai Yi looked at Momo staring blankly into space beside him and suddenly had a good idea.


    ¡°Momo, want to learn together with daddy? Let¡¯s see who¡¯s faster.¡±


    The moment Bai Yi¡¯s words left his mouth, Alodia, who was sitting to the side, immediately stared at him in surprise. Uncle Bai Yi, what age are you now, you still want to compete with a small kid like Momo? Wouldn¡¯t you feel embarrassed even if you won? Apparently, Alodia was unable to understand this interaction between a father and daughter. Bai Yi looked at Alodia¡¯s eyes and didn¡¯t understand what she was thinking either.


    ¡°What? You want to compete with us as well?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    Momo was initially quite hesitant, but after hearing her daddy¡¯s words she thought about it for a while and nodded. After that, she called Sharpei over as well. ¡°Sharpei, Pupu, Chinchilla, all of you come over. We¡¯ll see who can learn faster and gets the highest score!¡± Momo was suddenly full of confidence. After all, her results couldn¡¯t be worse than the three pets, right?


    ¡°Oink oink.¡± Pupu was the first to reject her and immediately shook his head, running outside right after. However, how could they let Pupu run away now? Bai Yi also had his playful side triggered at this time, and immediately dragged Pupu back. If Vala and Woolf hadn¡¯t gone out earlier, they probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to escape now either.


    Of course, Bai Yi didn¡¯t have that much time to waste, and only fooled around for a while. Hence, after Bai Yi, Momo, Alodia, Sharpei, Pupu, and Chinchilla got ready, Yeye gave each of them a test on one of the six computers. Since the three pets weren¡¯t able to use a computer well, Yeye only gave them multiple choice questions, so they only had to press the numbers from one to six.


    The test began!


    Initially, Bai Yi thought that this was just an elementary school level test, but very quickly his head became bloated. There were quite a few strange questions, such as one asking him to split a weird shape into a few similar regular shapes with only a few steps! This confused Bai Yi utterly. It can¡¯t be, this is an elementary-level test? Bai Yi¡¯s heart quivered and he immediately tried to use all his brain power to solve the question. At this time, the rest of them weren¡¯t too different. Momo had a serious and focused face and was totally different from how she was usually when she tried to slack off.


    After an hour, the test ended, and everyone¡¯s results came out immediately after. Yeye promptly revealed a mysterious smile and looked at Bai Yi.


    Hey, don¡¯t look at me like that! Bai Yi silently complained inside. This gave him even more stress!


    ¡°Sixth place, Chinchilla, 11 points!¡± Yeye immediately started to announce the results. Chinchilla was completely fooling around¡ªstill, being able to choose eleven correct answers by randomly pressing keys from one to six was already not bad. However, Momo still teased Chinchilla for a while.


    ¡°Fifth place, Sharpei, 82 points!¡±


    ¡°Fourth place, Momo, 87 points!¡±


    ¡°Third place, Bai Yi, 95 points!¡±


    ¡°Second place, Pupu, 96 points!¡±


    ¡°First place, Alodia, 100 points!¡± Yeye very quickly announced everybody¡¯s results, and all of them immediately froze on the spot in astonishment. It wasn¡¯t surprising that Alodia got first place, but what shocked everyone was that Pupu was actually second! Pupu was a pig! How would the rest of them feel scoring worse than a pig? Especially Bai Yi, he immediately turned into a gray fossil2 and lay face down on top of the computer.


    How can this be?!


    Sharpei immediately and viciously glared at Pupu, and slowly walked over. Not bad, huh, you actually scored higher than Bai Yi and Momo. You tactless moron, let me ¡®educate¡¯ you. Sharpei advanced on Pupu with a fiendish look, intending to have a ¡®heart-to-heart talk¡¯ with him. But of course, Pupu¡¯s skin was too thick, and he wasn¡¯t scared of getting injured anyway.


    ¡°Daddy, did I inherit your genes? Why am I so stupid?¡± Momo suddenly said softly.


    ¡°HAHAHAHA!¡± Bai Yi abruptly burst out laughing when he heard Momo¡¯s question, and this laughter very quickly infected everyone else. They all started laughing. Nobody would have expected this kind of result from the start. To think that Bai Yi would have only gotten third place! Momo¡¯s question right then just happened to strike the punchline of this big joke¡ªso was the reason why Momo didn¡¯t like studying because she inherited Bai Yi¡¯s genes? Of course, other than Sharpei, nobody else knew that Bai Yi and Momo didn¡¯t have any blood relation.


    At this time, Vala and the others came in from the outside and found them all laughing loudly.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? Everybody¡¯s laughing so happily.¡±


    Bai Yi and Momo immediately revealed fearful expressions to Yeye the moment they heard voices coming from outside. ¡°Yeye, delete the test! Wipe it out completely, and never tell anyone else about it!¡± This was completely their own shameful history, and Bai Yi and Momo did not want to embarrass themselves in front of the others.


    ¡°Understood~!¡± Yeye said obediently, but she actually secretly saved everyone¡¯s test transcripts. Of course, she wouldn¡¯t reveal to everyone that all their tests were different and that Bai Yi¡¯s test had some ¡®special ingredients¡¯ in it. She could probably use this to blackmail Bai Yi, hehehe!


    ***


    Translator Notes

 Chapter 160

    Chapter 160: Trust


    Very quickly, Heloise and Vala walked over and with puzzled faces asked, ¡°What are you guys laughing so happily about?¡±


    ¡°Actually, it¡¯s nothing much, just some jokes!¡± Bai Yi looked at the computer and saw that Yeye had already deleted the tests. After seeing confirming this, Bai Yi could finally let out a sigh of relief. It wasn¡¯t that Bai Yi absolutely had to hide this, but this kind of embarrassing thing didn¡¯t need to be shown to any more people.


    ¡°Eh~?¡± The two of them looked at Bai Yi suspiciously. The signs of him trying to conceal something were way too obvious.


    The two of them then looked at the others. Momo would definitely listen to Bai Yi and not say anything, while Sharpei, Pupu, and Chinchilla couldn¡¯t possibly talk to begin with. Hence, the critical person was now Alodia. The moment the two of them looked at Alodia, Bai Yi also immediately made a ¡®please¡¯ gesture to her, and his pitiful expression immediately caused her to laugh. Alodia normally had a lot of reverence for Bai Yi, but she suddenly discovered his true temperament after seeing him like this.


    ¡°En, nothing much!¡± Alodia smiled and shook her head.


    ¡°Really?¡± Vala and Heloise both considered Alodia suspiciously.


    ¡°Really! I guarantee that there¡¯s nothing going on. So, how did the things you went off to do go?¡± Bai Yi immediately asked and tried to change the topic.


    ¡°The situation actually isn¡¯t too good; the other few factions are all quite patronizing, so it won¡¯t be easy to obtain the resources we want. There¡¯s enough of a supply of manpower, but can you be at ease using it though? Lucretia from the Ministry of Medicine has a relatively better attitude, but she wants Nancy to transfer over to her side for further development.¡± Vala immediately explained when she heard Bai Yi¡¯s question, and didn¡¯t pay any more attention to the issue of why were they laughing.


    ¡°And Nancy, what¡¯re your intentions?¡± Bai Yi looked at Nancy, who was walking over from the other side of the room.


    Nancy shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m a member of this team now.¡±


    Bai Yi studied Nancy. Although she was somebody who they had just happened to meet in Wellington and had joined the team by chance, she had been a great help to them. However, Bai Yi did not wish to restrict her growth just because of this. At least for now, Nancy still had a lot of room for improvement.


    ¡°I approve of you going over to Lucretia¡¯s side. You have talent, but because you weren¡¯t a doctor before, you are lacking in the basics. In becoming a Medicinal Maker, you relied solely on groping around by yourself, so you are still wanting in a lot of ways. But Lucretia¡¯s side is different. Many of them were originally doctors, and there¡¯s a huge team there. Many things inside there were developed together by all of them. If you can go and learn over there, it would definitely be better than you trying to figure things out alone. Just treat it as furthering your studies.¡± Bai Yi explained.


    Nancy stared at Bai Yi, and only nodded her head seriously after a long while.


    Bai Yi nodded as well before looking at Vala, who continued to report: ¡°Ji Hua Qing is indeed a very famous researcher. After learning that that old man was Ji Hua Qing and that we were willing to hand him over to the Ministry of Research, the other side finally agreed to supply us with research materials. Since it was a one-off deal, I was a little greedier during the negotiations.¡± Vala started smiling as she spoke.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a small research lab close to the recovery center. It was originally the medical research department of this hospital, but it was taken over by the Ministry of Research. I got it back from them, along with the more complete facilities and equipment inside, and many other things.¡± Vala said. Just remembering Isaac¡¯s pained look made her want to laugh.


    ¡°That¡¯s really good news!¡±


    ¡°But we don¡¯t have any suitable researchers. We can¡¯t make use of the research lab even if we¡¯ve acquired it.¡± Heloise creased her eyebrows.


    ¡°We can look for researchers if we don¡¯t have any. Everything must start somewhere. Moreover, don¡¯t forget about our main goal¡ªto increase our individual strength. If we really can¡¯t find anybody, then we can also use this research lab to familiarize us with experiments on ourselves.¡± Bai Yi said, seemingly not minding this very much.


    ¡°Bai Yi, I still don¡¯t understand. Why did you give Ji Hua Qing away?¡± Heloise asked.


    ¡°Because I don¡¯t trust him. In the end, we only have his word to rely on regarding his motives for coming to New Zealand. Putting aside the issue of whether his explanation is true or not, a lot can be seen from how he treated the special forces soldiers that came to protect him. For the sake of entering that research facility, he wanted to persuade those soldiers to assimilate with activated cells and become evolved humans. Those people clearly came for the sake of protecting him, and I can¡¯t trust someone who would treat such people so apathetically.¡± Bai Yi explained.


    Bai Yi was shocked when Yeye said that Ji Hua Qing was a titan in the field of biology research in China, and had thoughts of holding onto him too; however, he gave up on those notions in the end.


    Maybe this was just a personal feeling. It was obvious that Ji Hua Qing was very important, but Bai Yi simply couldn¡¯t trust him.


    ¡°So, we¡¯ll leave it like this and exchange Ji Hua Qing for resources. Nancy, you go over to Lucretia¡¯s side to methodically learn modern medical knowledge, along with what else they have developed so far. If the rest of you have nothing to do then just stay in this recovery center; I don¡¯t really trust anybody else. Other than that, the most important thing for you guys right now is not to battle with evolved lifeforms outside, but steadily accumulate strength instead.¡± Bai Yi said.


    Everyone nodded without any objections, and they slowly dispersed.


    ¡­


    Nancy looked for Vala in private. Within the team, only she and Ji Hua Qing had been sent away. It was impossible for Nancy to not have any stray thoughts of her own, and she had a sense of not being trusted in her heart. ¡°Older sister Vala, why does team leader want me to go over to Lucretia¡¯s side?¡±


    ¡°Because, team leader trusts you.¡±


    ¡°Why? He clearly wanted to send me away.¡± Nancy couldn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°Because we are all skilled in different things. To put it bluntly, in this team only the abilities of you and Melvin are ones that New Zealand places importance on now. One of you is a Medicinal Maker, while the other is a Weapon Armor Maker. But after all, these are classes that only just started developing. Bai Yi said it as well: he doesn¡¯t want you to grope around and try to figure things out alone, as it would be a waste of your talent. It¡¯s different for Melvin since his ability requires the use of his own blood. Before we have enough power to protect him for sure, it still isn¡¯t time to expose his abilities to the outside world. Just think about it. You are a member of the team, and you even helped Bai Yi by nursing his body and witnessed his breakthrough from the cocoon. If he didn¡¯t trust you, how is it possible that he would let you out?¡± Vala explained.


    ¡°But that Ji Hua Qing knows quite a lot too.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s different, Ji Hua Qing only knows some superficial things. It¡¯s just a bit of information on the team when we weren¡¯t prepared at the very start.¡± Vala still wanted to continue speaking, but she discovered Bai Yi walking over from the other side of the room.


    ¡°Bai Yi¡¯s here, he probably has things to say to you.¡± Vala patted Nancy¡¯s shoulder and walked off somewhere else.


    Bai Yi only came over after he saw Vala leaving, and asked Nancy, ¡°Interested in taking a walk with me?¡± However, Bai Yi didn¡¯t wait for Nancy¡¯s reply before walking away at his own pace. Seeing his actions and recalling Vala¡¯s words earlier, Nancy immediately followed after him.


    Very quickly, the two of them walked through the passageways of the hospital until they reached the rooftop. A gigantic tree more than a hundred meters tall had already grown above the roof, appearing verdant and lush.


    ¡°Nancy, what are your thoughts on a group of people like those in a team?¡±


    ¡°A team?¡± Nancy was very puzzled. She didn¡¯t expect Bai Yi to pop a question like this out of nowhere.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Undeniably, a team is a small group of people formed under New Zealand¡¯s unique environment. Within the team, the team leader usually has absolute authority. However, after New Zealand gradually stabilizes, these kinds of small groups will definitely slowly split apart. This is the most basic pattern in the development of society. Even if New Zealand never changes, what about when we reach the outside world? It can¡¯t be that we would still remain in many small individual teams, that doesn¡¯t fit an impartial view of the composition of society.¡± Bai Yi shook his head.


    ¡°All along, I treated you as a friend, and not just as a teammate. You also shouldn¡¯t fixate on the idea that you¡¯re stuck in the rigid and simple role of merely being a team member.¡± Bai Yi looked at Nancy with a gentle smile on his face.


    ¡°So, you also don¡¯t need to restrict yourself to staying together with everyone else all the time.¡±


    ¡°Honestly speaking, you are very talented¡ªtalented in medical studies¡ªbut you have a very weak foundation. That¡¯s why you must go out and learn, and fight for the chance to become even better, to become a true Medicinal Maker!¡± Bai Yi said to Nancy, his face full of encouragement.


    Nancy stared at Bai Yi¡¯s face. Bai Yi¡¯s appearance clearly still had a lot of strange characteristics to it, but she actually felt a slight tug in her heart. After subconsciously lowering her head by a bit, she nodded.


    ¡­


    Very quickly, the situation in the Recovery Center for Berserk Evolved Humans stabilized. Other than using his Reverse Flower Eyes on a few people at a certain time every day, the rest of Bai Yi¡¯s time was spent on studying and familiarizing himself with his body¡¯s changes. It had already been two years since New Zealand¡¯s changes had started, and they had always spent all their time constantly on the move. This new kind of quiet life just happened to be very suitable for them to rest and recuperate fully, as well as to begin to consolidate and accumulate their own strengths.


    That was why Bai Yi didn¡¯t let Woolf and the rest continue battling with evolved lifeforms outside but made them stay in the recovery center.


    As if a drop of clear water dripped onto the still surface of his mind, Bai Yi¡¯s expression instantly regained its clarity, and he turned his gaze away from his study text. Afterward, he closed his eyes, and all the information he had read just now slowly appeared in his mind. Bai Yi could clearly understand every bit of knowledge that so appeared.


    100% focus!


    Taking Yeye¡¯s suggestion, Bai Yi could barely force himself into such a state through self-hypnosis. In this state, Bai Yi¡¯s speed of learning was many times faster than before. Only now did Bai Yi suddenly sigh and understand that humans really did not make good use of their time while studying normally. Even while trying to study, a lot of time was spent being distracted or daydreaming.


    Bai Yi¡¯s schedule was packed to the brim nowadays. After recalling all the things that he had studied once in his heart, Bai Yi looked out the window. He reckoned that it was probably time to let those spies around him know the ¡®real limits¡¯ of his eyes. However, he still needed a suitable opportunity, and Bai Yi hoped for one that this was naturally occurring rather than a man-made. Otherwise, the signs of it would be too obvious.

 Chapter 161

    Chapter 161: Limit


    Everything went on as per usual, and Bai Yi¡¯s schedule was still filled to the brim every day. His time spent sleeping even increased to eight hours a day¡ªthis was something unthinkable before. Everybody in Bai Yi¡¯s team was hypnotized by him before they went to sleep, so all of them basically enjoyed dreamless deep sleep every night. Hence, they only needed about one hour of sleep every day to recover all their energy. Even if it was for the sake of balancing the body and soul, their amount of time spent sleeping wouldn¡¯t exceed three hours before they would wake up automatically because their bodies had already replenished enough energy.


    However, Bai Yi quickly realized that the mind became fatigued very easily while under the influence of 100% focus.


    Because of this, the amount of time Bai Yi spent sleeping every day became longer and longer. But after getting enough sleep, his mind would become stronger and stronger, and the amount of time he could stay absolutely focused increased as well. In addition, the effectiveness of Bai Yi¡¯s studying increased every time too. If he¡¯d had this kind of efficiency back in the past, Bai Yi would have been known as a genius in the outside world.


    ¡­


    On yet another evening, Bai Yi headed to the prison to hypnotize the five Brutal Stage humans to sleep. He yawned briefly afterward, appearing to be very tired. All along, everyone else thought that Bai Yi became fatigued from using his Reverse Flower Eyes, but nobody suspected that the real reason behind Bai Yi¡¯s fatigue was because he was studying using 100% focus. In reality, after breaking out of his cocoon, Bai Yi¡¯s eyes seemed to have undergone some enhancement as well, so his limitations were even lesser than before.


    Soon, Bai Yi and Alodia walked together toward the recovery center. Alodia was now like Bai Yi¡¯s secretary, and other than helping him to handle some simple matters, she also followed him around to learn from him.


    Beyond combat techniques, Alodia also took the initiative to study biological research, hoping to become the team¡¯s researcher in the future. Per Alodia¡¯s own words, interest was also something that could be developed. She wasn¡¯t really useful to the team, so she wanted to change herself to become more valuable. Moreover, with Bai Yi¡¯s status now, it was better to have subordinates following him around, and somebody with Alodia¡¯s disposition was very suitable for that role.


    Other than the two of them, there were still a group of people at the recovery center. These were all people that the five ministries had arranged to send over, and they all acted just like eyes for their masters. Bai Yi didn¡¯t really mind this since his priorities weren¡¯t truly with the recovery center, but it still wasn¡¯t comfortable being monitored by people all day long.


    Suddenly, Bai Yi received a phone call. Although New Christchurch wasn¡¯t connected to the entire world like before, signal coverage for just the city alone was still achievable. Building on the foundations that humans had had before was indeed much easier.


    ¡°Chairman Bai Yi!¡± The phone call was from Minister of Defence Freud.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Emergency! Somebody went berserk over here, we can¡¯t subdue him! Can Chairman Bai Yi come over now to help him recover his consciousness?¡± Freud said.


    ¡°Sure, where are you?¡± Bai Yi thought about how he had just used his Reverse Flower Eyes on the five patients and couldn¡¯t help but rub the center of his eyebrows.


    ¡°Northern side, right beside Waimakariri River! I already sent my subordinate, Human-faced Bird Chico, over to fetch you. Please come quickly, Chairman Bai Yi!¡± The other side of the call was very noisy, and it was apparently very chaotic over there. The duty of the Ministry of Defence was to expel and wipe out any evolved lifeforms around the city. Although they had great strength, they were also the ones that faced the most danger.


    Bai Yi had increased the volume of the speaker on his phone to its loudest setting, and everyone nearby could hear his conversation just now. Within a short while, a small black dot rapidly flew toward him from the sky. Bai Yi and the people around him looked up and discovered a bird-like creature with a human face and a wingspan of more than eight meters, flying powerfully and agilely over to meet him. Human-faced Bird Chico was one of the more famous subordinates under Freud, so Bai Yi wasn¡¯t worried that this was an ambush either.


    ¡°Please follow me, Chairman Bai Yi, the situation is very urgent,¡± Chico said anxiously. He even had some wet bloodstains on his body.


    ¡°I understand. Alodia, let¡¯s go.¡± Bai Yi said, lightly jumping onto Chico¡¯s back with Alodia.


    Chico originally only intended to bring Bai Yi along, but an additional girl wasn¡¯t a big deal. After Bai Yi and Alodia got on, he reminded them to sit tight, immediately spread his wings, and powerfully flew upward toward the battlefield on the other side of the city. Alodia was more obedient and sat down, tightly clutching a tuft of feathers on Chico¡¯s back, while Bai Yi directly stood on his back.


    No wonder there had been so many knights in the past¡ªit really felt quite good to be able to ride on something! Unfortunately, the present¡¯s evolved lifeforms were all very hard to tame, and Chico had been a true human being before, so this was something novel.


    Waimakariri River was the largest river in New Zealand, and so while Freud and his team had decent strength and usually hunted in a group, they must have definitely encountered a big monster there to be so troubled now. Bai Yi and company rushed there very quickly and discovered that more than twenty people were surrounding three others, stopping them from running away. These twenty plus people all carried the stench of blood on them, stimulating their nerves and making them ill at ease.


    One must know, everyone was at the Brutal Stage now. The ones in danger weren¡¯t just the three berserk guys in the center.


    On the other side, Bai Yi saw a gigantic fish head with a mouth full of sharp teeth eyeing them covetously from the river. From the faint red color swirling in the water, this big guy also seemed to be quite injured, it was just that it was fine for the moment since it had escaped back into the river. Bai Yi captured the entire situation with his eyes and abruptly jumped off Chico¡¯s back.


    Bai Yi dived through the air for the center of the battlefield, close to Freud and his opponents.


    ¡°Chairman Bai Yi!¡± Even in battle, Freud still had the presence of mind to greet Bai Yi. If not for these three guys being his subordinates, he would have probably killed all of them long ago. However, his hands were tied precisely because they were his subordinates, and he had to hold himself back.


    ¡°Restrain them!¡± Bai Yi said as he landed right on the head of a guy more than four meters tall. Bai Yi¡¯s heel brutally smashed into the back of the head of this guy, and with a backflip, he landed on Freud¡¯s shoulder.


    Although Freud was a bit unhappy, he couldn¡¯t complain much since his body was so big, and he had a favor to ask of Bai Yi now too. Immediately, Freud tightly grappled the guy that Bai Yi had just kicked in the head and turned to look at Bai Yi. However, at this time, Bai Yi¡¯s eyes were actually closed, and he said a few words.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me!¡±


    Bai Yi opened his eyes the instant Freud turned his head away and used his Reverse Flower Eyes on the suppressed berserk subordinate. Freud couldn¡¯t see Bai Yi¡¯s eyes and didn¡¯t feel much, but he realized that the struggles of the subordinate in his arms were becoming weaker and weaker. Finally, the struggling stopped entirely, and the subordinate¡¯s body went limp and fell on the ground.


    So powerful!


    Freud quivered in his heart. Bai Yi¡¯s eyes weren¡¯t just useful on berserk evolved humans, but on the contrary, they were even more effective on normal evolved humans. If he had to fight with Bai Yi one day, the first thing he had to consider was how to deal with Bai Yi¡¯s eyes. After that subordinate had fallen asleep, Freud realized that Bai Yi¡¯s eyes were bloodshot, as if blood was about to come out of his eyes.


    Soon afterward, the two remaining berserk guys were handled in the same way and fell asleep. Freud observed Bai Yi again and found that bright red trails of blood had already started flowing down from his eyes. At this time, Bai Yi kept his eyes closed all the while.


    ¡°Alodia, support me.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°OK.¡± Alodia heard and immediately held Bai Yi obediently.


    ¡°Chairman Bai Yi, we really have to thank you for this time! Otherwise, we really wouldn¡¯t know how to bring these three guys back from this, and even if we managed to bring them back we wouldn¡¯t know what to do with them either.¡± Freud spoke while seriously observing Bai Yi¡¯s condition at the same time.


    Bai Yi shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s nothing much, it¡¯s just what I should do.¡± After using the Reverse Flower Eyes on the three of them, Bai Yi had never opened his eyes again. Two bright red trails of blood flowed down from them, making for a ghastly sight to behold.


    By this time, Woolf, Heloise, and Pupu had arrived as well. There were also a bunch of people from the Ministry of Medicine that had instantly come rushing over to give emergency treatment when they had heard that there were people who went berserk over here. When Woolf and the others approached, Bai Yi finally said his goodbyes to Freud.


    ¡­


    Back at the recovery center, Bai Yi opened both his eyes again and what he saw were Vala¡¯s teasing eyes looking back at him. Bai Yi¡¯s limit was obviously not just this; rather, this was merely the ¡®limit¡¯ he showed to the world. Bai Yi didn¡¯t have any intentions of harming other people, but he himself knew that his eyes made people too wary. If he didn¡¯t show some flaws in his power, it would cause many people to become uneasy. Bai Yi saw Vala¡¯s smile and smiled as well, before using clean water to wash away the blood trails on his face.


    Very quickly, Freud brought over a big batch of presents to express his gratitude. However, Bai Yi didn¡¯t appear and the one to receive him was Vala. For one week after that incident, Bai Yi didn¡¯t continue going to the prison to treat those imprisoned berserk evolved humans, but rather quietly stayed in the recovery center to study.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t announce anything to the outside, but of course, that didn¡¯t mean that other people wouldn¡¯t make their own guesses. The incident with Freud¡¯s team at Waimakariri River wasn¡¯t some secret, and everybody already knew that Bai Yi went to help Freud after using his Reverse Flower Eyes on the imprisoned berserk evolved humans.


    Bai Yi would normally use his eyes five times inside the prison, and he used his eyes another three times helping Freud. After that, his eyes began to bleed, and he had to rest for more than a week.


    Even an elementary school kid would be able to do this kind of simple math, and so many people started to quietly ponder in their hearts. The usage limit of Bai Yi¡¯s eyes should be about five to six times a day without hurting himself. If he forced himself to use them again, he could probably manage about ten times, but that would apparently cause some harmful side effects to his eyes.


    After deducing this piece of information, unknowingly, everyone started to feel that Bai Yi¡¯s eyes weren¡¯t that frightening anymore.

 Chapter 162

    Chapter 162: Flourishing Fame


    After Bai Yi announced the reopening of the recovery center, there were finally people who came in for treatment. They were mainly the group of subordinates under Freud¡¯s command. These people who were always in battle had the most unstable mental states. Due to the Clearyheart usually provided by the Ministry of Medicine, they didn¡¯t think that this was a big problem. However, after the incident at Waimakariri River, these people finally understood that during intense and desperate battles they weren¡¯t able to control the changes in their bodies after all.


    The stimulation of fresh blood and violence combined with the incongruence in their souls resulted in them easily losing control.


    Freud took the lead and came to receive treatment from Bai Yi at once. Bai Yi received him with a smile, but he saw all Freud¡¯s subordinates being fearful and uneasy, seemingly afraid that Bai Yi would harm their boss.


    ¡°Look at you guys. It isn¡¯t like Chairman Bai Yi is our enemy,¡± Freud lectured them.


    ¡°But Minister, you will be totally defenseless after being hypnotized!¡±


    ¡°Chairman Bai Yi, what do you think?¡±


    Bai Yi looked at the shoddy acting of this bunch of people and felt that it was very entertaining. This was probably the reason why a majority of them weren¡¯t willing to receive treatment from him. Receiving treatment from Bai Yi was the same as putting themselves on the chopping block and waiting to be slaughtered. If Bai Yi really had any malicious intentions, they wouldn¡¯t even know how they died.


    ¡°You can have some people you trust stand guard outside, but nobody is allowed to watch the treatment process.¡± Bai Yi then turned to Freud and asked jokingly, ¡°Or do you think that I will try to harm you?¡±


    ¡°How can that be! Hahahahaha!¡± Freud immediately started laughing loudly, but the true thoughts behind his words couldn¡¯t be hidden after all. However, since Freud had decided to come to Bai Yi¡¯s place, he was already well prepared. After laughing, he patted the shoulders of two of his subordinates and followed Bai Yi inside the huge treatment room.


    ¡°Due to the differences in size among evolved humans, the positions of the beds are different as well. This bed is the most suitable for you, get on it,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°En.¡± Freud nodded and sat on the bed, waiting for Bai Yi to start his treatment.


    Unexpectedly, however, Bai Yi didn¡¯t do anything but just sat down on a chair by the bedside. He looked extremely comfortable and started idly chatting with Freud about various things. Hypnosis could be achieved through sounds, words, actions, or using objects to influence the consciousnesses of other people, creating suggestions in their minds. Bai Yi wouldn¡¯t purely use his eyes to hypnotize another person, as that would be too tiring.


    Freud definitely wanted to see what the deal with Bai Yi¡¯s eyes was, so he kept on subconsciously looking at Bai Yi while chatting with him. Bai Yi did not stop him either and just came up with some random topics to chat with him about.


    When Freud opened his eyes again, he completely woke up with a start.


    The memories of him chatting with Bai Yi slowly floated up to the forefront of his mind, but toward the end, he couldn¡¯t remember how he fell asleep at all. Or rather, his consciousness had unknowingly gone into a daze, and he couldn¡¯t remember anything that had happened after that. He couldn¡¯t even remember whether Bai Yi used his Reverse Flower Eyes in the end. Rubbing his head, Freud slowly stood up and suddenly realized that the sky was already dark.


    ¡°What time is it now?¡± Freud walked out and saw his two subordinates standing guard outside.


    The two henchmen saw Freud walk out and couldn¡¯t help but exclaim, ¡°Minister!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s already nighttime. That Bai Yi told us to not disturb your sleep. How do you feel now Minister? Do you feel unwell in any way?¡± One of them asked curiously.


    ¡°This¡­ I feel something, but I don¡¯t know how to describe it. I¡¯ll find Chairman Bai Yi to say my goodbyes,¡± Freud said, slowly feeling out the changes in his body.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. That Bai Yi said earlier that you can leave directly after waking up, there¡¯s no need to look for him,¡± One of them said, and the other henchman nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Is that so? Then forget about it, let¡¯s go back.¡± Freud nodded and headed out with his two guards, bringing all his subordinates back to his own territory afterward.


    While walking on the street, Freud gradually took in the changes in his own body. In the Brutal Phase, due to the incongruence of the body and soul, every evolved lifeform would feel vexed and irritated all the time, as though it wanted to vent something inside its heart but was unable to do so. The feeling of one¡¯s nerves being tense all the time yet being unable to find any relief really made things unbearable. It wasn¡¯t like suffering from physical injuries, but this awkward feeling just felt abnormally uncomfortable.


    However, now Freud didn¡¯t have this feeling at all, like all the negative conditions within his body had just disappeared. His steps on the street were incomparably light, and his spirit felt fresh and clear. Even if Freud wasn¡¯t medically trained, he could clearly feel that his condition now was very good.


    The effects were really too shocking!


    But he fell asleep without even knowing how he got hypnotized.


    Forget about it! At least there weren¡¯t any conflicts or hostility between him and Bai Yi now. If there was time, he felt he should let the bunch of assholes under him receive treatment from Bai Yi as well.


    Very quickly, everyone learned that Freud had received treatment from Bai Yi once already, and had even sent his subordinates to receive treatment from him too.Every evolved human that came out of Bai Yi¡¯s recovery center could feel the change in their body and mind after experiencing it personally. Gradually, the number of evolved humans going to Bai Yi¡¯s recovery center increased.


    However, at this time, Bai Yi actually limited the number of people he would see to ten per day. Although he didn¡¯t have to use the top-level Reverse Flower Eyes on these clear-headed evolved humans, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to take it if there were too many people coming. Moreover, it wasted too much of his time.


    As the number of people that visited his recovery center increased, news about the beneficial effects of his hypnosis spread far and wide. The feeling of all the burdens upon and frustrations within one¡¯s body completely disappearing was really too relaxing. At this time, the negative rumors about Bai Yi amongst the people vanished without a trace, and everyone was full of praise for him. His fame shot up and became even greater than before. The numbers in queue to visit Bai Yi¡¯s recovery center were even marked up to a ridiculous price on the black market.


    However, Bai Yi showed absolutely no changes in his demeanor. No matter whether it was when his reputation had crashed or when it shot up now, Bai Yi stayed the same throughout, without a single trace of anger or delight, remaining tranquil and calm.


    It was precisely this attitude of his that made many people feel ashamed. Even those who had initially badmouthed Bai Yi gradually had a change of attitude.


    Because of the circumstances of this situation, the study of hypnosis also developed rapidly. Consolidating all the knowledge about hypnosis that humans had, everyone realized that Bai Yi wasn¡¯t the only one who possessed the power to hypnotize people. Similarly to Bai Yi, there were quite a few other people who changed in certain ways after fusing with other genes. However, the hypnotic ability of these people wasn¡¯t as powerful as Bai Yi¡¯s, and they required some help from the knowledge regarding hypnosis that modern society had accumulated before.


    Slowly, a new profession appeared in New Christchurch¡ªHypnotist!


    Of course, hypnotists had long existed in the world before, it was just that nobody had ever ascribed much importance to them under normal circumstances. The desires of the people were really the greatest motive force in making society move in a certain direction. In New Zealand now, there were already three new professions¡ªMedicinal Maker, Weapon Armor Maker, and Hypnotist.


    It was hard to say who was the number one Medicinal Maker or Weapon Armor Maker at the moment, since many people had started to develop and grope about in these fields at the same time. However, when it came to Hypnotists, everyone knew Bai Yi¡¯s name. So far, there wasn¡¯t anyone that could match Bai Yi¡¯s level of ability or fame.


    Bai Yi¡¯s recovery center changed over time as well, and Bai Yi wasn¡¯t the only hypnotist there anymore. Bai Yi would rarely take the initiative to give treatment nowadays, and he would only appear when more important people came to his recovery center. Most of the time, Bai Yi was trying to nurture and fortify his own body.


    Tai Ji Fist, blade techniques, and Reverse Flower Eyes!


    It had already been a year since Bai Yi¡¯s team arrived in New Christchurch, and in this one year Bai Yi seemed to become even more gentle. Nobody knew just how much this man who seemed so gentle had changed. And at this time, Bai Yi felt that his team would enter the Hypersomnia Phase soon.


    ______________________________________________________________


    LV1-3 Hypersomnia Stage: All the gene fusion slots have been occupied, the physical state is stable, and the soul has also grown to a compatible level. At this stage, evolved lifeforms would instinctively sense the existence of the soul, and at the same time understand what needed to be done next¡ªharmonizing with the soul again.


    To become harmonized with the soul would require constant rebalancing, and this kind of adjustment was best done while sleeping, especially with deep level sleep, womb sleep, or meditative states.


    Other than looking for food and eating, Hypersomnia Stage lifeforms would basically spend all their time sleeping. These lifeforms weren¡¯t too threatening, but they were all similarly dangerous.


    Although these lifeforms loved to sleep, their sleeping states weren¡¯t good, and it was extremely difficult to enter deep level sleep. They would be easily awakened by things like nightmares, which were basically the result of the incongruence of the body and soul. Hence, Hypersomnia Stage lifeforms would be extremely hostile to anybody that woke them up from their sleep, and possessed a disposition that implied ¡®I¡¯ll kill your whole family if you wake me up¡¯.


    ___________________________________________________________


    Now, Bai Yi felt that his Hypersomnia Stage was coming. Yeye had said at the start as well that, based on the level of congruence between the body and soul, an evolved lifeform would normally enter the Hypersomnia Stage in three to five years time.


    Bai Yi and his team¡¯s level of congruence with their souls were all extremely decent, and they were approaching the Hypersomnia Stage within just shy of three years. Not only Bai Yi had this feeling, as all the other people on his team had a vague sense of this as well. This was especially true for the people who had followed Bai Yi from the start like Woolf and Heloise, while others like Vala who had joined later were slightly slower.


    The Hypersomnia Phase wouldn¡¯t last long, probably only around half a year. When the half a year of the Hypersomnia Phase ended, they would have to meet with the greatest obstacle evolved lifeforms had to face¡ªMetamorphosis!


    Bai Yi could still remember the number that Yeye had said at the start¡­ 2.31%!

 Chapter 163

    Chapter 163: Other Developments


    Bai Yi started to recall the data that Yeye recorded about the Hypersomnia Stage of other evolved lifeforms.


    Normally, evolved lifeforms would only sense the existence of the soul during the LV1-3 Hypersomnia Stage and naturally wanted to sleep to balance their bodies with their souls. From the start, Bai Yi¡¯s team had gradually entered deep level sleep so as to undergo this kind of balancing. Thinking about it, all this was still thanks to the vast quantities of data collected on the experimental subjects in the research facilities. If not for the data gathered from them, there would probably be a lot more evolved humans that fell into the berserk state at this time.


    One must know that, according to the numbers from the research facilities, 90% of evolved humans lost control of themselves in the Brutal Phase and fell into the berserk state permanently!


    There were probably close to a million evolved humans still surviving in New Zealand, but there were only slightly more than a hundred thousand evolved humans in New Christchurch. Adding in the northern half of New Zealand and the evolved humans randomly dispersed throughout the entire country, there were probably only around three to four hundred thousand evolved humans left that still retained their minds. This number was already three to four times greater than the numbers achieved at the research facilities, and it was all thanks to the data gathered from the experimental subjects.


    After Bai Yi released all this information, the large number of evolved humans remaining had started to study and document the changes in their bodies, consolidating everything into a series of ways to relax their tense nerves, relieve stress, and diminish their brutal urges. It was only through all this that such a result had been achieved.


    Although there weren¡¯t many of them left, there were still quite a few experimental subjects that had escaped from the research facilities in New Zealand. These experimental subjects had all assimilated with the activated cells a step earlier than most of the lifeforms in New Zealand. Hence, people had already discovered some patterns and conditions regarding the Hypersomnia Phase from these experimental subjects.


    Hypersomnia Stage: Other than looking for food and eating, Hypersomnia Stage lifeforms would basically spend all their time sleeping. These lifeforms weren¡¯t too threatening, but they were all similarly dangerous.


    Although these lifeforms loved to sleep, their sleeping states weren¡¯t good, and it was extremely difficult to enter deep level sleep. They would be easily awakened by things like nightmares, which were basically the result of the incongruence of the body and soul. Hence, Hypersomnia Stage lifeforms would be extremely hostile to anybody that woke them up from their sleep, and possessed a disposition that implied ¡®I¡¯ll kill your whole family if you wake me up¡¯.


    Bai Yi felt that they shouldn¡¯t find it hard to fall asleep like normal Hypersomnia Stage lifeforms, but would rather sleep like a log. Hypersomnia Stage lifeforms usually spent more than 90% of their time asleep. It wouldn¡¯t be a problem if they were easily woken up, but if they really slept without any awareness of their surroundings, it would probably be extremely dangerous for them during this period of time.


    ¡­


    Bai Yi pondered over the information they had regarding the Hypersomnia Stage, and slowly walked outside. He had already thought about how to get his team through the Hypersomnia Stage. They wouldn¡¯t stay in the city, as there were too many people there. That was normally a positive attribute, but now, on the contrary, it made him worried. Although Bai Yi had a high reputation in the city and the few other factions had so far tried to maintain friendly relations with him, the human heart wasn¡¯t something so easily grasped.


    They were going to leave this city soon, so Bai Yi casually put on a cloak and headed into it.


    In a year, New Christchurch had changed greatly through the efforts of all the evolved humans. Its buildings had been reconstructed on their old foundations to fit the new scale of evolved humans, and the general architectural style of New Zealand now gave the city a fantastical and strange feeling. Still, it was precisely such a city that Bai Yi and the rest had built with their own hands.


    Bai Yi slowly walked along the street toward the core of the city, observing its newborn appearance. He had on a wide, hooded cloak that covered even his face, so he didn¡¯t have to worry about being recognized by other people. Along the way, he noted that although it couldn¡¯t be considered as bustling, the city was still quite lively. Many evolved humans had gathered together and made the city seem full of life.


    Unknowingly, Bai Yi walked all the way to the food market. Looking at the crowd squeezing upon itself, he couldn¡¯t help but laugh. Was it the chef genes in his body that had made him walk all the way this place?


    There had already been more than ten types of vegetables discovered in New Zealand by now, and that was basically sufficient for mass consumption. Other than those, various types of mutated evolved lifeforms and plants made the food available in the market both wide in variety and uncertain in properties. Some gluttons had suddenly felt that they were incredibly fortunate after New Zealand stabilized. There were so many ingredients that they had never encountered before, and they were definitely in for a treat now. However, among all these new ingredients, there were a lot of them that could be fatal if they were handled improperly.


    Although chef wasn¡¯t listed among the three big professions of New Zealand, it was still a very popular job. Food is the God of people1, and no matter what, filling up the stomach was always the most important thing.


    Although Bai Yi was himself a chef, he hadn¡¯t cooked in a long while. Practically every minute of his time was spent on learning and accumulating knowledge.


    Suddenly, Bai Yi found an ingredient that looked like a giant python, but it was actually a plant that was still wriggling around. Evil Vine! It was a carnivorous plant that had plenty of barbs on its surface and was as large around as a human¡¯s thigh. It could either photosynthesize for energy or absorb nutrients from hunting other lifeforms¡ªit could wrap itself around a human and consume a person directly.


    But, could this thing be eaten?


    ¡°Evil Vine?¡± Bai Yi questioned.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! Selling it for only 500 Devil coins right now! You want it?¡± The enthusiastic stall owner asked. ¡°This is something my team hacked off an Evil Vine with great effort! Although this vine is only as thick as a human¡¯s thigh, the Evil Vine that we hacked it from was more than ten meters in diameter, and its vines covered the sky and earth! If not for my team being strong enough, we wouldn¡¯t have even dared to approach it.¡± This guy saw that Bai Yi was interested and started introducing his product incessantly.


    ¡°This thing can be eaten?¡± Bai Yi couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Bai Yi¡¯s question apparently stumped this guy.


    ¡°You don¡¯t say? If it can¡¯t be eaten why would we bother to catch it? Don¡¯t we normally stir-fry vegetables and meat together when we cook? Let me tell you, carnivorous plants contain nutrients from both vegetables and meat, and with these two components fusing together, the taste is much better than just eating simply either vegetables or meat alone. You probably aren¡¯t a chef, right? To think that you could ask something like this.¡± This guy gave Bai Yi a disdainful look.


    ¡°Let me remind you: you can look around if you aren¡¯t a chef, but you must not buy any strange things you see. Otherwise, don¡¯t blame anybody else if the food you cook ends up killing someone, because it¡¯ll just be that you don¡¯t know how to prepare the ingredients.¡± This guy seemed to not be a bad sort, as he actually still reminded Bai Yi to refrain from purchasing strange ingredients.


    ¡°Is that so? Thanks a lot then.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°But how do I prepare this Evil Vine so that it¡¯s edible?¡± Bai Yi asked again.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know either, I¡¯m not a chef. The chef on my team doesn¡¯t know how to handle this thing either. But I ate this once at Devil¡¯s Cuisine House. There¡¯s a dish there that is precisely this Evil Vine, and the taste isn¡¯t bad either.¡± This guy saw that he didn¡¯t have much business anyway, and started chatting with Bai Yi.


    ¡°As I think about it, ever since New Zealand stabilized, everyone realized that the variety of food increased many times over, but of course the danger of the food increased by many times as well. Generally speaking, ingredients that can be prepared normally¡ªmeaning that no matter how you cooked it, it would at least be edible and not poisonous¡ªwould be considered typical ingredients. Those ingredients that would be inedible or fatal if prepared incorrectly would be called special preparation ingredients.¡± It had always been a part of human nature to like to lecture others, and this guy started to talk incessantly after he saw Bai Yi sit on a rock beside him.


    ¡°Special preparation ingredients!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, special preparation ingredients. A normal chef would never be able to handle them. Things such as the Hell Pool Poison Lizard, Evil Vine, Seven-colored Mushroom, Spiked Blowfish¡­¡± This guy really knew quite a lot of things, and Bai Yi listened with great interest as well.


    Bai Yi only now realized that the professions that had developed weren¡¯t just the Medicinal Makers, Weapon Armor Makers, and Hypnotists, but that chefs were also developing and changing. Regretfully, Bai Yi had been seriously putting 100% of his focus into studying biology over the past year, and he wasn¡¯t even aware of the developments in his original profession as a chef.


    ¡°Then how can I find out the way to prepare these ingredients?¡± Bai Yi asked. Although Bai Yi had been forced by life¡¯s circumstances to become a chef back in the day, he personally didn¡¯t dislike the profession and actually rather enjoyed it. Since even culinary arts had developed and changed, Bai Yi of course wanted to learn about these preparation methods as well, even if this was something developed by countless people.


    ¡°Difficult, very difficult!¡± This guy shook his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s easy to understand why. Normally, these special preparation methods would definitely be treated as a secret by people, and they wouldn¡¯t tell you unless you were somebody close to them. In addition, many of the preparation methods can¡¯t be used unless you have the prerequisite level of strength and ability. However, I do know of a place that is very skilled in preparing these special ingredients.¡±


    ¡°What place?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I mention it just now? Devil¡¯s Cuisine House! That place basically doesn¡¯t sell any ordinary food, but the prices there are really expensive. My team leader brought us there to eat once, and we almost went broke from ordering just two dishes. You should¡¯ve seen it then, my team leader¡¯s face at that point in time could only be described as miserable.¡± This guy¡¯s face was full of teasing smiles when he talked about his team leader. Apparently, this was a very happy and harmonious team, and the team leader definitely must have been a very easy-going person too.


    ¡°It¡¯s so expensive?¡±


    ¡°Of course, what they¡¯re selling is style. They don¡¯t sell any ordinary food, and other people don¡¯t know how to handle special ingredients either. Do you think it wouldn¡¯t be expensive?¡±


    ¡°Then where is this Devil¡¯s Cuisine House? I want to take a look,¡± Bai Yi asked, as his interest was already greatly piqued.


    ¡°Do you have enough money? The cheapest thing on the menu is at least 2000 Devil coins,¡± This guy asked good-heartedly.


    Bai Yi nodded. ¡°En, should be able to eat a few dishes.¡± How could the number only be a few dishes? With Bai Yi¡¯s status now, how was it possible that he would be lacking in money? Although Bai Yi usually didn¡¯t use much of it, it would be a ridiculous joke to say that he couldn¡¯t even afford a meal there.


    Devil¡¯s Cuisine House¡ªBai Yi started to walk toward the place mentioned by that guy with great interest.

 Chapter 164

    Chapter 164: Special Preparation Ingredient


    When Bai Yi arrived at Devil¡¯s Cuisine House, he realized that the place wasn¡¯t too lively. Outside the door there was even a notice: ¡®Buying preparation and cooking methods of special ingredients at high prices, trades are accepted too¡¯.


    When Bai Yi entered Devil¡¯s Cuisine House, he saw that there were only three customers inside, and the place was very empty. After finding a seat, he picked up the menu on the table. There were more than a hundred dishes on the menu, but Bai Yi could tell with a glance that most of the ingredients were the same¡ªit was just that the way of cooking them was different. He counted 31 different ingredients within the dishes on the menu. This was probably the number of special preparation ingredients that this Devil¡¯s Cuisine House had grasped the method of using.


    ¡°Welcome! What would you like to eat?¡± While Bai Yi was looking over the menu, a cat-lady skipped over to him.


    ¡°En, I¡¯ll have this hundred-legged eyeball roast.¡± Bai Yi pointed at the first item on the menu, the kind that people would know was extremely strange with just a look.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, you are looking at the wrong side. Today¡¯s menu is on the back,¡± This cat-lady reminded him.


    ¡°Eh?¡± Bai Yi was puzzled for a moment and flipped the menu over, realizing that there were only eleven items made from three ingredients. These were all dishes that the menu on the other side had as well.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, customer, Devil¡¯s Cuisine House is different from normal restaurants. It¡¯s harder for us to acquire ingredients, so we can¡¯t produce all the dishes at any given time. The dishes that we can serve every day are limited, and what we can serve today are just these eleven dishes,¡± The cat-lady explained.


    Bai Yi nodded. So that was how it was. The reason why there weren¡¯t many customers in this Devil¡¯s Cuisine House was not only because things here were expensive, but also because the dishes served were all limited. It was very likely that a customer wouldn¡¯t be able to eat what they wanted. Since that was the case, he couldn¡¯t waste this opportunity. Bai Yi slid his right hand over the menu and captured the entirety of it in his eyes.


    ¡°I want one of everything!¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Everything?¡±


    ¡°En, everything.¡±


    ¡°The eleven dishes today will cost 60,000 Devil coins in total.¡± The cat-lady looked at Bai Yi hesitantly. This guy, don¡¯t tell me he¡¯s here to make trouble or get a free meal?


    Bai Yi nodded. ¡°En, I know.¡±


    The cat-lady didn¡¯t continue to say anything but the distrust in her eyes couldn¡¯t be concealed at all. She jogged toward the back of the building, apparently to inform the head chef or boss of this Devil¡¯s Cuisine House. Watching the cat-lady running further inside, Bai Yi couldn¡¯t help but smile teasingly. Did he really look like somebody who was going to dine and dash? However, the boss here was apparently very professional and didn¡¯t suspect him. Even if Bai Yi decided to dine and dash, that was something to be handled at that time. For now, no matter what, Bai Yi was an honored customer.


    Very quickly, the first dish was served¡ªSliced Ghost-faced Mushrooms.


    Bai Yi looked at the plate of weird slices being served to him and couldn¡¯t help but analyze it seriously. With a look, he saw that on every slice was an abstract image of a ghost face seemingly about to jump out at him. It appeared to be extremely frightening, and Bai Yi had never seen this ingredient of Ghost-faced Mushrooms before.


    ¡°Are there any steps to eating this thing?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°None, you can just eat it directly, we have already prepared it properly.¡± The cat-lady nodded and looked like she was waiting for Bai Yi to be scared to death. The cat-lady¡¯s mild excitement couldn¡¯t escape Bai Yi¡¯s eyes, but he also couldn¡¯t understand where her enthusiasm was coming from.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t see any cutlery, but he realized that there was a small stalk on the side of every slice. At this time, the cat-lady also told Bai Yi that he could directly hold the stalk with his hand and eat it.


    Bai Yi picked up a slice of Ghost-faced Mushroom and put in inside his mouth. At this instant, the excitement in the cat-lady¡¯s eyes was even more pronounced. Just what is she playing at¡­ Bai Yi thought in his heart as he bit down on it. The moment Bai Yi bit into it, the Ghost-faced Mushroom in his mouth immediately let out a sharp, terrifying scream, and after that Bai Yi discovered that there was a faint stench in his mouth. This was definitely the taste of blood!


    What the hell!


    Bai Yi indeed got a fright, but after his body tensed slightly for a moment he immediately relaxed again, appearing perfectly normal. After that, he slowly savored the taste of the Ghost-faced mushroom in his mouth, and the faint stench gradually dissolved as well, turning into a fresh, delicious taste. With every bite the Ghost-faced Mushroom would release a strange sound, just like a blood-curdling scream from a human. Of course, only the first time sounded like a human¡¯s scream¡ªthe sound became very strange after the Ghost-faced Mushroom was broken down into pieces in Bai Yi¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°Not bad, very tasty,¡± Bai Yi said and went for another slice of Ghost-faced Mushroom.


    Why didn¡¯t he get frightened? Normally people who eat the Ghost-faced Mushroom for the first time all get a scare! The cat-lady looked at Bai Yi in puzzlement and walked back into the kitchen patting her head. After that, another ten dishes were prepared and served up continuously. Although the other dishes were strange as well, other than the first Ghost-faced Mushroom dish, the rest of them didn¡¯t give him a scare. No matter what, these were only special ingredients, not some kind of horror game.


    Bai Yi slowly savored these dishes and nodded approvingly inside his heart. Not just the preparation of these special ingredients, but even the composition of the tastes was all very well done. Bai Yi had to admit that his culinary skills weren¡¯t as good as those of this chef.


    Although Bai Yi was alone, he still finished this entire table full of dishes completely, without even leaving a drop of soup. Although the Binging Phase had already ended, if evolved humans really wanted to eat to their heart¡¯s content, then the amount they could put away in one meal was still terrifying.


    Bai Yi placed his chopsticks on the table and lightly breathed out. A random walk around really let me find a good place.


    ¡°Bill please,¡± Bai Yi said and took out the newly issued Devil coins of New Zealand. Currency has always been a mark of a civilization¡¯s progress. They had started issuing these coins right after their environment had become safer and more stable, as otherwise, they¡¯d really have seemed like primitive people if they continued to use barter trade. After Bai Yi took out a sufficient amount of Devil coins, the cat-lady, who had been unhappy all along, finally started smiling¡ªshe¡¯d still thought that Bai Yi wasn¡¯t going to pay up.


    ¡°Could I meet with the boss and head chef of this Devil¡¯s Cuisine House?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°What do you want to do?!¡± The cat-lady immediately became very wary like a cat that got its tail stepped on, and watched Bai Yi cautiously.


    Suddenly, a female voice came from the second floor, ¡°Bellamy, bring this customer up here.¡±


    The cat-lady, who was just like an agitated little cat, immediately calmed down. She then angrily creased her small face and glared at Bai Yi before bringing him upstairs. At this time, Devil¡¯s Cuisine House already had no other customers, so he only gave this cat-lady called Bellamy a smile and followed her up.


    ¡°I¡¯m curious, what business does this customer have with me?¡± A woman that wore a chef¡¯s uniform and also looked like a cat-lady walked out. However, compared to the young and inexperienced Bellamy, this lady seemed to have a provoking sexiness even after she became an evolved human. Bai Yi could tell that this lady was not only attractive, but powerful as well.


    ¡°This Devil¡¯s Cuisine House, are you the one in charge of this place?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m the store manager and head chef of Devil¡¯s Cuisine House.¡± The lady opposite him nodded her head.


    ¡°I¡¯m quite interested in the preparation methods used in cooking the special ingredients in your noble1 shop. I¡¯m curious if you are willing to sell them to me?¡± Bai Yi asked seriously.


    The moment Bai Yi finished speaking, the fur on the cat-lady called Bellamy immediately stood up. She revealed her little canines, and her slit-like cat eyes glared directly at Bai Yi. Just by looking at Bellamy¡¯s sharp claws, Bai Yi knew that with just a word from the sexy head chef this little cat-lady would immediately pounce onto him, and it would definitely not be some kind of gentle pouncing into his arms.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so nervous, I am genuinely asking you if you could sell the preparation methods for these special ingredients. No matter whether you want Devil coins or any other things, that¡¯s fine. I believe that as long as it isn¡¯t too ridiculous, I will be able to pay the bill,¡± Bai Yi said with a smile as he looked toward the savage little cat-lady and waved his hand lightly.


    The initially agitated little cat-lady gradually started to calm down after hearing Bai Yi¡¯s words.


    The sexy cat-lady head chef shook her head. ¡°That probably won¡¯t do, no matter what. The preparation methods for these special ingredients are things that we figured out and developed over a long period of time. Additionally, they are the only unique thing about Devil¡¯s Cuisine House. If I teach them to anybody else, then I won¡¯t be able to continue to conduct my business.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about this problem, because this is just for my personal curiosity. I was a chef before too, it¡¯s just that my main occupation isn¡¯t as a chef now. I probably won¡¯t open a restaurant or anything similar in the future either,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Why should we believe you?¡± The little cat-lady frowned.


    Bai Yi¡¯s slightly colored soft fur on his face wasn¡¯t considered too unique by now, as many other people had fur on their faces as well. Unless they had seen Bai Yi in person before, it wasn¡¯t so easy to recognise him with just a look. Bai Yi heard the cat-lady¡¯s words and smiled, pointing to his eyes. Slowly, a flower growing in reverse appeared in them.


    Reverse Flower Eyes!


    But there was only the appearance of them, and they didn¡¯t display any effects. The two cat-ladies who initially thought that he was somewhat familiar were immediately stunned. Reverse Flower Eyes, this was Bai Yi¡¯s trademark! So far, nobody had found another person who possessed similar eyes to him.


    ¡°B-B-B-Bai Yi!¡±


    The little cat-lady couldn¡¯t even speak coherently now. She suddenly took a few steps backward and landed with her butt on the floor.


    Bai Yi saw the appearance of the little cat-lady and couldn¡¯t help but laugh, before showing her an expression that said ¡®I didn¡¯t do anything to you¡¯. Seeing how Bai Yi reacted, the little cat-lady immediately climbed up and carefully stood, hiding behind the sexy cat-lady chef. To them, Bai Yi was somebody that they could never approach. The ticket to get Bai Yi¡¯s personal treatment was also ridiculously expensive.


    The head chef was also stunned for a moment, before focusing her mind again. It was actually Bai Yi. Bai Yi¡¯s identity, of course, didn¡¯t need too much verification¡ªhis eyes were the greatest way of identifying him. If this was Bai Yi, then his words before shouldn¡¯t be a lie.


    Moreover, if this was Bai Yi, then using the special preparation methods to trade for something like getting treated by him personally should be quite attractive to him.


    ¡°I am the store manager and head chef of Devil¡¯s Cuisine House¡ªBetsy!¡± The sexy cat-lady chef said.


    ***


    Translator Notes:

 Chapter 165

    Chapter 165: Chinchilla Awakens!


    ¡°I am the store manager and head chef of Devil¡¯s Cuisine House¡ªBetsy!¡± The sexy cat-lady said.


    ¡°I am Bai Yi!¡± Bai Yi stretched out his right hand. Shaking hands had always been one of the etiquettes of the east.


    After Betsy took the initiative to introduce herself, Bai Yi knew that he should be able to acquire the preparation and cooking methods for these special ingredients. Sure enough, Betsy promptly started negotiating the terms of the trade for her special preparation methods. Bai Yi could tell that this sexy cat-lady was very capable given she had independently opened a store here, but now, facing him, she restrained her audacity, fearing that he would bully her and Bellamy with his status.


    No matter what the circumstances, the side with lesser status would always have to be more cautious when negotiating.


    However, Betsy very quickly put her nervous heart at ease¡ªBai Yi was easier to talk to than she would have thought, and he agreed to give her and Bellamy treatment for a week. Bai Yi planned this accordingly, as a week¡¯s time was just right for him too. Vala and the rest could use this period of time to make all the necessary preparations, and after a week they would leave New Christchurch for the location that they had prepared long before for the Hypersomnia Phase.


    After the two sides reached an agreement, Bai Yi brought Betsy and Bellamy back to the recovery center. Of course, they took a trip to the food market before returning, since Betsy couldn¡¯t just teach her preparation methods as a matter of theory. It was best if they had real samples to practice on. Hence, after entering the food market, they bought all the special ingredients that they could find.


    When Bai Yi again returned to the shop with the guy selling Evil Vine, that guy was still zoning out.


    ¡°Hey, the Evil Vine hasn¡¯t been sold yet? 500 Devil coins, I¡¯ll take it,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Sure, sure!¡± This guy finally reacted and placed the Evil Vine into a monster skin bag. While filling up the bag, the guy was still looking at Bellamy. Betsy didn¡¯t come out much, so he definitely didn¡¯t recognize her, but he would certainly know Bellamy since he¡¯d eaten at Devil¡¯s Cuisine House before.


    ¡°Why did you kidnap the waitress of Devil¡¯s Cuisine House?¡±


    Bai Yi laughed. ¡°When did I do so? We¡¯re just going out to buy ingredients together.¡±


    ¡°Ah I understand now! You definitely didn¡¯t have enough money and got taken as somebody who wanted a free meal. After that, they beat you up and sent you out to do manual labor! Although I¡¯ve never seen the boss of Devil¡¯s Cuisine House, I¡¯ve heard that the boss is very strong.¡± The guy pointed his finger forcefully with an expression that said ¡®I knew it!¡¯, and looked at Bai Yi mockingly.


    Bai Yi heard his words and only smiled without denying it. This made the guy even more certain that he had guessed correctly.


    Although there weren¡¯t many special ingredients, they still bought a big bunch of them and hired somebody to help them carry it all back to the recovery center. After arranging for that, Bai Yi brought the two of them along and they all walked into the recovery center itself. Momo was being forced to study when Bai Yi returned, and the moment she heard him coming back she instantly threw her pen down and ran outside, giving him a big hug. Alodia followed behind Momo, giving Bai Yi a nod.


    ¡°This is my daughter, Momo! This is Alodia.¡± Bai Yi introduced the two groups of ladies to each other.


    ¡°Hello, Miss Momo. Hello, Miss Alodia.¡± Betsy and Bellamy immediately greeted them. The fact that Bai Yi had a daughter wasn¡¯t a secret, and everybody knew that Momo had practically no changes to her physical form. If not for her still being so young, many powers would have probably started to think about a political marriage.


    ¡°Greetings.¡± Momo immediately returned the pleasantries, graceful and relaxed.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to learn some culinary skills from Betsy. Momo, you can go and play somewhere else,¡± Bai Yi said.


    Momo¡¯s eyes instantly lit up, not only because she¡¯d been brought up to become a glutton since she was young, but also because she could run away from studying. ¡°Cooking? I want to see! And taste as well!¡±


    Bai Yi of course knew what Momo was thinking, and immediately flicked her forehead lightly. ¡°Come and see if you want. These are all special ingredients. I¡¯m also just learning how to prepare them, and it might not taste good, so don¡¯t regret it later.¡± Bai Yi tried to frighten her, but Momo apparently wouldn¡¯t be dissuaded; in actuality, he knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to scare her, and it was all his own fault for nurturing and bringing up an outrageous daughter like her.


    ¡°Come and see if you want to,¡± Bai Yi repeated, giving up.


    Bai Yi¡¯s deal with Betsy was that he wouldn¡¯t use these special preparation methods for business, or make them public knowledge, but given those conditions it wasn¡¯t a problem if his inner circle knew about them. Anyway, the deal was purely verbal and very loose, so the extent to which Bai Yi would keep his end of the deal was entirely up to him. This was the privilege brought about by his status, and Betsy didn¡¯t dare to ask for more.


    Alodia spent most of her time now with Momo, as she was both looking after Momo and also learning some deeper knowledge while Momo was studying.


    Bai Yi brought Betsy to the kitchen and started learning all the special preparation methods he could. There weren¡¯t too many special ingredients on the market at the moment, and they only managed to acquire six. However, even if there were only six, the preparation methods were extremely complicated. They also only had one serving of four out of the six special ingredients, so if they made a mistake while cooking any one of them, that ingredient would become inedible. They started with those ingredients that they had extra servings of, and Betsy prepared the ingredients first while explaining everything in detail before letting Bai Yi give it a go.


    When it was Bai Yi¡¯s turn, Betsy and the few others all looked at him, waiting for his performance.


    In reality, Bai Yi had very rarely cooked during the year plus of staying in New Christchurch. Given the level of status he¡¯d reached, cooking couldn¡¯t possibly be his main job now and was just a hobby. However, Bai Yi still instantly felt a sense of familiarity the moment he held a kitchen knife. With a year of consolidation, Bai Yi¡¯s grasp of blade techniques had become even deeper. Although it wasn¡¯t Red Kiss, Bai Yi could feel a sense of the knife being an extension of his body the moment he grabbed hold of it.


    Bai Yi swung the kitchen knife in the air. His actions were clearly very slow, but everyone felt like they seemingly saw afterimages.


    Very quickly, Bai Yi followed Betsy¡¯s demonstration and prepared the Ice-shelled Tortoise. This was a kind of mutated tortoise that lived around ice floes. If the handling of it was inadequate, then the icy aura would disappear and it would turn into a normal ingredient. If it was prepared properly, the icy aura could remain for a long time, and the meat of the Ice-shelled Tortoise would remain cold even when cooked. The fresh, cold meat would give an intense contrast inside a pot of boiling soup, stimulating anyone¡¯s taste buds.


    Bai Yi¡¯s movements stopped, and the second Ice-shelled Tortoise that was about as big as a person¡¯s face didn¡¯t seem to have any changes to it. It was still laying flat on the counter.


    Is it finished?


    Everyone had this question in their heads. Bai Yi stepped back and to the side, waiting for Betsy to inspect his work. Betsy went and took a look, before staring at Bai Yi in shock. It was prepared extremely well¡ªin fact, it was done so well that it was unbelievable! The strength and angle of the cuts didn¡¯t have the slightest deviation, and the most incredible thing was that the appearance of the Ice-shelled Tortoise didn¡¯t have the slightest change to it even after the preparations were finished. It wasn¡¯t like hers, where there were obvious knife marks on the sides of the tortoise shell.


    Bai Yi¡¯s blade skills!


    Betsy recalled Bai Yi¡¯s special and unique look when he had picked up the knife, and immediately guessed at something. The general public¡¯s understanding of Bai Yi stopped at his Reverse Flower Eyes because he very rarely personally fought. Hence, most people didn¡¯t know how great Bai Yi¡¯s blade skills were. Just based on his precision and his fine control over his strength, there wouldn¡¯t be more than five people who could compare to Bai Yi in the Devil Isles1 now.


    Betsy composed herself and said calmly, ¡°The preparation is very good, now for cooking it.¡±


    When it came to cooking, Bai Yi still retained that kind of precise control, and he himself realized this at that moment. What kind of feeling was this? He hadn¡¯t cooked for more than a year, but Bai Yi now seemed to naturally have a certain feeling. All his movements flowed like moving water and were extremely smooth. It was just like he could accurate grasp every inch and every change in the outside world.


    ¡°Another serving!¡±


    ¡°Meow, meow meow!¡± Momo and Chinchilla sat off by the side. They didn¡¯t have a trace of resistance towards delicious food, and nobody knew how they stored so much of it in those small tummies of theirs either. Bai Yi couldn¡¯t help but chuckle at this gluttonous daughter of his. Even Chinchilla at her side ate until its tummy was full and round.


    However, very quickly, Chinchilla couldn¡¯t eat anymore. After all, Chinchilla now looked just like a normal house cat, it was just that it was slightly smarter. It wasn¡¯t like Momo, who had previously gone through the Binging Phase. Although the Binging Phase had already ended, they could still eat a lot if they let themselves eat without restraint.


    The six special ingredients were made into 21 dishes. Bai Yi spent his entire afternoon learning how to cook, and Momo spent her entire afternoon eating by one side. Betsy then taught all the other special preparation methods that she had to Bai Yi and waited for him to fulfill his end of the deal.


    ¡°The two of you, follow me,¡± Bai Yi said, and he led Betsy and Bellamy to the treatment room.


    Alodia and Momo didn¡¯t follow this time. They weren¡¯t normal kids after all¡ªeven Momo knew that Betsy wouldn¡¯t teach Bai Yi so many special preparation methods for nothing.


    ¡°I¡¯m so full! Chinchilla, you are really pitiful! So many delicious foods that you wouldn¡¯t normally get to eat, but you got too full from just the first dish!¡± Momo poked Chinchilla with a finger, and Chinchilla immediately rolled around on the floor on its round tummy and meowed.


    Chinchilla lay on the floor lazily, not wanting to move at all. Very quickly, it fell asleep. Momo carried Chinchilla back to its cat bed and went out afterward to help with her digestion.


    At this point in time, nobody realized that within Chinchilla¡¯s body, some dormant cells were slowly awakening after absorbing special nutrients from the special ingredients.


    ______________________________________________________________


    ¡ôAwakening!


    The offspring of evolved lifeforms contained activated cells in their bodies as well. However, these activated cells were normally in a hidden and dormant state, and these cells needed to be awakened. Awakening in the early stages of development wasn¡¯t hard, it only required that the host body be healthy and that the activated cells were provided with sufficient nutrients. However, in the later stages, it would be harder and harder to awaken the activated cells, and the food needed to awaken these cells would become more and more precious.


    ***


    Translator Note

 Chapter 166

    Chapter 166: Chinchilla


    Bai Yi brought Betsy and Bellamy to the treatment room and passed each of them some medicine.


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°Fostsoul!¡± Bai Yi said.


    The two of them were immediately stunned when they heard this. Fostsoul! The outside world had heard much about this famous medicine. It was something concocted from the Dead Soul Flower, and so far, nobody had discovered another medicine similar to it. There were indeed quite a few supposed soul nourishing medicines that had appeared in New Christchurch since its establishment, but they were all proven to be scams soon afterward.


    ¡°Deep level sleep is a type of regulation and self-adjustment by the body that will expel whatever is unnecessary, and replenish whatever is. However, if your body doesn¡¯t have the necessary components to replenish itself in the first place, then deep level sleep won¡¯t be very effective. Take this Fostsoul, it will help balance your body and soul with each other,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Thank you!¡±


    Betsy didn¡¯t reject Bai Yi¡¯s instructions because she knew just how precious this medicine was. There were people from New Christchurch that had gone to collect Dead Soul Flowers from Wellington, but there wasn¡¯t a single one who had returned. Just the Cook Straits themselves stopped the majority of them. Nobody even knew if someone had successfully managed to cross the straits. Those who¡¯d gone by sea were probably all dead, and the sky route was probably just as dangerous. Moreover, even in the world before things like helicopters were hard to acquire, and New Christchurch didn¡¯t have a single helicopter left now anyway.


    Actually, Bai Yi had long ago told the people in New Christchurch about his team¡¯s encounter with a hundred-meter-long, super huge sized golden sea serpent, but the majority of them thought that he was just joking. How could such a massive sea serpent exist? Even if it did exist, Bai Yi¡¯s team couldn¡¯t have possibly survived that encounter, and he was probably just blowing his own trumpet1. Besides, even if it really did exist, they shouldn¡¯t be so unlucky as to encounter it, right? Bai Yi¡¯s warning fell on deaf ears, and it was only after seeing that nobody returned from the journey that the remaining people all more or less came to believe him.


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll start!¡± Bai Yi said after the two of them had consumed the medicine.


    Once Bai Yi finished talking, he began to use hypnosis on the two of them. By this time, Betsy didn¡¯t have many reservations toward Bai Yi anymore, plus it was already too late for second thoughts at this stage. With their relaxed conditions, Bai Yi very easily hypnotized the two of them into falling asleep. This wasn¡¯t the level of hypnosis achieved by the other Hypnotists in the recovery center; under Bai Yi¡¯s personal hypnosis, the two of them fell into a dreamless deep sleep in the blink of an eye. While under this state, the body would automatically use the various resources and nutrients inside it to readjust the soul.


    ¡­


    After Bai Yi hypnotized the two of them, he instructed the people outside to take good care of them and left the treatment room.


    After Bai Yi returned, he realized that Vala had also returned to the recovery center. ¡°Is everything prepared?¡±


    Vala nodded. ¡°Everything is prepared, we can go over to that place at any time.¡±


    Bai Yi nodded back. ¡°Then we will leave this place after waiting for a week.¡± Woolf, Heloise, and Sharpei weren¡¯t in the recovery center anymore. Bai Yi had sent them out long ago to look for a safe and suitable place for them to stay during the Hypersomnia Phase. No matter what, Bai Yi and his team attracted a lot of attention, and it would arouse the suspicions of many if the whole team left at the same time.


    ¡°Actually, we can leave right now,¡± Vala said in puzzlement.


    ¡°We can¡¯t now, I just made a deal with somebody. I have to give them treatment for a week first,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Deal?¡±


    ¡°Actually, I reaped great harvests from my random trip out today.¡± Bai Yi talked about the deal he had made with Betsy. This had been a win-win deal: Bai Yi had gotten the recipes, while Betsy and Bellamy could nurture their bodies and souls and stabilize themselves. Bai Yi only thought that he had obtained some decent recipes and that he could make some special food if he had the time. But really, neither Bai Yi nor Betsy understood what the implications of these special ingredients truly were.


    On the second day, Chinchilla immediately started looking for food after waking up. At the start, Momo randomly gave Chinchilla some food to eat, but it didn¡¯t seem to be satisfied and kept on bothering Momo for more. Momo very quickly figured out that something was wrong. Why was Chinchilla eating so much? Momo would never forget a situation like this.


    Binging Stage!


    After getting over her shock, Momo immediately picked up and carried Chinchilla, looking for Bai Yi. At this time, he was practicing Tai Ji Fist in the courtyard. Bai Yi¡¯s Tai Ji Fist had gradually come to contain both the form and essence of the art, and when somebody looked at it they couldn¡¯t help but be enchanted by some kind of special charm. However, Momo didn¡¯t care about this at the moment.


    ¡°Daddy, daddy!¡± Momo shouted for Bai Yi.


    ¡°What is it? Why are you in such a hurry?¡±


    ¡°Chinchilla entered the Binging Stage!¡± Momo immediately said, her tone anxious.


    ¡°What?!¡± Bai Yi was instantly shocked and dropped everything he was doing to walk over.


    Chinchilla had started following Bai Yi¡¯s team over a year ago. At that time, it had just been a newborn baby kitten, and ever since adopting it, Chinchilla had always been a normal house cat. All of them had paid special attention to not letting Chinchilla come into contact with fluids from other lifeforms so as to prevent it from assimilating with activated cells. Hence, all of them thought that the offspring of evolved lifeforms didn¡¯t contain activated cells within them.


    How did Chinchilla suddenly enter the Binging Stage!?


    Bai Yi immediately thought about what had happened over the past few days. If there was anything special that had occurred, it had to involve that bunch of special preparation ingredients yesterday. Other than that, Bai Yi went through all the information he had about activated cells in his head and a realization shot through his mind¡ªNascent Stage, normal people, animals, and plants that successfully assimilated with activated cells¡­ and the offspring of these lifeforms in later stages!


    ¡ôAwakening: The activated cells were all in a dormant state to begin with, and awakening had been an extremely simple process for Bai Yi¡¯s team. Awakening only required that the host body be healthy and that the activated cells were provided with sufficient nutrients. However, in the later stages, it would be harder and harder to awaken the activated cells, and the food needed to awaken these cells would become more and more precious.


    Although Bai Yi didn¡¯t figure out all the details, he could more or less guess at what had happened.


    Chinchilla had inherited the activated cells from its mom from the very start, it was just that the cells were dormant all along and hadn¡¯t been awakened. However, after eating the food prepared from special ingredients yesterday, it absorbed the special nutrients contained within the food and awakened the activated cells within its body.


    In New Christchurch, there were also three babies born over the past year. Every baby that¡¯d been born looked just like a normal human baby, and they had specially gone to celebrate these occasions as well. This was because if this pattern continued, they just had to protect future generations properly and their children would be able to return to the human world, even if they themselves couldn¡¯t turn back into humans. However, with Chinchilla as a precedent now, Bai Yi knew that this was impossible. It wasn¡¯t that those babies didn¡¯t have activated cells, it was just that they hadn¡¯t been awakened yet.


    Seriously, they had to discover something like this at this time? Bai Yi couldn¡¯t help but press at the center of his eyebrows and thought about everything in his head again.


    Bai Yi and his team were going to enter the Hypersomnia Stage, but Chinchilla had just entered the Binging Stage. It was definitely not suitable for Chinchilla to follow them around, so did they have to find somebody to take care of it for them?


    Bai Yi shook his head. The people they knew all understood that they valued Chinchilla a lot, and it wasn¡¯t just a normal pet to them. If they asked other people to take care of Chinchilla, that would definitely raise a lot of questions. In addition, Chinchilla wasn¡¯t close to other people at all and was very shy around strangers. Although Chinchilla was just a cat, it was still a member of Bai Yi¡¯s team. Bai Yi didn¡¯t wish for it to be neglected.


    Bai Yi suddenly thought of two people¡­ Betsy and Bellamy. Both of them were cat-ladies that had fused with cat genes, Bai Yi just didn¡¯t know if they would agree to it if he wanted to entrust Chinchilla to them. Despite that, they had just gotten acquainted with each other, and would probably think that Bai Yi was merely entrusting them with a cat to look after. They probably wouldn¡¯t question things too much and connect it to how Bai Yi¡¯s team was entering the Hypersomnia Stage.


    There was also the matter of what genes Chinchilla should fuse with. Bai Yi thought about a lot of things in an instant.


    ¡°Daddy!¡±


    ¡°En, Chinchilla entered the Binging Stage. As for how it happened, I only have a guess as well.¡± Bai Yi rubbed Momo¡¯s little head and looked at Chinchilla.


    ¡°Anyway, let Chinchilla eat its fill first.¡± Bai Yi brought Momo and Chinchilla toward the kitchen.


    He had to inform the other powers in New Christchurch about this matter as well. If future generations had activated cells in them, then their plans for the future also had to be adjusted. There were really too few newborn humans in New Zealand ever since the change, so nobody had ever discovered this point. Although the number of animals in the outside world increased incessantly, they had always thought it was because later generations had come into contact with fluids from other evolved lifeforms and assimilated with activated cells again.


    Bai Yi passed this information to the Ministry of Medicine and Ministry of Research first, as they were the ones that had to know about this immediately. After that, Bai Yi informed the other three powers as well. He could never be prejudiced or give preferential treatment when it came to something like this, no matter what he felt personally.


    Over the next few days, Bai Yi continued to provide treatment to Betsy and Bellamy while at the same time trying to see if Chinchilla would get along with them. If it was just a matter of looking for somebody to take care of Chinchilla, Bai Yi would definitely be able to do so. However, it wouldn¡¯t do if Chinchilla didn¡¯t like the person he found. Chinchilla was hyperactive, but very shy with strangers, and it had never really been friendly with anybody else so far.


    Perhaps it was because they all had cat genes in them, but Chinchilla seemed quite favorable to these ¡®similar lifeforms¡¯ that were dozens of times larger than it, even without much interaction.


    It was all good if Chinchilla had a favorable impression of them, and Bai Yi finally let out a sigh of relief after seeing this situation. Otherwise, they would have to take Chinchilla around in the Binging Stage while in the Hypersomnia Stage themselves. With Chinchilla¡¯s activity level, they would definitely be unable to take care of it well while dealing with the Hypersomnia Stage.


    Watching Bellamy play with Chinchilla, Bai Yi took the opportunity to bring up his request for them to take care of Chinchilla for the time being.


    ¡°Take care of Chinchilla for a while?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, we have some matters to attend to, so all of us will be out for a while, and we probably won¡¯t have much time to take care of it. In addition, Chinchilla is very shy around strangers. Other than the few people it¡¯s familiar with, it has quite a bit of hostility toward other people. It¡¯s probably so friendly with you guys only because it treats you guys as its ¡®fellow species¡¯. If it¡¯s convenient, could you two help take care of it for the time being?¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°Sure, it¡¯s no problem.¡± Sure enough, Betsy didn¡¯t question it too much. In her eyes, it was just looking after a little cat.


    ¡°Also, there¡¯s just one more thing. Chinchilla just entered the Binging Stage yesterday,¡± Bai Yi said to Betsy. In response to Betsy¡¯s surprised expression, Bai Yi told her his own guess. Fortunately, New Zealand now wasn¡¯t like it had been in the beginning stages, and they weren¡¯t lacking in food. Bai Yi also determined that he would prepare the genes that Chinchilla would fuse with over the next few days.


    ***


    Translator¡¯s Notes:

 Chapter 167

    Chapter 167: What Was The Use Of This?


    Success!


    Two different men said the same thing at the same time in their hearts, but their moods were completely different.


    The eyes of the man standing at the top of a mountain looking in the direction of New Christchurch were calm, yet it seemed like a violent undercurrent was raging within him. He didn¡¯t know how to describe how he felt inside now; had he not been resolute when he had made his choice back then?


    Within his research lab, Ji Hua Qing looked at a special red plant growing in the center of a cultivation pool. This plant looked like a small, unique tree, and under it was a giant cultivation pool, stuffed to the brim with the flesh and blood of evolved lifeforms and humans, and the stolon of plants. This was a thing that was created through the connection between activated cells, a thing that laid between the boundary of plants and animals. Ji Hua Qing couldn¡¯t have succeeded in this research without the help of one the researchers under him, who had given him crucial hints from time to time.


    But, just what is the use of this thing?


    Ji Hua Qing looked down at the giant cultivation pool below. Although the flesh and blood of evolved lifeforms and humans were plentiful inside, they were apparently not sufficient for this strange plant to absorb them. If he wanted to speed up the growth of this thing, this amount of flesh and blood was clearly not enough. But, if he wanted to make this thing even bigger, it wasn¡¯t something achievable with his current status, and this thing would be exposed as well.


    When it came to research, Ji Hua Qing was just a fanatical researcher, and he didn¡¯t care about whether this kind of research was moral or bloody. However, after finishing the research, Ji Hua Qing regained his calm again. Now that he thought about it, that assistant of his seemed to be very extraordinary, she seemed to always provide some important bit of information whenever he reached an obstacle in his thoughts. It was just as if that assistant of his seemed to know the complete procedure.


    How is that possible!?


    Ji Hua Qing laughed in ridicule at himself, and suddenly thought of the small research facility that he had acquired the information about the connection between activated cells from. When they had reached that place, they found that there had already been people there before them. Moreover, the information about the connection between activated cells they acquired was something recovered by that artificial intelligence. Although that artificial intelligence was very powerful, in the end the data it had recovered still had a very big portion of information missing.


    Was this assistant the person who had acquired the research data before him?


    Ji Hua Qing decided to get to the bottom of this, but after searching for half a day, he realized that the assistant had taken her leave three days ago when the research was on the brink of success. Ever since then, she hadn¡¯t returned.


    __________________________________________________________


    Bai Yi decided to entrust Chinchilla to Betsy and Bellamy, letting them take care of it for the time being. The Binging Stage had been difficult to go through in the past, but food already wasn¡¯t a problem in the Devil Isles any longer. Of course, Bai Yi would provide the two of them with sufficient Devil coins, as at the very least he wasn¡¯t lacking in money. As the number one Hypnotist, Bai Yi enjoyed special status in New Christchurch.


    As for the genes that Chinchilla would fuse with, Bai Yi had only picked one type.


    Ant!


    Animals from the cat family were already upper tier predators in the food chain on Earth, so Chinchilla would already possess sufficient strength just from fusing with ant genes. Moreover, since they¡¯d started out they had also concluded that real top-tier strength basically relied on mutations. Even fusing with a seemingly completely useless gene could result in an abnormally powerful ability. Bai Yi was the best example of this. Who knew that the butterfly genes would result in such a change in Bai Yi¡¯s body?


    Since he¡¯d chosen ants, he of course had to pick the best kind. There were very few pure ants that could be found now, so what Bai Yi chose in the end was arguably the most ferocious ant that people had discovered so far¡­ the Golden Marked Flying Ant. This kind of ant totally went against the original hive nature of ants, and had became completely independent. These ants were usually about five to ten centimeters long, and had three pairs of black wings. On these wings were magnificent golden patterns. These ants had incredible strength, abnormally fast speed, powerful poison, and most importantly, their bodies were unbelievably hard. A normal adult human male probably wouldn¡¯t be able to even leave a scratch on a Golden Marked Flying Ant if he hacked at it with a knife using his full force.


    Of course, they knew that Chinchilla would only fuse with the lifeform¡¯s original genes, as the genes that the evolved lifeform had fused with in later stages wouldn¡¯t transfer to any other lifeform. However, this ant was relatively stronger, and after all, what if Chinchilla only had one gene fusion chance?


    Bai Yi still needed to provide treatment to Betsy and Bellamy, so the mission of capturing this ant fell to Woolf and the others. Vala informed Woolf and the rest, who were outside of New Christchurch, and after that they waited.


    Woolf and the others didn¡¯t expect that the little kitten Chinchilla would enter the Binging Stage at this time either, but they still followed Bai Yi¡¯s instructions and started to look for the Golden Marked Flying Ant.


    After looking for three days, when Bai Yi¡¯s side was about to leave New Christchurch, Woolf finally sent over a Golden Marked Flying Ant. Fortunately, although this thing was powerful, its size wasn¡¯t particularly big, so it was still able to be imprisoned. Nancy came back with it as well, helping to extract the genes from the Golden Marked Flying Ant and injecting them into Chinchilla.


    After giving the injection to Chinchilla, Nancy said to Bai Yi, ¡°Oh right, over this period of time, I¡¯ve discovered that some of the evolved lifeforms around New Christchurch are behaving quite abnormally.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s so abnormal?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°They are too concentrated. The evolved lifeforms around New Christchurch are usually very sparsely distributed due to their expulsion and extermination by humans, but there seem to be a lot of evolved lifeforms around now. They are all seemingly gathering around New Christchurch,¡± Nancy explained.


    ¡°Really?¡± Bai Yi asked in doubt.


    Nancy nodded. ¡°En, it¡¯s true.¡±


    Bai Yi heard her words and fell into deep thought. Just what kind of cause was behind this abnormal situation? Regardless of the nature of it, Bai Yi still decided to inform the city of this discovery. Very quickly, Bai Yi informed Freud and the others, but after talking on the phone, he found out that Freud had known of it long ago. After all, his ministry had been the ones fighting on the front lines all the while.


    Bai Yi had already entrusted Chinchilla to Betsy and Bellamy, but now he was a bit worried about New Christchurch¡¯s abnormal situation. Bai Yi had to remain in New Christchurch for a few more days anyway, so he instructed Woolf and the rest to continue observing the situation, as well as getting more details about the circumstances from Freud.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t know why, but after discovering this abnormality he couldn¡¯t help but feel an uneasiness in his heart.


    ¡­


    At night time, Bai Yi stood on the roof of the recovery center and stared at the black clouds in the sky, feeling some slight heaviness in the air. Just what is this feeling? Just when Bai Yi turned around, he suddenly discovered a patch of dark clouds flying in from the south, but the next moment he was instantly stunned. Were those even clouds? It was clearly a gigantic swarm of flying evolved lifeforms that covered the sky! At this time, the sounds of fighting and pitiful screams slowly drifted in from the perimeter of the city.


    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes contracted for a moment, and he immediately turned around, heading for the broadcast room.


    ¡°Attention please! To all personnel in the recovery center, I am Bai Yi. A huge number of evolved lifeforms have just appeared on the perimeter of New Christchurch. Everyone get ready for battle! Let me repeat, this is not a joke.¡± Bai Yi immediately turned around and left the broadcast room after he finished speaking.


    Why, why were all these evolved lifeforms gathering around New Christchurch like this?


    Bai Yi thought at a frenzied pace, but he couldn¡¯t think of any reason. At this time, the evolved lifeforms in the outside world, species by species, gradually gathered toward New Christchurch. Among these evolved lifeforms, a black oriental dragon-like creature flew in the sky, and a human figure stood on top of it.


    When Bai Yi released the announcement, the other five ministers discovered this emergency as well. They immediately broadcasted a warning over the entire city and went on full alert. Just like Bai Yi, nobody knew what was going on right now, or why. This was exactly like the legendary ¡®monster attacks on the city¡¯ events! But this wasn¡¯t any freaking game! Just what was going on?


    However, now was apparently not the time to pursue the matter of what was going on, as evolved lifeforms numerous enough to cover the earth and skies gathered against New Christchurch, unleashing a brutal attack on all evolved humans.


    At the start, people could still generally tell who was an evolved human and what was an evolved lifeform, but very quickly everyone started to fight each other in a bitter slaughter. Fresh blood and broken limbs scattered in the air, and many evolved lifeforms started to devour all of these greedily. The people in the recovery center went outside under Bai Yi¡¯s lead and immediately discovered this shocking scene.


    ¡°Chairman Bai Yi!¡± Everyone in the recovery center looked at Bai Yi.


    Bai Yi looked at the evolved lifeforms swarming in from everywhere and gritted his teeth viciously. No matter what the reason was behind the attack on the city by these evolved lifeforms, after this incident New Christchurch, which had just been built up for a year plus, would be ruined. This was the city that all evolved humans had shed an untold quantity of blood and sweat for, spent a countless amount of effort to build, and it represented the hope of all evolved humans! However, this hope had been broken at such an early stage.


    However, Bai Yi still immediately gathered himself and shouted, ¡°We¡¯ll break out!¡± bringing everyone toward the outskirts.


    New Christchurch had turned into a complete meat grinder by now, as countless evolved lifeforms and humans slaughtered each other continuously in the city, and the streets were dyed with fresh blood. Bai Yi could tell that there was absolutely no point in staying in the city and trying to defend it. After all, the construction of the city hadn¡¯t included walls like in medieval times.


    The center of the city was also the location of the mini research lab that Ji Hua Qing was at. At this time, Ji Hua Qing was also awakened by the sounds of frenzied battles outside, and he immediately opened the door of the research lab and looked outside in shock. Just what had happened here? Ji Hua Qing was totally unaware of how the blood that fell from all the evolved lifeforms gradually followed the terrain and flowed all the way toward the research lab, collecting at the strange plant at the bottom of it.


    Ning Xue was in the bottommost part of the lab. She tidied her lab coat and stared at the plant, which beat continuously like the pulse of a human. She issued a deep sigh in her heart.


    She was that assistant of Ji Hua Qing, and now her mission was complete.

 Chapter 168

    Chapter 168: Born Of Fate


    Beside Bai Yi were Momo, Vala, Nancy, Alodia, and Chinchilla; basically, the few members of his team who didn¡¯t have high combat power. Bai Yi had initially planned to leave the city in two days for the place they had prepared to pass through the Hypersomnia Stage, but who would have thought that something like this would suddenly happen? Of course, Betsy, Bellamy, and the other people in the recovery center left with Bai Yi¡¯s group¡ªstaying in the city now was basically just seeking death.


    ¡°Where are Woolf and the others?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°To the south, close to the outskirts of the original town of Rolleston,¡± Vala immediately said.


    Bai Yi nodded and immediately said, ¡°En, let¡¯s move!¡± There were more than a hundred people from the recovery center with them. Some of them had been guards to begin with, so they immediately wanted to form a circle around Bai Yi¡¯s group in order to protect them. However, Bai Yi just waved his hand and pointed at the medical personnel.


    ¡°Protect them, we¡¯ll be fine,¡± Bai Yi said.


    This group of guards was quite hesitant when they heard Bai Yi¡¯s words; after all, Bai Yi¡¯s status was too high to ignore. Additionally, people in his group like Momo and Alodia really didn¡¯t seem like they had much combat ability. However, what these people didn¡¯t know was that this notion of ¡®not much combat ability¡¯ was only relative within Bai Yi¡¯s team. The goal of the team in coming to New Christchurch had been to increase their individual strength anyway, and the combat power of all of them had significantly increased over this period of time.


    ¡°Keep up!¡± Bai Yi said, without caring about the bunch of hesitating guards. He immediately ran ahead.


    The fastest group of flying evolved lifeforms at the front consisted of two strangely shaped monsters with wingspans of more than three meters. They dived down from the sky instantaneously, and their target was Bai Yi, who was leading the group. In that instant, Bai Yi drew Red Kiss from its sheath. Momo, who wasn¡¯t even 1.3 meters in height, drew her short sword as well behind him.


    Bai Yi and Momo crossed past each other from the right and left, and after that there was only the sound of their swords being sheathed before the two unknown flying creatures heavily slammed into the ground. Fresh blood instantly spurted out from the necks of these two monsters. The outcome was completely different from what might¡¯ve been imagined, and the group of guards who had initially thought that they were too late to save Bai Yi¡¯s group were shocked dumb.


    It wasn¡¯t strange that Bai Yi was so strong, but the surprising thing was that little Momo was so strong as well! Momo was only eight years old, and this was something that almost everyone knew. What eight-year-old little girl would be this strong and unwavering?


    ¡°Keep up!¡± Bai Yi shouted backwards again, and lead the way, charging ahead with Momo.


    Along the way, various types of evolved lifeforms continuously attacked them from the land and sky. They also met a few other evolved humans, but at this point in time it was already difficult to tell the difference. At the start, Bai Yi¡¯s group was still quite safe, and the other evolved humans they encountered slowly joined their group after recognizing him. However, once the number of people grew too large, Bai Yi wasn¡¯t able to take care of everyone, and the speed of the entire group also slowed greatly.


    Slaughter, fresh blood, excitement, madness¡­ various elements formed the theme around them now.


    Slowly, the evolved humans and lifeforms were influenced by this savage and brutal fighting and fell into the berserk state. Within this kind of situation, they couldn¡¯t afford to care about it too much either. Without his notice, Bai Yi¡¯s entire body was slowly dyed red, and at this time all he could do was act as the tip of the spear to force open a pathway in this meatgrinder of a battlefield. As for those companions who fell into the berserk state and lost control, at this time Bai Yi could only wish them all the best.


    Pitiful cries came continuously from the group. There were monsters being killed constantly, but similarly, there were evolved humans who died under their fangs and claws. Unknowingly, an unimaginable savagery and fury grew in Bai Yi¡¯s heart.


    This wasn¡¯t the kind of fury one felt from falling into the berserk state; the source of Bai Yi¡¯s fury was the endless blood being spilled. The long, arduous efforts of all the evolved humans crumbled into nothingness before this tide of monsters that came out of nowhere! Even if they managed to survive this, there probably wouldn¡¯t be many evolved humans left in total.


    Damn it!


    After killing another monster in front of him, Bai Yi finally couldn¡¯t take it anymore and roared furiously from his heart. His eyes abruptly opened¡ªReverse Flower Eyes: Intimidation!


    This wasn¡¯t mere hypnosis, but Bai Yi¡¯s greatest degree of intimidation. Instantly, all the frenzied evolved lifeforms and humans went silent on the spot. It was as if, in that moment, no matter whether evolved lifeforms or humans, they all saw something extremely terrifying at the same time, and subconsciously retreated away. The initially frenzied and chaotic battlefield turned quiet and stifling in that split second.


    At this time, Bai Yi stood on top of the corpse of a huge evolved lifeform, Red Kiss stabbing into its head. His body was slightly bent, as if all his weight was leant on Red Kiss in his hands. Bai Yi looked down on everyone from atop the gigantic corpse, giving all of them a sense of unimaginable pressure.


    Everyone who regained their focus stared at Bai Yi, subconsciously swallowing their saliva.


    The patterns on Bai Yi¡¯s eyes gradually dimmed, and he pulled Red Kiss out from the head of the monster he was standing on. ¡°Stop zoning out, move!¡±


    After that, Bai Yi jumped down and continued leading everyone in running away from this place. In that moment, the 40¨C50 people still surrounding Bai Yi immediately reacted and hurriedly followed after him. At this time, why would they think too much? For the more powerful Bai Yi was, the better it was for them.


    Even if it was Bai Yi¡¯s intimidation, he couldn¡¯t use it continuously either. Although the surrounding evolved lifeforms were intimidated and retreated for the time being, they were very quickly influenced by the environment and gathered toward the survivors again.


    Using the Reverse Flower Eyes¡¯ intimidation effect to the greatest degree for six times continuously, Bai Yi¡¯s eyes started to become bloodshot again. This was a state where blood started to fill his eyes, and at this time Bai Yi began panting mildly as well. As for the group following him, there were only slightly more than 20 people left. Those who were weaker had all basically been left behind in the city. Even if there were people protecting them, who could do that so thoroughly at a time like this? That was why the only person that one could rely on at the very last moment of facing danger was oneself.


    After seeing that Bai Yi was going to use his Reverse Flower Eyes yet again, Nancy immediately went to support him, as he was becoming unsteady on his feet.


    ¡°Bai Yi, stop using your eyes already. If you continue like this, there will be serious repercussions,¡± Nancy reminded him.


    Bai Yi nodded. ¡°I know.¡± Even if he could still do so, Bai Yi wouldn¡¯t use them at a point like this. These monsters couldn¡¯t possibly have united and attacked New Christchurch without any reason, and Bai Yi still wanted to see who would appear at the end of everything.


    Bai Yi¡¯s Reverse Flower Eyes gradually receded, and he only maintained his basic observational ability. At this time, Bai Yi relied more on the sharpness of Red Kiss, his blade techniques, and the combat skills of Tai Ji Fist, slowly slaughtering a pathway out with his group of people. Along the way, they saw many other evolved humans that had been surrounded by a bunch of monsters, and they struggled frantically, trying to kill their way out.


    By the end, even Bai Yi felt incomparably tired, but the group seemed to be completely stationary. They could only continuously try to fend off the attacks from numerous monsters now.


    Slowly, the group of people following Bai Yi started to fall into despair, and at this time Bai Yi also prepared to use the Reverse Flower Eyes again. However, suddenly, the sounds of battle and savage roars came from outside their perimeter. One voice was extremely familiar¡ªit was Woolf and the rest! The spirits of Bai Yi¡¯s group immediately rallied, and they slaughtered their way outward in the direction of that voice.


    Woolf and the others had been at the outer area of the city, and they were actually the ones who had encountered these monsters first. However, the further they were from the city, the more room they had to maneuver, and they had still found places to avoid the monsters. Very quickly, Heloise had felt that something was wrong¡ªthe location that these evolved lifeforms were gathering toward was New Christchurch!


    After discovering this, Heloise had made the decision to let everyone fight their way toward the city. Bai Yi¡¯s group fought outwards in this direction as well, and at this time they finally met up again, right at this spot.


    ¡°Woolf!¡±


    ¡°Sharpei!¡± Bai Yi and Momo couldn¡¯t help but shout to the two large figures at this time.


    Hearing Bai Yi and Momo¡¯s shouts, the bunch of them battling immediately rallied, and fought even harder. Ferociousness became brutality, and they tore the evolved lifeforms around them apart in the blink of an eye, running toward Bai Yi¡¯s group immediately afterward. Sharpei ran the fastest. He stopped shortly after a few jumps, his tall figure carrying terrifying pressure. At this time, Sharpei¡¯s second head was completely exposed, and it was even more sinister than the original.


    Two-headed dog!


    The people following Bai Yi immediately jumped in fright, but luckily all of them more or less recognized that this was the giant dog that followed him and Momo around all the time. It was just that Sharpei¡¯s second head had always been hidden before.


    ¡°Sharpei!¡± Momo immediately jumped toward Sharpei, hugging his head. Momo¡¯s body was now similarly covered in blood to Bai Yi¡¯s, and half of her initially white clothes were dyed red.


    ¡°Woof!¡± Sharpei barked and turned around again, facing all the monsters around them.


    Bai Yi looked at Woolf, Heloise, Raymond, Melvin, and Pupu gradually approaching them, and revealed a tired but gratified smile.


    ¡°I will skip the greetings, let¡¯s just fight our way out together! But we need to be careful at all times; I suspect there¡¯s some force pushing this tide of monsters along,¡± Bai Yi said. At this time, Melvin suddenly approached Bai Yi, carrying a wooden box behind him.


    ¡°Bai Yi, wait!¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Initially, I just wanted to bring this here to show off, but I never imagined that we would meet with something like this. I think, this should be the so-called ¡®born of fate1¡¯.¡± Melvin took off the wooden box behind his back and held it horizontally in his hands.


    Bai Yi received the box from him with puzzled eyes and opened it. Everyone else beside Bai Yi looked upon his actions and watched him take out a long sword from the wooden box. This was a real long sword, around 1.2 meters long, similar in length to Red Kiss. However, when Bai Yi held it in his hand he realized that this sword was at least five times heavier than Red Kiss. The blade was pitch black, thick and heavy, and carried a subtle domineering aura about it.


    This is¡­!


    Bai Yi considered the long sword in his hands and immediately thought of what was going on around them. The fang that Bai Yi had passed to Melvin long ago¡ªMelvin had said that he would need a year to finish forging this sword. In reality, more than one and a half years had passed since then. Melvin had probably finally finished forging the sword and wanted to give Bai Yi a surprise.


    Born of fate, huh!


    ***


    Translator¡¯s Notes:

 Chapter 169

    Chapter 169: Black Underworld


    Bai Yi looked at this heavy black longsword and really felt strange in his heart. Melvin hadn¡¯t finished it sooner or later, but precisely at this kind of time. Of course, this so-called ¡®born of fate¡¯ wouldn¡¯t really be some product of divine providence; many times, such a thing was just a coincidence. However, the fact that this sword appeared at this time really seemed like it was born of fate, and it almost particularly had to be, given such a deep shade of black as well.


    ¡°Black¡­!¡± Bai Yi wanted to say something, but at this moment, a ¡®kacha!¡¯ sound came from the shortsword that Momo held in her hands as it suddenly broke.


    Everyone immediately stared at Bai Yi, Momo, and that black longsword in his hand.


    It can¡¯t be!


    This was really too coincidental! Momo¡¯s shortsword had been acquired from the research facility, and it was known to be a weapon made of special metal alloys. How could it break at such a time so coincidentally? No matter what others might think, at least all the people who were there right then immediately had the subconscious thought that this longsword was something heaven had prepared for Momo, although the length of it didn¡¯t seem to suit her.


    Even Momo stared at her own shortsword dumbly. This was a sword that had accompanied her for more than two years!


    Born of fate!


    Even Bai Yi had this thought at that moment, and he passed the black longsword into Momo¡¯s hands. Momo blankly received it from him. Although the sword was quite heavy, it wasn¡¯t a problem with Momo¡¯s current strength. The moment she grabbed hold of the sword, a few Spirit Devouring Butterflies flew out from her wrists and danced around the blade. Gradually, mist started to rise from the surface of the sword, and in the end, it looked like a slow burning flame.


    Momo immediately looked at Bai Yi. ¡°Daddy, my special energy is flowing toward the sword by itself.¡±


    ¡°Does it affect you?¡±


    ¡°No, but it feels much easier to use it,¡± Momo said seriously.


    In Wellington, Momo¡¯s special energy and the Spirit Devouring Butterflies had merged and granted her the ability to attack spiritual lifeforms. However, it was quite difficult for Momo to use this power normally; apparently, the compatibility of this kind of energy with metals wasn¡¯t too good. Bai Yi knew that the durability of Momo¡¯s shortsword was slowly deteriorating, and every time she used special energy the shortsword would become slightly more fragile. However, even if it became more fragile, it was still a lot better than a normal blade, so Momo had never changed her sword.


    How unexpected that the shortsword would break at such a time, that another new sword would pop up at such an opportune moment, and that this sword could conduct Momo¡¯s energy easily too.


    All these coincidences combined together really turned into a true ¡®born of fate¡¯ in everybody¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Is it? This sword belongs to you now, you can give it a name!¡± Bai Yi said and rubbed Momo¡¯s little head. Bai Yi wasn¡¯t a dual-wielding swordsman, and not only was he very comfortable with using Red Kiss, but the sword had a special meaning to him as well. Hence, the black sword wasn¡¯t really necessary for him. Since everything was so auspiciously coincidental, he naturally gave the sword to Momo.


    ¡°Black¡­!¡± Momo looked at the longsword in her hands and said a word, but she only said that one word. This was the word that Bai Yi had also just used¡ªthe appearance of the sword was black, after all. However, Momo was a bit clueless about what word to say after ¡®black¡¯.


    ¡°Name¡­¡±


    After hearing Momo utter that word from her mouth, Woolf immediately said, ¡°Black Underworld1? Momo your preferences are really special, even the name is so domineering.¡±He had learnt some Chinese as well since they¡¯d been together. Only heaven knew that Momo had actually wanted to ask them what would be a good name, but due to her hesitation,she had said it quite slowly. And at this time, Woolf just had to try and be smart, and assumed that Momo wanted to give the sword the name of ¡®Black Underworld¡¯.


    Momo didn¡¯t have time to correct him and immediately rolled her eyes at her Uncle Woolf when she heard his words.


    However, it was apparently not the time to dawdle. Bai Yi saw the myriad evolved lifeforms gathering around them once more and immediately took the lead to charge outwards again. Momo didn¡¯t say anything either, carrying her new Black Underworld as she followed behind her daddy. Anyway, she really had no talent in choosing names, so she might as well really call it Black Underworld.


    After Woolf and the others joined them, the strength of the group suddenly shot up, and all of them finally managed to move forward again. At this time, the group of people following behind Bai Yi finally realized just how astounding the strength of Bai Yi¡¯s team was. If not for there being simply too many monsters, handling a few monsters of this caliber would just be like chopping up fruits and vegetables for them. At this moment, all of them suddenly remembered that before Bai Yi¡¯s team had chosen to stay permanently in New Christchurch, they had already been an extremely powerful team. It was just that Bai Yi¡¯s team hadn¡¯t fought in front of them for a long time and all of them had forgotten about this.


    Even so, the monsters were really too numerous. Putting aside the large-sized ones, it was actually the small-sized, insect type evolved lifeforms hiding within this monster army which gave them the most trouble and were the most dangerous. Slowly, some of those on Bai Yi¡¯s team received injuries as well, and the group of them split into two batches in order to take turns being the vanguard. Nancy had completely become their medic now and hurriedly administered emergency treatment to them whenever the two groups swapped.


    Even so, the number of people following behind Bai Yi was still gradually decreasing, and at the very end, there were only Bai Yi¡¯s team and slightly more than ten other people remaining.


    ¡­


    Yu Han stood on top of a floating dragon. Although this creature was called a ¡®dragon¡¯, in reality it was just a flying snake with wings. Moreover, this snake was extremely ugly. Countless evolved lifeforms flew past Yu Han, but one after another, all of them avoided the snake, seemingly loathing it greatly.


    This was a mutated floating dragon. Its genes had mutated, and its body produced a unique smell that was hated by the vast majority of evolved lifeforms. When Yu Han had met this creature, its intelligence hadn¡¯t fully awakened yet, and it seemed to be very miserable and lonely. Yu Han didn¡¯t know why, but when he had seen this floating dragon, he had a feeling of understanding and empathy for it.


    Was it because they were in similar situations?


    A strange flying bug flew toward him from the side. It seemed to be moving too quickly and was about to collide with Yu Han. However, at that moment the bug suddenly stopped, and its simple face actually revealed a look of disgust before it farted.


    However, just when the bug wanted to continue flying away, Yu Han raised his left arm, and the mouth of the tortoise on the back of his hand abruptly opened its mouth. The flying bug, despite being about the size of a small calf, immediately encountered a powerful suction and was dragged backward. In the next instant, while this flying bug was panicking and didn¡¯t know what to do, the floating dragon below Yu Han abruptly turned its head around and bit at the bug, crunching it in its jaws a few times before swallowing it.


    ¡°Hmph!¡± Yu Han sneered coldly and continued to wait patiently.


    After a period of time had passed, a flying evolved human flew over to Yu Han and said something to him. Yu Han¡¯s eyes immediately dipped slightly, appearing to be incomparably hazy. Yu Han said something back to the flying evolved human and nodded at the floating dragon below him. The floating dragon immediately understood what he meant and suddenly flew forward.


    This time, I won¡¯t lose again!


    ¡­


    Bai Yi¡¯s group was still fighting their way out of the tide of monsters, and that flying evolved human headed to a few locations to gather up some people. These people were also looking for Bai Yi and carried the fluids of the floating dragon on them, so they weren¡¯t subjected to many attacks from the wave of monsters. Even those evolved lifeforms that had gone berserk had a natural loathing toward that smell on their bodies.


    Very quickly, these people were all gathered together, and there were more than 30 of them in total. In reality, there were more people than this, but they were all too widely dispersed, so there wasn¡¯t time to gather everybody.


    Bai Yi¡¯s group met another two evolved humans when they were about to break out of New Christchurch. From the looks of it, these two people appeared very miserable and they pleaded to join Bai Yi¡¯s group.


    Bai Yi glanced at the two of them and nodded.


    However, at this moment Bai Yi patted Vala beside him, and gestured with simple sign language: ¡®be on guard against anyone not from our team.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t only these two people that had just joined their group, but Bai Yi was even suspicious of the ten plus people that fought their way out with his team just now.


    Betsy was off to one side and happened to see Bai Yi¡¯s hands. She was immediately taken aback and shocked¡ªshe could recognize sign language, after all.


    Be on guard! But why?


    Although she didn¡¯t understand his reasons, she still secretly told the exhausted Bellamy to be careful as well. After another half an hour of fighting their way out, Bai Yi¡¯s group finally managed to break out of New Christchurch to the town of Ralston, which was also the small town that Woolf¡¯s group had stopped at before.


    Just when everyone thought that it was safe, Bai Yi breathed heavily a few times, and blood started flowing down from his eyes all the way to his neck. He then walked two steps forward.


    ¡°Come out, Yu Han!¡± Bai Yi¡¯s tone wasn¡¯t heavy, but the words were like exploding thunder in everyone¡¯s ears.


    ¡°HA! Hahahahaha, I knew I couldn¡¯t hide from you. I don¡¯t know why, but we seem to be just like archenemies! We actually have this mysterious sense for each other now!¡± After hearing Bai Yi¡¯s voice, a floating dragon came out from the shadows in the distance. Yu Han looked down at Bai Yi from atop it and started laughing loudly.


    Bai Yi fixed his eyes on Yu Han. ¡°You can say whatever you want about things like this, but answer me one thing: are you the one responsible for New Christchurch¡¯s changes?¡±


    Yu Han¡¯s laughter stopped as well and he answered coldly, ¡°That¡¯s right, it was really a big project.¡±


    ¡°YOU BASTARD!¡± Bai Yi gritted his teeth in incomparable fury. ¡°You got so many innocent evolved humans involved in this just because of our private grudge?!¡±


    ¡°Who knows, but you guys actually managed to survive. How impressive,¡± Yu Han said, and actually started to clap slowly. At this time, everyone realized that Yu Han¡¯s right arm had already grown out again, but it didn¡¯t seem like the arm of a human. It actually seemed more like an arm formed from multiple types of insect flesh.


    Yu Han¡¯s goal was of course not just to kill Bai Yi, but why should he tell them that?


    ***


    Translator Note:

 Chapter 170

    Chapter 170: By Means Fair Or Foul


    New Christchurch had previously had a population of about 140,000 people, and that was basically half of all the remaining evolved humans who still retained their minds. After this so-called ¡®big project¡¯, Bai Yi guessed that the number of people who would survive wouldn¡¯t exceed 10,000. Bai Yi didn¡¯t want to pursue whether Yu Han had really done this just because of their personal grudge, or even how he¡¯d manage to do it. He only knew one thing¡ªthis was unforgivable!


    ¡°Do you even know what you are doing?¡± Bai Yi¡¯s tone was very heavy.


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk about it as if I¡¯m not in my right mind, of course I know what I am doing. Thinking about it, after being through so many things, I really realized that all the things that happened between us in the past were so trivial and boring. Completely meaningless.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, absolutely meaningless.¡± Yu Han looked into the sky, a trace of loneliness appearing on his face.


    ¡°But since this has already started, there needs to be an end to it. From today onward, New Christchurch will be called City of Graves. This is my magnificent parting gift to you!¡± Yu Han spread out his hands, doing a curtain call send-off in the direction of New Christchurch. That kind of elegant yet slightly mentally unsound gesture caused everyone to subconsciously crease their eyebrows.


    After experiencing so much and witnessing all the changes to New Zealand and the rest of the world, Yu Han had discovered that the stage on which one lived was actually so huge. Why should he fight over and for small things like he had at the start? But, since those things had already happened, he couldn¡¯t pretend that they didn¡¯t either. If it was not for his past, why would he have to walk this path today? All his actions now were completely and thoroughly evil, but if given a chance, would he want to make these choices!?


    Yu Han gradually explained this, and slowly, more than 30 evolved humans walked out from behind him to stand at his side. Seemingly, Yu Han thought that victory was already in his hands, so he did not immediately order them to attack.


    The difference in numbers between the two sides was too huge; Bai Yi only had slightly more than twenty people on his side, but more than ten of them were innocent bystanders. These people had only managed to make it out of the tide of monsters due to the protection of Bai Yi¡¯s team, and it was already impressive that they could still remain standing now. This was even true for those on Bai Yi¡¯s team, as all of them bore different injuries as well as fatigue from a long period of battle.


    Yu Han was right though: it was time to put an end to things. Unfortunately, it had to happen in a situation where they¡¯d fallen for somebody¡¯s else scheme. Apparently, Yu Han had changed much over this period of time too; he had become absolutely ruthless for the sake of victory this time around, using all means available to him. Using the entirety of New Christchurch as bait and luring a ridiculous number of evolved lifeforms to the city, the goal of all of this was just to consume the strength and energy of Bai Yi¡¯s team. After that, he gathered manpower that was many times greater than theirs and waited in ambush for them.


    That¡¯s right, he was absolutely ruthless!


    After Adams had left him previously, Yu Han could have practically been considered to be depressed and downhearted. If not for Ning Xue never abandoning him and always staying by his side, it was very likely that Yu Han would have never recovered and died silently in some random corner. Even so, Yu Han took a long time to regain spirit again, and his epiphany was¡ªsince I can¡¯t be a good person anymore, then I¡¯ll just play the bad guy all the way to the end!


    The world was very big, and dark powers were spread far and wide throughout it as well. It was just that Yu Han was a university student who had been brought up by a normal education system, so at the start he wanted to be a hero too, and not fall into darkness completely.


    As Yu Han stood on the top of the floating dragon, he asked the bunch of people beside Bai Yi, ¡°What about you guys? Are you going to stay here and wait for death, or scram somewhere else?¡±


    One of the guys beside Bai Yi¡¯s team immediately roared, ¡°How could we leave now, you bastard?! Do you still think that this is a private grudge between you and Bai Yi?! Do you know just how many people you¡¯ve killed!? Your father wants to bloody devour you now!¡± An air of fury toward a common enemy gradually rose among them when they heard those words. That¡¯s right, it wasn¡¯t just a private grudge between Bai Yi and Yu Han anymore; when New Christchurch was flooded by the tide of monsters, they had already become blood enemies with Yu Han.


    ¡°Then die, I¡¯ll fulfill your wish.¡± Yu Han revealed a mocking smile and raised his hand.


    In an instant, the air around them ignited. Even though they knew that their chances of victory weren¡¯t high¡ªor rather, their chances of survival weren¡¯t high¡ªall of them felt a rush of hot-bloodedness rise from the depths of their hearts. At this time, Bai Yi grabbed onto Red Kiss, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. Both of his eyes abruptly shot open, and his expression turned incomparably malevolent.


    ¡°COME!¡± Bai Yi roared in an instant., That one word was pure anger suppressed to the limit.


    Yu Han revealed a cruel smile and the floating dragon shot across the sky in a fraction of a second. The other 30 plus people charged toward Bai Yi¡¯s group as well. At this time, the group of people on Bai Yi¡¯s side that had just fought their way out of the wave of monsters revealed fierce and resolute faces as they rushed toward the opposing group. There was already no room for compromise at this point, the two sides would fight until the last drop of blood was shed.


    ¡®Ding!¡¯, a sudden sound of impact rang out and landed on all of their hearts!


    Everyone discovered that Momo was using the black sword she had just gotten to parry an attack from somebody, while another person stabbed his tail spike into Momo¡¯s clothes.


    These two people were from Bai Yi¡¯s group and were precisely those two guys that had joined them when they were about to break out of New Christchurch. Why¡­ The moment those in Bai Yi¡¯s group asked that question in their hearts, the answer followed immediately as well. These two people were apparently not really people from New Christchurch, but probably Yu Han¡¯s men that he had intentionally placed in Bai Yi¡¯s way when he discovered Bai Yi¡¯s movement vector.


    As for why they chose Momo and not Bai Yi, that was likely similarly at Yu Han¡¯s instruction. Yu Han and Bai Yi had fought many times already, and they understood each other to an extent. With the strength of those two undercover operatives, the chances of actually harming Bai Yi weren¡¯t too high even if they launched a surprise attack. However, if it was somebody else, then it was of course another story entirely. Didn¡¯t Bai Yi dote on his daughter the most? If Momo died at this time, what would happen to Bai Yi?


    Everyone was stunned in that moment, their faces stupefied and shocked.


    However, in the next instant, the sword rang with a ¡®zheng!¡¯ and Momo¡¯s body suddenly twisted. Momo¡¯s new Black Underworld which was almost as tall as her spun as well, and a black light sliced through the air. With two ¡®kachas!¡¯, the weapon and tail spike of the two guys instantly flew into the air, split apart by the sword strike, and deep gashes appeared on both of their bodies.


    Black Underworld¡ªthis was a longsword that took a year and a half to forge! It was still unknown if there would be a better longsword in the future, but at least for now, this sword was definitely incomparably sharp.


    Completing her spin, the two guys that were attacked by Momo immediately jumped backward. At this time, the rest of them realized that a broken shortsword had appeared in Momo¡¯s left hand. She swung the broken shortsword along an inside arc, cutting across a part of her clothes. This shortsword was the one that Momo had been using previously; although it was broken, she had still been using it for more than two years and didn¡¯t want to throw it away yet. The tail spike had been stopped by this broken shortsword just now.


    Without waiting for Momo to pursue the two guys, Sharpei and Pupu had already begun to lunge for them from the sides. The two undercover agents had just been injured, and they didn¡¯t have time to dodge before Sharpei and Pupu pounced on them in an instant. Sharpei tore the guy that he targeted apart in a second, blood and limbs flying all over the place, and even his head was pulverized by a strike from Sharpei¡¯s claws. Pupu rammed into the other guy, and the last thing he felt was that he¡¯d been smashed into by a high-speed train as he was sent flying away towards Yu Han side. After smashing through a few damaged walls, his body slumped onto the ground like a pile of meat paste.


    Actually, the moment the two of them were injured by Momo, their deaths were already certain. However, they died even more thoroughly this way.


    The battle had been about to begin, but then something like this suddenly happened, causing all of them to pause again. At this time, Betsy finally understood the meaning behind Bai Yi¡¯s earlier sign language. Did Bai Yi see through the ruse long ago, or was it that everyone who wasn¡¯t part of his team were within the range of his guard?


    Bai Yi looked at Yu Han. ¡°How sad, it didn¡¯t succeed. You really became hopelessly ruthless; I still thought that the target would be me.¡±


    Yu Han unexpectedly started to laugh, as if they were old friends. ¡°Ha, would it have been effective against you? I don¡¯t wish that you would die so easily either.¡±


    Bai Yi started to laugh as well. ¡°That¡¯s right too!¡±


    The two of them started walking toward each other, moving faster and faster, and when there were still a few dozen meters between them they both abruptly shot forward. In the next moment, the two of them collided bitterly, Bai Yi¡¯s Red Kiss clashing against a longsword in Yu Han¡¯s hands. At the beginning of New Zealand¡¯s change, Yu Han had a katana with him. It was easy to tell that Yu Han liked swords quite a bit too, it was just that his right arm was broken in that period before, so he¡¯d had no choice but to abandon using them for a time.


    ¡°All of you will die here for sure!¡± Yu Han said viciously, as the two of them stared at each other through the gaps in their swords.


    ¡°That¡¯s hard to say!¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t back down with his words either; even if he was really very exhausted now, he didn¡¯t want to lose in spirit.


    Reverse Flower Eyes!


    Taking advantage of this opportunity, Bai Yi¡¯s eyes changed instantaneously. Bai Yi knew that his body had been through a long, continuous battle, and was already extremely tired. Although he had consciously been trying to conserve his energy, the amount of time that he could sustain further battle for wouldn¡¯t be long either.


    At the same time that Bai Yi¡¯s eyes changed, Yu Han abruptly increased his force and his domineering strength immediately split the two of them apart. Both of them then flipped two rounds in the air before landing on their feet. When Yu Han raised his head again, there was an additional layer of membrane over his eyes, which from its appearance looked just like a layer of special eyeshadow. This wasn¡¯t just for decoration; in reality, this was the solution that Yu Han had come up with to deal with Bai Yi¡¯s Reverse Flower Eyes.


    The hypnotic power of Bai Yi¡¯s Reverse Flower Eyes would only display its greatest effect when his opponent looked at his eyes. However, in Yu Han¡¯s eyes now, Bai Yi had lost his general appearance, and all he saw was a ¡®human shaped¡¯ shadow. If one really had to describe it, it was similar to the infrared vision of snakes. On this human figure, Yu Han couldn¡¯t even see Bai Yi¡¯s facial features, let alone his eyes.


    Yu Han¡¯s consciousness went into a brief daze before he regained his normal senses in the very next moment.


    Heh¡­ as expected!


    While Bai Yi and Yu Han clashed together, the other two groups of people ferociously charged toward each other at the same time.

 Chapter 171

    Chapter 171: Crossing Swords


    There was no need to say anything more for the people in Bai Yi¡¯s team. They¡¯d known about Bai Yi and Yu Han¡¯s grudge long ago, and at this stage there wasn¡¯t any room for compromise, or even coexistence. As for the people from New Christchurch that had nothing to do with their grudge, such as Betsy and Bellamy, although they didn¡¯t get much out of the conversation between Bai Yi and Yu Han just now, they could at least grasp some things¡­ like how the disaster in New Christchurch was all caused by that Yu Han.


    KILL!


    The two sides clashed together, and what immediately followed was a brutal fight to the death. The people on Bai Yi¡¯s team knew that their bodies couldn¡¯t hold out for long, and so from the very first instant of the battle they exploded with terrifying destructive force. Sharpei, Woolf, and Heloise all killed somebody at the moment of the clash.


    The combat power that erupted at that instant made everyone look at them in awe.


    However, there were also people among Bai Yi¡¯s group that tried to conserve their strength so as to last for a while longer, and in that instant they paid the price for that in full as well¡ªwith their lives. They were already exhausted; to dare to try and conserve their energy at a time like this was nothing other than asking for death.


    A guy said, ¡°Idiot, Boss Yu Han already chose the people we¡¯d fight from the start, but you still stupidly charged ahead. Did you think that you could deal with them just because they had to fight their way out of the city?¡± This guy was more than five meters tall, looking to be bigger than even Woolf by a size, and resembled a crocodile or a T-rex. He kicked his ¡®companion¡¯, whose left leg had been chopped off by Woolf, and sent him flying away.


    An absolute lack of camaraderie among companions!


    It could be seen that the companions that Yu Han accumulated this time were different from the ones he had gathered the last time. If during the previous time Yu Han had still possessed dreams of becoming a hero and was still walking on a proper path, then now he had completely fallen from grace. Most of the ranks of these subordinates of his were made up of scoundrels¡ªthey were basically all people who had zero regard for laws or morality after New Zealand¡¯s order had collapsed.


    It was apparent that Yu Han had made arrangements specifically for fighting against Bai Yi¡¯s team, and every member of Bai Yi¡¯s team had one or two opponents allocated to them. When Bai Yi had achieved great fame, the composition of his team was also exposed to the entire world.


    This won¡¯t do!


    Vala saw the bunch of people heading toward their targets and immediately knew that she couldn¡¯t allow the matchups to be set up as the enemy had planned them. Their opponent had definitely planned this in advance to exploit everyone¡¯s weaknesses, and if they really just dumbly faced up with the opponents planned for them then they would definitely suffer greatly. Moreover, they had already gone through a long stretch of fighting, and things like their physical strength, reaction speed, and other metrics had all fallen significantly.


    ¡°Woolf, ignore that big guy! Go and deal with that second tallest guy. Heloise, you stall this guy for now, you should be used to the fighting style of large-sized people. Raymond, you deal with the two on the right side. Alodia¡­.¡± Vala stood behind everyone and quickly observed the group coming for them before she immediately made her own arrangements.


    Everyone knew that Vala¡¯s plans may not result in the best matchups, but at the very least they mustn¡¯t fight according to the enemy¡¯s plans.


    ¡°What about us?¡± Betsy asked after Vala had finished giving her instructions to everyone in the team.


    ¡°You guys¡­!¡± Vala actually really wanted to say ¡®it¡¯s up to them¡¯, but it would be too hurtful if she really said that, plus it would give them a sense that she didn¡¯t trust them. Vala was very skilled at planning and organizing, and after those two undercover agents had appeared in the group she¡¯d already realized it was becoming unstable. The members of the group were probably all suspecting and doubting each other, wondering if the people around them were actually their enemies.


    ¡°You guys split apart like this; our difference in numbers isn¡¯t too big, but the most crucial thing is our level of fatigue, so¡­¡± Vala immediately started to plan again. At this time, both sides had already chosen their opponents and clashed together. Due to Vala¡¯s deployment, things were quite messy at the start, and the people on the opposing side didn¡¯t know who to go after. In the end, they just chose the closest person to them, deciding they would just think about it after hacking up their opponents.


    However, Vala¡¯s deployment didn¡¯t last too long either. They were already short on numbers, so how would there be very much time for her to deploy them so clearly? After generally giving them instructions, Vala also met with enemy attack and she promptly drew her sword to parry the opponent¡¯s strike.


    However, Vala immediately had a bad feeling, and the opponent in front of her revealed a cruel smile. All the hair on his body suddenly stood on end, just like a hedgehog¡¯s, but the only thing different was that all these hair spines shot out instantaneously, practically sealing off all her possible paths of escape.


    Although she immediately waved her blade into the curtain of spikes, Vala hadn¡¯t fused with any battle-specialized genes at all, and her sword skills couldn¡¯t possibly be as outstanding as Bai Yi¡¯s.


    With a miserable scream, Vala immediately fell backward.


    ¡­


    ¡°Your team has a good strategist, but it seems like her combat strength is lacking,¡± Yu Han said mockingly as he fought with Bai Yi. The scene just now was clearly captured in both their eyes.


    ¡°It¡¯s just an injury, Vala will stand up again.¡± Bai Yi¡¯s Red Kiss clashed together continuously with the longsword in Yu Han¡¯s hands.


    ¡°Haha, what you don¡¯t know is that I made Barodin apply the poison of the Hell Pool Poison Lizard on his spikes today.¡± Yu Han again spoke as if he was just playing around.


    As expected, Bai Yi¡¯s body paused for the briefest of moments after hearing Yu Han¡¯s words. Even though it was very brief, Yu Han still managed to capture it. In the next instant, Bai Yi¡¯s sudden eruption of attacks made Yu Han feel like laughing even more. He still wanted to say something to agitate Bai Yi further yet, but extreme joy turns to sorrow1. Due to his slight loss in focus, Red Kiss sliced across his arm, and he nearly had to say goodbye to the newly regrown right arm of his.


    Looking at the blood flowing out from his arm, Yu Han focused his attention again.


    At this moment, Bai Yi raised Red Kiss parallel to the ground in front of him with an incomparably solemn expression, his left hand stroking the sword from the crossguard to the tip. Bai Yi had already discovered that his Reverse Flower Eyes were pretty much ineffective after the special layer of membrane had appeared on Yu Han¡¯s eyes, so all he could rely on now were the sword techniques that he had practiced diligently over the years. His blood rushed around rapidly in his body, slowly starting to boil, and the soft fur on his face lazily swayed due to the hot air coming off his body.


    In a split second, Bai Yi suddenly charged forward, and numerous ¡®dings!¡¯ and ¡®dangs!¡¯ rang out, merging together into a long metallic cry.


    Bai Yi and Yu Han crossed each other, and Yu Han touched his neck in shock; a stream of red slowly flowed out from it. In that instant just now, Yu Han completely lost sight of Bai Yi¡¯s movements; he had only raised his sword to block in front of himself just now by instinct. If not for that subconscious move, his head would probably be rolling on the floor right then.


    After that short burst, Bai Yi felt a sharp burning pain in his chest, as if even breathing was proving difficult for him. In the initial charge to break out of New Christchurch, Bai Yi had already experienced many battles and his body was already reaching its limit. Now, Bai Yi had even used the eruption of power from his blood boiling, and his body instinctively urged him to stop and rest.


    However, how could he rest at this time? Bai Yi turned around, forcefully suppressing the discomforts of his body, and rushed toward Yu Han again.


    It was purely a clash of swords, without the utterance of a single word. A stifling atmosphere accumulated between the two of them, almost suffocating anybody that got close to them.


    Both of them understood each other¡¯s determination very clearly: they must kill their enemy, they must!


    ¡­


    At this time, the situation of the others wasn¡¯t too optimistic either. Although Vala had quickly disrupted the matchups and deployment of this battle, the opponent was, after all, well-rested and fighting against fatigued combatants. Very quickly, casualties started to appear on Bai Yi¡¯s side. Those who had fought their way out with Bai Yi only had their hot-bloodedness sustaining them in the first place, and before long there were two of them who couldn¡¯t dodge in time and died on the battlefield.


    However, their miserable screams agitated the rest of them even more, and they exploded with whatever little strength remained in their bodies.


    After Sharpei and Momo worked together to kill off an opponent, Sharpei suddenly stopped and howled like a wolf. ¡°AOOOOO~!¡± His cry resonated across the entire battlefield.


    On the other side, the floating dragon, which had just killed somebody from Bai Yi¡¯s group and was still crunching half of its opponent¡¯s body in its jaws, roared as well. Although it wasn¡¯t a real dragon, it was, after all, a lifeform that was evolving toward being a dragon-type. After hearing Sharpei¡¯s howl, both of them looked at each other at the same time. Floating in the sky, a false dragon more than ten meters long. Standing tall on the ground, a sinister and ferocious two-headed dog with more than half of his muscles exposed on the outside.


    Sharpei slowly started walking, and abruptly sped up. His movements became impossible to see with the naked eye, leaving countless afterimages as he dashed toward the floating dragon in the distance and pounced onto it in an instant.


    Momo saw Sharpei charge over and immediately surveyed the battlefield. At this time, there wasn¡¯t anybody specially protecting her anymore. Very quickly, Momo realized that Teacher Vala was continuously dodging, and retreating with great difficulty from a hedgehog-like guy. Her body swayed after every movement that she made.


    ¡°Teacher Vala!¡± Momo immediately started running, rushing over to her.


    Vala could be considered Momo¡¯s First Teacher2, and was also her only teacher. Although Momo didn¡¯t normally like to study, she still held a lot of respect for this teacher who had taken care of her all along and taught her many things. Seeing that her Teacher Vala was in a bad situation, Momo immediately ran over.


    Momo swiftly entered their confrontation from the side, forcing the hedgehog guy back in an instant.


    ¡°Be careful, his spikes are poisoned,¡± Vala said. Her skin was starting to change color around the areas where the spines had hit her. Fortunately, the poison had been manually applied onto them, and the opponent hadn¡¯t dared to apply too much of it either. Otherwise, if it¡¯d really been the Hell Pool Poison Lizard, Vala would have probably died within ten seconds of being poisoned.


    Momo glanced at Vala and her little face turned red from anger as she grabbed onto the umbrous sword Black Underworld. ¡°You¡­ deserve death!¡±


    ***


    Translator¡¯s Notes:

 Chapter 172

    Chapter 172: Weep


    ¡°You¡­ deserve death!¡± Momo said to that hedgehog-man, as she spun her body halfway and waved her black sword rapidly, parrying all the hair spines that suddenly flew at her.


    ¡°Heh, hahahaha, ¡®deserve death¡¯, everyone in this world deserves death!¡±


    The hedgehog guy opposite her had a maniacal expression on his face and started to murmur something incessantly. However, Momo ignored that and rushed up in an instant, her black sword hacking down heavily from on high. The hedgehog guy immediately shut his mouth the moment Momo rushed forward; no matter how crazy he was, he was still a veteran of many battles and wouldn¡¯t get distracted in the middle of one. Seeing Momo dash toward him without any intention of dodging, an expression of mockery and brutality appeared in his eyes.


    Crazy Dance of Poison Spines!


    In the blink of an eye, this guy started to spin rapidly. The countless spines on his body shot out and enveloped the entire area in front of Momo. This move was very well-tested; generally speaking, the majority of people would get hit by at least a few spines, unless an opponent had some sort of hard armor that could block the spikes entirely. After applying poison to the spines, just getting hit by one of them would probably be enough to take away one¡¯s life.


    However, in that instant, Momo¡¯s movements abruptly accelerated, and the black blade danced swiftly. Her body twisted about rapidly, as she simultaneously protected herself behind the blade.


    The sounds of ¡®dings!¡¯ and ¡®dangs!¡¯ lasted for more than ten seconds before the spine attack finally stopped. At this moment, the hedgehog-man opposite her looked at her in shock. This supposedly eight-year old little girl was half-squatting on the ground with the black longsword diagonally resting on it behind her. Around her was a circle of poison spines, but there wasn¡¯t even a single injury on her body.


    Momo¡¯s sword skills were ranked second in the team!


    Suddenly, Momo raised her little head slightly, a cold and cutting killing intent in her eyes. The black sword slowly dragged across the ground behind her body. The guy suddenly had a feeling like he was floating in the air, yet he felt very heavy at the same time, giving him incomparable pressure in that moment. The hedgehog-man immediately sensed that things were bad and stretched out his right hand. On the back of his hand a giant sharp spine about five centimeters long aimed at Momo, and the poison applied on it was a deep and dark shade of blue.


    Air-splitting Strike!


    Hyperspeed Poison Spine!


    In a split second, Momo¡¯s black sword viciously swung at the hedgehog-man a few meters away from her, and it just happened to intercept the giant, high-speed poisoned spine flying toward her. ¡®Chi!¡¯, Momo¡¯s black sword clearly swung across empty air, but the giant spine suddenly split in half in mid-flight and flew to her left and right. In the next moment, the hedgehog-man¡¯s body shook, and with a ¡®puchi!¡¯, a long slanted cut stretched from his neck to his waist.


    The hedgehog-man still wanted to lower his head to see what happened, but the moment he tried to. his head immediately rolled off onto the ground.


    Air-splitting Strike: Using the high-speed swing of a sword to move the air in front of you, creating a vacuum-type strike. This was something that Bai Yi had demonstrated at the very start, it was just that at that point in time he hadn¡¯t had much proficiency with it either. After such a long period of consolidation, it had finally became a proper sword skill. Together with other kinds of sword skills and the use of blade force, these were the kind of sword arts that Bai Yi¡¯s team were learning right then.


    Momo panted heavily. Physicality wasn¡¯t her strong suit. In addition, she had already battled for a very long period of time trying to break out of the tide of monsters.


    Antidote, antidote!


    Momo immediately ran toward the hedgehog-man and started searching his body. Normally speaking, people who used poison as a form of attack would bring a prepared antidote on them, no matter whether it was a naturally obtained poison or a poison obtained from the outside world. Otherwise, it would be really troublesome if their own companions got poisoned by them.


    Ignoring his flowing blood and his exposed intestines, Momo scoured the body of the hedgehog-man and finally found a few small bottles. All these small bottles contained something, and they were all sealed up very tightly. But which one of them was the antidote?


    Momo became anxious and panicked inside. Then she suddenly looked behind her and discovered that Vala had already collapsed on the floor, unmoving.


    ¡°Teacher Vala!¡± Momo immediately got a fright and ran over.


    Momo checked her breathing and pulse, and both were very weak. She immediately started looking for the antidote in a panic, but who knew what was contained in these seven or eight small bottles? That¡¯s right! Nancy, look for Nancy, she should know which bottle is the antidote! However, when Momo raised her head again she realized that Nancy¡¯s situation wasn¡¯t much better: she saw a big, tall guy clutching Nancy¡¯s neck with his hands.


    ¡°Boss Yu Han specifically ordered me to kill you!¡± The guy strangling Nancy pushed her against a broken wall, slowly pressing her into a sharp edge behind her. With his powerful strength, it immediately pierced into Nancy¡¯s body, and her back was slowly dyed red with blood.


    ¡°Rea¡­lly!¡± Blood spurted out of Nancy¡¯s mouth the moment she started speaking.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Boss specially asked me to do so. You tricked him. You said you didn¡¯t want to join a team, but all of a sudden you were part of Bai Yi¡¯s team!¡± This guy saw the sharp rock jutting out from Nancy¡¯s abdomen and felt that his mission was already accomplished, so he was in the mood to talk a little.


    ¡°Ah¡­ really, what a great sin!¡± Nancy breathed heavily, but it was as if the air she took in was leaking out somewhere. ¡°Why didn¡¯t he tell you guys¡­ that his life was saved by me?¡± Nancy asked, and suddenly used both hands to grab hold of the guy¡¯s arm, revealing a pained smile. ¡°And that¡­ I am a Medicinal Maker!?¡±


    ¡°Eh?¡± The guy opposite her was still puzzled, but he immediately realized that his body was slowly turning stiff and rigid.


    ¡°Really¡­ what a pity!¡± Nancy said, as her shocked opponent saw her slowly close her eyes. After that, the guy collapsed onto the ground, while Nancy still hung from the sharp spike on the wall, her blood slowly flowing down from her body.


    Momo watched this scene and turned back to look at Vala again. She realized with a start that in such a short while, her Teacher Vala¡¯s breathing had stopped completely.


    Momo raised her head and looked up into the sky, pursing her lips, struggling to hold back her tears. However, something like tears weren¡¯t able to be held back just because one wanted to do so. Her tears started falling continuously down her face, gleaming like pearls, and Momo couldn¡¯t help but recall everything that had happened in the research facility long ago. It was Older Sister Sara the last time, and this time it was Teacher Vala. Why was the world so cruel?!


    WHY!?


    Momo finally let go and wailed out loud, and on this chaotic battlefield her tender cries seemed even more pitiful and sad. Everyone on the battlefield looked over instinctively and saw Momo kneeling down beside Vala, her little face staring up at the sky as she cried loudly. At this time, the eleven transparent Spirit Devouring Butterflies flew out from her body and danced around her, making the scene seem even more poignant and cruel.


    ¡­


    ¡°Dead!¡± Yu Han said happily while looking at Bai Yi.


    ¡°After that, you will die in this place too.¡± Yu Han gave a cruel smile to Bai Yi. This was what he had spent more than half a year planning, specially picking the personnel and location, and even intentionally dragging an entire city in to die with Bai Yi. Although Yu Han still had other goals, he had made use of those countless evolved lifeforms to consume a large part of the energy of Bai Yi¡¯s team. All of this was for the sake of killing Bai Yi for sure.


    ¡°Ah, Vala died!¡± Bai Yi said hoarsely. Blood slowly flowed out from his mouth and nose. Using the explosive power from his blood boiling for too long caused the capillaries in his body to continuously burst. If not for his cocooning having made his body more durable, Bai Yi might have completely collapsed by now.


    Bai Yi¡¯s tone was heavy, really very heavy.


    ¡°Maybe I will really die in this place, but you won¡¯t survive either.¡± Bai Yi walked toward Yu Han slowly. He couldn¡¯t continue wasting time anymore; everyone was already exhausted. He really, really had to quickly put an end to things with Yu Han.


    At this time, another guy who saw Momo wailing loud and wanted to ambush her was suddenly attacked by a few Spirit Devouring Butterflies, and very quickly fell onto the ground in a daze. After a while, the Spirit Devouring Butterflies flew back and landed on Momo¡¯s shoulder. Seemingly woken up by their sudden noise, Momo finally stopped crying and grabbed the black sword on the ground with her right hand.


    Faint black mist immediately rose from the blade the moment Momo grabbed hold of the hilt.


    After grabbing onto the black blade, Momo swept the battlefield with her gaze and started walking toward Bai Yi and Yu Han. Could it be said that this father and daughter had a telepathic connection? They actually thought of the same thing. The most important battle here was between Bai Yi and Yu Han; as long as this battle ended here, then the other battles elsewhere wouldn¡¯t have much meaning anymore.


    Although the opposing side clearly had more people, at this moment Woolf and the others gave their all to block the other enemies, leaving a path for Momo to traverse.


    Yu Han saw Momo slowly walking over from the side and couldn¡¯t help but reveal a strange smile. ¡°To think of it, your daughter really grew up so quickly, she¡¯s already so tall. Relax, after you die I will spare her life. Although her looks aren¡¯t too good, at least she more or less looks like a human now, so she will still be usable after some training.¡± Not even knowing if it was for the sake of agitating Bai Yi even more, Yu Han actually said a bunch of words as disgusting as this.


    However, Bai Yi felt that this was Yu Han¡¯s true character.


    Due to a long period of moral and ethical education restricting him, he would only hide these dark thoughts at the bottom of his heart even if he had them. And now, he completely exposed his true nature. However, what was the use of trying to win any arguments with him now? That darkness had always existed. If Bai Yi really died here today, then that future might truly turn into reality. Hence, the only thing he could do now was to kill Yu Han, protect Momo, and protect all of his friends.


    Bai Yi sheathed Red Kiss in an instant¡ªHidden Edge!

 Chapter 173

    Chapter 173: Death


    Without knowing why, Yu Han felt that Bai Yi had become even more dangerous the moment he returned Red Kiss to its sheath. At this time, Momo also slowly picked up speed and ran over to their location. Yu Han couldn¡¯t help but glance at his subordinates, and a haziness flashed across his eyes. What a bunch of good-for-nothings; he had already clearly exhausted Bai Yi¡¯s team of so much of their energy, and his lackeys still couldn¡¯t finish them off quickly.


    However, this couldn¡¯t be helped either. In New Zealand now, anybody who had decent strength either established their own team or joined an existing power. Yu Han¡¯s actions would only be accepted by evil scum or lunatics, so the fact that he could gather a bunch of people like this with a fairly strong amount of strength could already be considered very good.


    Seeing Momo rapidly approaching, Yu Han decided not to wait anymore and charged toward Bai Yi, the Xuan Wu shield on his left hand readied to block at any time. Sure enough, the instant he closed in on Bai Yi, he saw Red Kiss in Bai Yi¡¯s hands rising immediately. With intense concentration, Yu Han could almost see Bai Yi moving in slow motion.


    Sword draw?


    Yu Han suddenly thought of this type of sword skill, and instantly went on guard. However, Bai Yi actually retreated backward at this time and did not immediately attack him.


    Yu Han promptly thought of another possibility¡ªBai Yi was accumulating his power! Bai Yi was already extremely fatigued now, so he wouldn¡¯t be able to use certain attacks unless he gathered his strength. Thinking of this, Yu Han immediately accelerated his movements, but at this moment Momo happened to jump in front of him, blocking him with her black sword.


    Scattered Butterfly Dance!


    Momo immediately drew her sword, and a few Spirit Devouring Butterflies started dancing around and flew toward Yu Han the moment the black sword was swung. Yu Han could recognize these butterflies with a glance; after all, the impression that these creatures that lived in Wellington made was too deep to forget. Afterwards, Yu Han had learned from Nancy that these butterflies had the ability to consume souls as well.


    Yu Han swung his sword a few times, but it seemingly sliced through empty air. The purely spiritual bodies of the Spirit Devouring Butterflies couldn¡¯t be harmed by physical attacks at all. A few of them landed on Yu Han¡¯s body, and he immediately felt an ecstatic pleasure, a pleasure so great that it felt like his soul was being sucked away and about to ascend to heaven. However, on the contrary, this intense pleasure made Yu Han extremely wary in his heart, and the Xuan Wu on his left hand immediately raised its head.


    ¡°ANGGG!¡±


    The Xuan Wu on Yu Han¡¯s left hand cried out loudly, and a warm flow rushed through and around his body. These few small Spirit Devouring Butterflies were suddenly subjected to a sort of intimidation and stiffened up on the spot. At this moment, the Xuan Wu¡¯s mouth suddenly opened and sucked in deeply in the direction of the few Spirit Devouring Butterflies. These butterflies, without mass or matter, were immediately sucked into the Xuan Wu¡¯s mouth, disappearing into tiny motes of light.


    ¡°Little butterflies!¡± Momo was immediately staggered.


    Actually, Yu Han had only been planning to try his luck; he totally hadn¡¯t expected that the effect would be so remarkable. Thinking of this, Yu Han couldn¡¯t help but laugh in his heart. The first ability his Xuan Wu Arm displayed was decomposition!


    Decomposition: this wasn¡¯t some special ability, as every lifeform had this ability in order to regulate its own physical body. For example, after being bitten by a mosquito, a mild toxin would invade the body and a bump might appear on the skin, but the person would definitely not die. However, if a person got bitten by a more poisonous lifeform like a venomous snake, then if they were a normal human, they would be in big trouble.


    Yu Han¡¯s Xuan Wu Arm amplified this decomposition power to the utmost, and any random things that entered his left arm would all be seemingly decomposed. Over all this time, Yu Han¡¯s left arm had been changing as well. Its power of decomposition had slowly evolved into a kind of devouring ability, and it could even draw in normal forms of special energy.


    At present, people still couldn¡¯t actively control the special energy in their bodies, but Yu Han believed that the potential of his Xuan Wu arm would become greater and greater in the later stages of evolution.


    Unexpectedly, his arm could even suck in special bodies like those of these Spirit Devouring Butterflies.


    Yu Han was immediately overjoyed inside. Although the combat power that his left arm displayed now seemed to be inferior to Bai Yi¡¯s eyes, its potential in the future should be extremely great.


    When the Spirit Devouring Butterflies died, Momo really did feel an ache in her heart, but very quickly she pulled herself together and continued blocking Yu Han so as to buy more time for Bai Yi to gather his power. Momo¡¯s strength was much weaker than Bai Yi¡¯s, and she couldn¡¯t rely on the explosive advantage of her blood boiling either. Although her sword techniques were good, she very quickly became disadvantaged against Yu Han. At this time, Bai Yi reentered the fray behind Momo.


    ¡°Squat down!¡±


    Momo heard this and squatted down without any hesitation. At that moment, Bai Yi¡¯s Red Kiss flew out of its sheath instantaneously, and it was even more intense than the Air-splitting Strike that Momo had used just then.


    Great Shockwave!


    ¡®ZHENG!¡¯, a ring-shaped ripple instantly spread out from Bai Yi¡¯s sword, and other than Yu Han blocking in front of him, everything else within 50 meters was subjected to an immense cutting force and broke without exception. At the moment when Bai Yi had commanded Momo to squat down, Yu Han had instinctively raised his tortoise shield to block in front of him. In the next instant, a powerful force had impacted against it, pushing him back and sending him flying into the distance.


    After a while, Yu Han finally came to a stop and realized that there was a long crack on his tortoise shield too. This cut was very deep, and the strike had almost sliced through the entirety of it and damaged his body. Yu Han was immediately shocked; if not for his scheme to consume the majority of Bai Yi¡¯s energy already, only heaven would know just how powerful Bai Yi would have been now.


    Moreover, he actually managed to turn this kind of vacuum strike into a reality!


    In comparison, the sword techniques that Yu Han had himself developed seemed third-rate. The more he thought of this, the more uncomfortable he felt in his heart. The genes he had fused with were more powerful from the start, and Bai Yi had fused with useless butterfly genes, but why was the power gap between the two of them getting bigger and bigger!?


    However, seeing Bai Yi severely panting and even unable to stand properly, Yu Han¡¯s mood instantly became better. So what if Bai Yi was stronger than him? He was going to die here anyway; Yu Han could tell with a look that Bai Yi couldn¡¯t last for much longer.


    Bai Yi looked at Yu Han as well, staring at the tortoise shield with a giant crack on it, and a trace of regret appeared in his eyes. With the condition that he was in now, he absolutely didn¡¯t have the strength left to use another Great Shockwave. At this time, Momo had already rushed over and hurriedly supported Bai Yi. His legs went soft, and his body fell on Momo, with his lips pressing right beside one of her ears. From the looks of it, it appeared like Bai Yi couldn¡¯t even remain standing anymore, but actually he was whispering something into her ears.


    ¡°Listen, we must¡­ and absorb the power of your Spirit Devouring Butterflies¡­ so¡­!¡±


    Bai Yi used Momo as a support and slowly stood up again, but his legs were trembling non-stop. In fighting to this stage, his body had already been exhausted through and through.


    ¡­


    Without anybody realizing when it started, a light rain fell from the sky. It wasn¡¯t a crazy downpour, but just a light drizzle, making the atmosphere around the battlefield feel colder.


    At this time, the initially intense battle approached its end, and at the center of the messy battlefield were three figures standing together.


    Bai Yi¡¯s hands grabbed onto Yu Han¡¯s body tightly, and the newly grown snake head hidden underneath the Xuan Wu shell clamped its jaws around Bai Yi¡¯s neck. If not for the thread web inside his body being incredibly durable, the snake would have broken Bai Yi¡¯s neck long ago. Other than that, a sword viciously pierced through Bai Yi¡¯s chest, and the sharp tip of it exposed itself from his back.


    Momo was behind them, holding the black sword in her hands. She was also slowly trying to utilize her strength, but her injuries made bringing any amount of force to bear incredibly difficult. Moreover, even if it was broken, the tortoise shield still blocked the tip of Black Underworld. The black sword trembled non-stop due to the force exerted, but in the end, it still couldn¡¯t gain another inch.


    Their blood mixed with the rain and flowed down to the ground from all three of their bodies. Quietly, the three of them stayed still for a long while without talking.


    ¡°You actually wanted to die together with me, what a pity! If you were in your best condition, then you really might have succeeded.¡± Yu Han laughed loudly. His plan to weaken Bai Yi¡¯s team had really paid off: Bai Yi and Momo couldn¡¯t exert much strength from their bodies in the end. Even with Bai Yi using his own body as bait, Momo¡¯s attack had still stopped short of harming Yu Han by just a tiny bit.


    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes started to rotate slowly. This was the sign of the Reverse Flower Eyes activating. However, the rotation was abnormally slow now, and his eyes were also bleeding profusely.


    ¡°Reverse Flower Eyes¡­ your eyes, I¡¯ll accept them!¡± As Yu Han looked at Bai Yi¡¯s eyes, he slowly released the longsword in his right hand and lifted it to gouge Bai Yi¡¯s eyes out.


    ¡°AHHH¡­AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!¡± Momo saw Yu Han¡¯s actions and suddenly screamed pitifully into the sky, brutally pushing with the black sword once more.


    ¡®Puchi!¡¯


    The black sword finally pierced through the tortoise shield in an instant and stabbed into Yu Han¡¯s body. Yu Han¡¯s right hand also just happened to stop right on Bai Yi¡¯s eyelids. In the next moment, Yu Han immediately felt an intense pain that he couldn¡¯t put into words coming from the depths of his soul. A transparent mist suddenly rose from Momo¡¯s black sword, and became denser in an instant, finally turning into a burning flame that engulfed Yu Han in the blink of an eye. Yu Han, who had initially thought that he was on the cusp of victory, immediately screamed in terror, his expression incomparably twisted.


    This flame was the outward manifestation of Momo¡¯s special energy, and it had the ability to exterminate souls.


    The immense pain made Yu Han struggle vigorously. Bai Yi and Momo, who didn¡¯t have much strength left to begin with, were both instantly flung away and landed heavily on the ground.


    Devour it, devour it you bastard!


    Yu Han willed with all his might for his Xuan Wu on his left hand to activate, but the black sword just happened to get stuck on the neck of the Xuan Wu. Yu Han pulled hard on the hilt of Black Underworld to try and get it out, but the sword got stuck stubbornly on the crack on the tortoise shell, and he couldn¡¯t remove it no matter how hard he tried. Gradually, Yu Han¡¯s voice became more and more pained, and his movements became slower and slower too. At the very end, he turned around and looked at Bai Yi, who was completely still on the ground, with an unresigned expression, refusing to accept everything.


    Yu Han slowly walked toward Bai Yi. At this time, no matter what, Bai Yi and Momo simply didn¡¯t have the ability to move anymore, and they could only silently watch as Yu Han approached.


    I can¡¯t accept this, I really don¡¯t accept this, it actually turned out like this¡­ just when Yu Han had walked right in front of Bai Yi, he suddenly stopped, and fell onto his knees in the next instant. Yu Han¡¯s head hung low, and the transparent flame on his body slowly extinguished.


    Was it coincidental or inevitable¡­ that Yu Han would die in front of Bai Yi in such a position!?

 Chapter 174

    Chapter 174: Late


    Bai Yi lay on the ground, blood profusely flowing out from the wound on his chest. He couldn¡¯t summon a single ounce of strength now. He had already fought for a very long time trying to break out of New Christchurch, and this battle just now had entirely used up whatever he had left. The other battles had ended long ago as well, and everyone else¡¯s conditions weren¡¯t much different from Bai Yi¡¯s.


    Although Bai Yi¡¯s team had been steadily growing in strength over the past year, the differences in their power weren¡¯t very big after Yu Han¡¯s attrition tactics.


    Everyone lay on the ground, either dead or on the verge of death, and all of them had totally lost any ability to move.


    Bai Yi¡¯s body trembled as he tried to stand up again. At this time, if he really stayed down and fell asleep, he would remain asleep forever. However, if it was possible to move, somebody would have moved long ago. After a long while, just when even Bai Yi was about to give up, he suddenly felt something licking his face.


    Bai Yi opened his eyes and realized that it was Chinchilla. This little kitten, who never grew bigger and was only the size of an open palm, never attracted anyone¡¯s attention. Of course, with the tiny bit of strength Chinchilla had, it wasn¡¯t possible for it to help out anyway. However, this little thing became the only one capable of moving now.


    ¡°Chinchilla.¡± Bai Yi faintly smiled while breathing heavily, quietly gathering the strength in his body to stand up again. The others who were still alive weren¡¯t too different. Most of them had exhausted themselves thoroughly during the long period of intense battles, and with the addition of their injuries, none of them could move anytime soon.


    However, all of a sudden, Bai Yi heard footsteps approaching.


    These footsteps were very nimble and approached their vicinity rapidly. After surveying the battlefield for a while, this person very quickly ran toward Bai Yi¡¯s location. Bai Yi lay on the ground, looking up at the briskly approaching figure, and a helpless, bitter laugh rose in his heart. Chinchilla also seemed to sense the danger and immediately turned around, blocking in front of Bai Yi.


    ¡°Uncle Bai!¡± Ning Xue stopped and said softly.


    ¡°En, long time no see,¡± Bai Yi said, his body relaxing totally as he looked up at Ning Xue. Appearing at such a time as this, when everyone had lost their ability to fight, it would just be a waste of effort to continue struggling now. Thinking about this, Bai Yi almost wanted to laugh. It was really hard to predict who would have the last laugh. He had been suspicious from the start as to why Ning Xue wasn¡¯t by Yu Han¡¯s side; it turned out she was just late.


    Ning Xue looked at Yu Han kneeling in front of Bai Yi and softly asked, ¡°Is he¡­ dead?¡±


    Bai Yi nodded. ¡°En!¡±


    ¡°Is he apologizing like this?¡±


    ¡°Probably not, it was just a coincidence. I¡¯m afraid he actually wanted to kill me.¡± Bai Yi looked at Yu Han¡¯s eyes. They had already closed after he¡¯d died, so of course Bai Yi couldn¡¯t see anything. However, things had already reached this stage; how could this guy kneel down and acknowledge his mistakes? He had just happened to walk up to this point and then died there.


    ¡°Perhaps, he was apologizing!¡± Ning Xue pulled the black sword from Yu Han¡¯s body and threw it onto the ground.


    Ning Xue nodded to Bai Yi. ¡°Then Uncle Bai, I¡¯ll be leaving now. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t going to kill me to take revenge?¡±


    ¡°No, Yu Han once said to me very seriously before that if he dies, then there¡¯s no need for me to take revenge for him. Everything between the two of you will completely end here.¡± Ning Xue gathered up Yu Han¡¯s corpse and slowly walked away.


    At this time, the Pellegra Dragon slowly flew over, close to the ground. A big section of this dragon¡¯s tail was broken off, and one of its wings was torn off as well. Its ¡®flying¡¯ was actually not too different from crawling. Going over to her, this false dragon looked at Yu Han in Ning Xue¡¯s arms and cried sorrowfully, using its head to bump against Yu Han¡¯s cold body. Seemingly, this false dragon could understand as well that this guy who hadn¡¯t held it in disdain and had treated it as his companion wouldn¡¯t be moving anymore.


    Sharpei also slowly walked over from that direction as well. Blood flowed down from his body and he trembled with every step he took. However, Sharpei still determinedly came to Bai Yi¡¯s side, giving off a low growl toward the false dragon.


    ¡°Enough, Sharpei!¡± Bai Yi said softly and reassured Sharpei.


    ¡°Little Lai, Yu Han is already dead. Let¡¯s leave.¡± Ning Xue touched the Pellegra Dragon1¡¯s head gently. The Pellegra Dragon cried out softly, licking Ning Xue¡¯s right hand with its tongue.


    ¡°Actually, Yu Han¡¯s dream was also to become a great hero.¡± After she finished speaking, Ning Xue carried Yu Han¡¯s corpse and slowly disappeared into the distance. The Pellegra Dragon gradually followed behind Ning Xue, going wherever she was going. The only people who had been good to it were Yu Han and Ning Xue. Even it could understand the relationship between Yu Han and Ning Xue, and at this time it could of course only leave with Ning Xue.


    It was also to become a great hero, huh?


    Bai Yi lay on the ground, thinking about Ning Xue¡¯s parting words. After a long while, Bai Yi gave a deep sigh. A person¡¯s character wasn¡¯t fixed at birth, it was influenced by all the incidents and events that happened to that person later in life. Every different encounter, every different decision, sketched the path of a person¡¯s change and growth. Bai Yi recalled the young man he had met at Waikato University before everything started. Although he was a bit of a loner, he was definitely not a bad person.


    ¡­


    Ning Xue carried Yu Han and stopped after going a certain distance. She then silently lay on top of him, her eyes wet with tears.


    This kind of ending, Ning Xue didn¡¯t know how to describe it either.


    If she had arrived a bit earlier, then the one who¡¯d have died in the end would have been Bai Yi. But in reality, Ning Xue did not want to kill Bai Yi, even if Yu Han hadn¡¯t previously instructed her not to do so. However, Ning Xue similarly couldn¡¯t accept Yu Han dying either. Although Ning Xue knew that Yu Han was growing worse and worse, she really felt something missing now that he was truly gone.


    Ning Xue recalled the two LV2 experts that acted as firefighters back in the city, and suddenly felt that this was heaven¡¯s will. Who would have known that there were still two LV2 experts hiding inside New Christchurch, causing her to waste so much time in the city?


    Sigh!


    After Ning Xue left, the people who still had a breath of life left in them slowly recovered and started standing up. They helped the others who were alive up as well and treated them simply.


    After a simple check, grievous news slowly came in bit by bit, and tears started to flow down Bai Yi¡¯s face.


    Vala¡ªdied from poison.


    Raymond¡ªdied from going berserk, he brought six other people down with him. It could be said that he died still biting onto his enemies¡¯ corpses.


    Heloise¡ªgot injured in her vital areas while trying to protect Woolf and didn¡¯t manage to endure to the end either.


    The others were severely injured as well, but the most surprising thing was that Nancy, who everyone thought was dead, actually still had one last breath remaining in her. When Betsy and Bellamy pulled Nancy off from the spiked rock, she suddenly groaned and gave them a fright. Betsy couldn¡¯t help her shock, but a Medicinal Maker was a Medicinal Maker, after all, and their life preservation abilities were first rate.


    When Bai Yi looked at Woolf, that guy was still holding onto Heloise¡¯s corpse in a daze. When Woolf had met Heloise, she still hadn¡¯t turned into a monster, and he had already fallen in love with her back then. Even though they both turned into monsters afterward, their relationship had never changed. Although Bai Yi had lamented that the two of them had some sort of sadomasochistic thing going on, the feelings between the two of them were very real and genuine.


    With Heloise dying for the sake of protecting Woolf this time, it would be strange if Woolf was OK now.


    Bai Yi patted Woolf¡¯s shoulder, but he couldn¡¯t find any words to say. However, at this time Momo looked toward Woolf¡¯s side, her eyes slowly becoming pure and transparent.


    ¡°Uncle Woolf, Aunt Heloise is scolding you now. You shouldn¡¯t be wallowing like this,¡± Momo suddenly said, looking beside Woolf.


    Bai Yi and Woolf were both suddenly taken aback, but finally understood after looking at Momo¡¯s eyes. Momo now definitely saw Heloise¡¯s soul. However, this wasn¡¯t a special environment like Wellington; if nothing unexpected happened then her soul would be like the remnant soul they¡¯d seen a while ago and would disappear quickly.


    Woolf immediately turned his head and asked loudly, ¡°Where is Heloise, where?!¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s at¡­!¡± Momo wanted to say that she was right beside Woolf, but Momo was suddenly stunned for a moment, and abruptly took two steps forward, before shouting loudly, ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡±


    Everyone who was initially tending to their wounds jumped at Momo¡¯s exclamation, and they all looked at her in puzzlement. At this time, Momo took a look at everyone around her, before her gaze stopped on a wooden necklace that Woolf was wearing. Momo fixated upon and stared at Woolf¡¯s necklace, her face full of confusion.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Aunt Heloise¡¯s soul disappeared.¡±


    ¡°Disappeared!?¡± Woolf immediately started shouting loudly again.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not right either. I should say that her soul was sucked into that necklace of yours,¡± Momo said seriously. Following her words, everyone¡¯s eyes stopped on the necklace on Woolf¡¯s neck, although none of them could see anything.


    Bai Yi suddenly remembered something. ¡°Woolf, I seem to remember that your necklace was made from the branch of the Soul Release Tree, right?¡±


    Woolf nodded dumbly. ¡°En.¡±


    ¡°Do you still remember the special scene we saw at the Soul Release Tree? The vengeful spirits were automatically attracted to and got sucked into the Soul Release Tree as if they were being purified.¡±


    ¡°Heloise¡¯s soul will be purified?!¡± Woolf immediately panicked.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m saying, is it possible that this branch could absorb the soul and temporarily preserve it?¡± Bai Yi gave a possible theory, giving everyone else a big shock. Although Bai Yi wasn¡¯t very clear in his explanation, everyone had more or less come into contact with fantasy stories of some kind. Hence, a notion formed in all of their minds.


    Branch¡ªsoul preservation¡ªrevival!

 Chapter 175

    Chapter 175: City Of Graves


    Tree branch¡ªSoul Preservation¡ªRevival!


    Other than those on Bai Yi¡¯s team, there were three other people who survived: Betsy, Bellamy, and a guy called Romain Cristot. The three of them didn¡¯t know about the past experiences of Bai Yi¡¯s team and didn¡¯t understand what they were talking about. Meanwhile, the people from Bai Yi¡¯s team immediately started to search in a frenzy, and finally found a few of the Soul Release Tree¡¯s branches.


    When they had left Ghost City Wellington way back then, everyone had brought a section of a tree branch out with them; it was simply that none of them had given it much thought or attached much importance to it. All of them had kept these things with them since the branches could keep vengeful spirits away, after all; it was just that they hadn¡¯t turned them into necklaces like Woolf. After a messy period of searching, they even found pieces of it on Alodia and Pupu. Seeing Pupu shake one of his ears, everyone suddenly started to think about how Pupu managed to communicate with them, letting them hang the tree branch on his big ears.


    Bai Yi and the rest couldn¡¯t help but feel admiration for Pupu¡¯s intelligence.


    ¡°Uncle Woolf, can you pass the necklace to me first?¡± Momo said to Woolf.


    Woolf nodded. ¡°En.¡±


    Momo received the crudely made necklace into her hands and found it contained a piece of a branch about seven to eight centimeters long. Momo looked at it seriously, then pressed her forehead against the tree branch and closed her eyes. Although Bai Yi had said that this branch could possibly be able to preserve and contain souls, nobody could be sure of the specifics of such a thing. The only thing they could rely on now was Momo, who could see souls.


    Actually, Bai Yi got his inspiration from all the books he¡¯d read in China. In those mythological or fantasy stories, didn¡¯t ghosts commonly possess or reside in certain objects?


    ¡°En, en, OK.¡± Momo¡¯s face was very tense at the start, but after a while she began to smile and mutter to herself. Of course, everyone knew that she was definitely not talking to herself, but communicating with Heloise¡¯s soul in the tree branch.


    ¡°Daddy, Aunt Heloise says that it feels very good inside, and she doesn¡¯t have the feeling that she¡¯s dissipating either. It¡¯s just that it¡¯s very empty in there, just like a big room, so it¡¯s quite boring,¡± Momo said.


    ¡°Is it like that? Then let¡¯s try and see if this branch could contain even more souls. Vala¡¯s, Raymond¡¯s¡­ ask them if they want to be alone in another branch or together with other people,¡± Bai Yi said.


    Momo nodded. ¡°En.¡±


    After that, Momo quietly opened her eyes and surveyed the surroundings, finding the rest of their companion¡¯s souls beside their corpses. The people in Bai Yi¡¯s team knew that Momo could see souls, but the others were all incredibly shocked, whether it was Betsy and the other survivors or the dead souls themselves.


    After Momo communicated with all the souls and clarified things with Aunt Heloise, everyone learned that the space within the branch on Woolf¡¯s necklace wasn¡¯t too big: it was roughly about 100 square meters in size.


    There were more than 40 people who had died in this area; it wasn¡¯t just people from Bai Yi¡¯s side, but the men that Yu Han had brought as well. In the end, they decided to store the souls of the people from their side in Woolf¡¯s Soul Release Tree branch. As for the rest of the souls, Momo made the decision to store them inside Alodia¡¯s branch. Bai Yi didn¡¯t question Momo¡¯s decision and only watched quietly.


    Apparently, Momo¡¯s experiences made her completely different from a normal little girl; she now had her own thoughts and had also become a lot more mature.


    Notably, Momo had used her sword when storing the souls as well. In the eyes of normal people, she only lightly stabbed her sword into the air here and there. However, from her frosty little face and the small points of light spreading out from the tip of the blade, everyone knew when she had completely entrapped a soul. Everyone more or less understood Momo¡¯s abilities now. All of them discovered that when it came to the independence and decisiveness of this little girl, even most adults couldn¡¯t compare to her.


    ¡­


    ¡°Then, what are your plans?¡± Bai Yi asked Betsy and the two others.


    They had already stored everyone¡¯s souls. Although they didn¡¯t know if it was really possible to revive them, they at least had a hope now. The world was becoming more and more mysterious, so there really might be a means for Revival in the future. Because of this, their sorrow from seeing their companions fall eased a little bit.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± The three of them shook their heads. They had all been living well in New Christchurch. Who would have expected that something like this would happen?


    Bai Yi looked at the three of them. He didn¡¯t need to think much about Betsy and Bellamy; after more than a week of interaction he was more or less familiar with them and felt that he could trust them. However, he was completely unfamiliar with this Romain Cristot. They had already had plans to leave New Christchurch for another location to go through the Hypersomnia Stage, and they would definitely follow-through with those plans now. It seemed a bit inexcusable if he did not bring them along; after all, New Christchurch was already ruined and they had just fought shoulder-to-shoulder. However, they were strangers, even if he decided to bring them along.


    ¡°Do you guys want to¡­¡± In the end, Bai Yi still intended to extend his invitation.


    Even if he was wary, he couldn¡¯t pay no heed to comrades-in-arms that had just fought together with them. Perhaps this was a part of Bai Yi¡¯s nature.


    ¡°Forget about it, I won¡¯t go.¡± Romain suddenly shook his head and declined before Bai Yi could say anything.


    Bai Yi looked at the back of Romain, who turned around and slowly walked into the distance, and closed his eyes. This Romain had very good strength, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t have been able to survive in the previous battle. Moreover, he seemed to have his own story to him as well; he took the initiative to leave after seeing Bai Yi¡¯s slight hesitation just now. However, with the state that Romain was in at the moment, he would definitely die if he met with some evolved lifeform on his way.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Bai Yi stopped Romain.


    ¡°I was indeed hesitating over whether to trust you just now, but I still chose to trust you in the end. Come along with me, you won¡¯t have any spare energy to battle again if you really meet with some evolved lifeform in the state that you are in,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Is this Team Leader Bai Yi¡¯s true feeling?¡±


    ¡°It is!¡± Bai Yi nodded seriously.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be troubling you!¡± Romain looked into Bai Yi¡¯s eyes seriously and nodded back in the end. Apparently, Romain did not want to go out and seek death by himself either. Just as Bai Yi said, they were all severely injured now. If they really met with danger again, they had practically no ability to protect themselves.


    Betsy and Bellamy naturally did not have many concerns and left with Bai Yi¡¯s team.


    When they found out from Bai Yi that his team was about to enter the Hypersomnia Stage and had made preparations long ago, the three of them finally understood why Bai Yi had been hesitating. If it was under normal circumstances, then Bai Yi would have definitely invited them to his team straightaway; after all, there weren¡¯t still too many people left on his team. However, if they were going into the Hypersomnia Phase, they would definitely be wary of strangers.


    However, precisely because of this, a trace of gratitude mysteriously grew in their hearts toward Bai Yi. Putting themselves in his shoes, if it were them, would they be able to trust an unfamiliar person?


    ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that, we¡¯re comrades-in-arms, after all. If I abandon you guys in the blink of an eye, then this world would be too hopelessly cold and apathetic.¡± Bai Yi waved his hand. Since he had already made the decision, he wasn¡¯t someone who would continue worrying about the pros and cons.


    Romain looked at Bai Yi, those words still reverberating in his ears¡­ was there still hope for this world?


    All of them supported each other or carried other people in simple stretchers, and slowly left for the place that Bai Yi had prepared long ago. This was really a team made out of injured combatants now; if the majority of evolved lifeforms hadn¡¯t already gathered at New Christchurch, then they probably wouldn¡¯t be able to walk far either.


    Before leaving, all of them looked in the direction of New Christchurch. The place they were at wasn¡¯t too high up, so they couldn¡¯t see the appearance of the city. However, looking at the drizzling rain and the dark skies in the distance, they still felt a mysterious pain in their hearts.


    Hope! The hope of evolved humans had been destroyed just like that!


    After this incident, even if the evolved humans had the heart to do so, they probably wouldn¡¯t be able to construct a new city again. At this time, all of them couldn¡¯t help but recall Yu Han¡¯s words to Bai Yi: that this city was the burial gift he had prepared for him.


    City of Graves!


    ¡­


    At this time, a countless amount of slaughter, struggle, and desperate straits sketched a cruel picture in New Christchurch. Even the appearance of the two hidden LV2 experts in the city couldn¡¯t truly stop this from happening. An individual¡¯s power was limited, after all; this human and bat could at most stop only a portion of the massacre.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Augustine!¡± The bat actually spoke in human language.


    In the eyes of other people, there was nothing strange about a bat speaking in human language¡ªhe was probably a human who fused with bat genes, and ended up looking like a bat. However, only Augustine knew that this bat was truly actually a bat. Even so, Augustine and the bat had spent such a long time together that he naturally wouldn¡¯t be surprised by something like this now.


    Augustine looked at the city that had fallen to a massacre in the distance, and a hint of sadness flashed across his eyes. Where could he go now?


    Ever since escaping from their research facility, they had never faced any danger due to their strength. However, New Zealand now wasn¡¯t too different from a primordial jungle. Even if he had the strength of a LV2, Augustine didn¡¯t dare to enter the human world. As somebody who was human, he knew just how much power the humans had on their side. When the city in which he had seen a trace of hope for a secure future could be destroyed, where could evolved humans head to?


    ¡­


    When Melvin saw the group being very gloomy on the road, he couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Don¡¯t be so dispirited, evolved humans still have hope! On the northern island of New Zealand, isn¡¯t there still Hamilton?¡±


    ¡°En, that¡¯s right.¡± Everyone nodded, but¡­!

 Chapter 176

    Was there hope in Hamilton?


    Just when everyone might have thought so, something big happened there as well. Although it wasn¡¯t a case of complete destruction like in New Christchurch, it was still quite severe.


    In Cambridge, south of Hamilton, a group of people found a large-scale research facility. Initially, these people went crazy with joy, but unknowingly, they somehow released the experimental monsters inside. Although it had been three years and the majority of the experimental monsters had already died, those which had managed to survive were all incredibly ferocious LV2.1 Incomplete Metamorphose monsters.


    When these LV2.1s were released, they immediately began their slaughter and frenzied devouring of everything they could find. The people who released them immediately ran for their lives but ended up drawing them to Hamilton.


    Through a bitter and desperate battle, three out of the five LV2.1s died, but the last two managed to escape. Everyone initially thought that things had ended like that, but in due time, they realized that those two LV2.1s treated Hamilton like their food store. From time to time, they would suddenly appear to devour a few people, and casually leave after that. Due to their absolute difference in strength, as long as they didn¡¯t run into the city center, they basically wouldn¡¯t encounter any worthy opponents.


    With this kind of situation, although Hamilton was in better shape when compared to New Christchurch, everyone there lived in constant danger.


    ¡­


    Bai Yi¡¯s team had lost contact with the outside world, and after walking for three days they finally reached the Rakaia River, which was close to Mount Hutt. This river was rather large, but it wasn¡¯t a single complete river1. Small sand bars could quite commonly be seen sticking out like miniature internal islands in the middle of the river, splitting its flow into many streams. This could be said to be a kind of unique scenery.


    As for why they needed to take three days to cover this distance, it was of course due to their injuries slowing them down. Even walking for such a long distance by road, they hadn¡¯t encountered any evolved lifeforms, and it was easy to infer that they had all been lured to New Christchurch. This was actually both a good and a bad thing; the bad thing about it was that Bai Yi¡¯s team almost couldn¡¯t find anything to eat along the way. Luckily, there were still two chefs in the team. Setting aside Bai Yi, Betsy was an even more professional chef, and it was still quite easy for her to make some meals from the vegetation available.


    Over these three days, the incidents in New Christchurch and Hamilton shook the entire world. Of course, ¡®the world¡¯ only referred to the world of a small group of people; 99% of the normal population didn¡¯t have the qualifications to know about these things.


    It was still easier to understand what had happened in Hamilton, as that was a completely man-made disaster. However, the invasion of New Christchurch by countless monsters and the total destruction of the city was much more shocking. The number of people who escaped from the city had probably not exceeded 10,000. Tales of the sight of massive numbers of monsters covering the earth and skies were spread by word of mouth by these lucky survivors. What was this scene, a tide of monsters? Why would these evolved lifeforms gather together to attack evolved humans?


    Other than Bai Yi¡¯s team, probably nobody else knew the true reason for this incident.


    Precisely because the reason was unknown, it caused many people in the outside world to feel incomparably worried and fearful. A bunch of so-called ¡®experts¡¯ even tried to use ecology, psychology, biology, and many other disciplines to try to explain this phenomenon. One must know that the activated cells had been proliferating toward the outside world for a while now. If animals would really unite and attack humans after assimilating with the activated cells, they had to think of how to deal with that situation.


    Of course, Bai Yi and his companions wouldn¡¯t know about all these things. Moving northwest along the Rakaia River, they entered the Southern Alps and finally approached Mount Arrowsmith at the central area of the mountains. After following Bai Yi for nearly two weeks, Betsy and the other newcomers finally knew why his team had chosen to come to this place.


    This was an unfamiliar valley. Inside the valley were some active evolved lifeforms, and at the bottom of the valley was a small lake some 500 meters in diameter. Most importantly, at the bottom of the valley wall was a giant hole. After entering through the hole, one would find a steep but magnificent underground karst cave. However, the surprises didn¡¯t stop there. After walking a distance, the air slowly became warmer, and through a crack in the rocks, all of them discovered that there was lava slowly flowing underneath them.


    ¡°This is a small, dormant volcano, and it has never erupted before in the past. This will probably be where we will be staying for a long period of time, so everyone can make themselves at home. However, try your best not to approach the volcano; even if it doesn¡¯t erupt, it¡¯s still quite dangerous,¡± Bai Yi reminded them.


    At this time, a shuffling sound came from deeper inside, and a giant armored human came rushing out.


    This armored guy shouted to Bai Yi from far away, ¡°Hi, Bai Yi, you guys are back! I thought that something happened to you guys!¡±


    ¡°This is Ulisses. This regularly shaped cave you see now was dug out by him.¡± Bai Yi still tried to compose himself and introduced this armored guy to the rest of them. At this time, Ulisses suddenly realized that Bai Yi¡¯s face wasn¡¯t looking too good and that he didn¡¯t see Heloise and a few others with them either. Ulisses had survived in New Zealand for so long, after all, that he immediately knew that something had definitely happened.


    Ulisses was one of the Brutal Phase humans locked up in the prison back when Bai Yi¡¯s team had arrived in New Christchurch. While helping to hypnotize many people, Bai Yi had also been expanding his influence at the same time and choosing people. However, Bai Yi hadn¡¯t let Ulisses join the team directly, but rather, gotten him to stay outside while maintaining close connections with him. Ulisses had caught Bai Yi¡¯s eye precisely because of his ability to bore through the mountain, and after some observation, Bai Yi felt that he was trustworthy as well. Hence, he had left the mission of restructuring the mountain interior to him.


    Ulisses did not hurriedly ask them about what had happened but introduced himself to Betsy and the others instead. ¡°Nice to meet you. I am Ulisses.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you too. I am Betsy.¡±


    ¡°Bellamy.¡±


    ¡°Romain Cristot.¡±


    After everyone had finished making their introductions, Bai Yi told Ulisses about everything that had happened in New Christchurch. Naturally, Ulisses went completely dumb upon hearing the news, and couldn¡¯t believe that something so big had happened. Looking at Woolf, who seemed quite dispirited, Ulisses went to pat his shoulder lightly, trying to console him. Other than this kind of simple comforting, Ulisses didn¡¯t know what else he could do.


    However, they didn¡¯t have the time to continue moping about such matters. After resting for a few days, Bai Yi took the lead, and the people in the team gradually entered the Hypersomnia Phase.


    Bai Yi was the first one, followed by Momo, Woolf, Sharpei, and Pupu. They were the first companions that had gathered together and had received Bai Yi¡¯s hypnosis to enter deep level sleep from the very start. As for Melvin, Alodia, and Nancy, their progress was a lot slower, and they would probably require another stretch of time before they entered the Hypersomnia Phase.


    Although it was called the Hypersomnia Phase, that didn¡¯t mean that all they did was sleep. At the start, the signs were just that they felt like sleeping a lot. The number of hours they slept each day slowly increased, until by the end they could sleep for one or two days at a go, or for even longer periods of time.


    The mission that Bai Yi gave everyone was to sense their souls!


    LV1-3 Hypersomnia Stage was the first stage where one could sense their own soul for the first time, so they must definitely grab hold of this opportunity! Yeye had consolidated some data from previous experimental subjects, but they would definitely find some differences when they experienced it for themselves.


    Bai Yi himself couldn¡¯t describe what was going on; it was as if his body was communicating with his soul. His consciousness should have been completely silent from such a deep level of sleep, but he just had this vague feeling.


    Moreover, the experiences that Bai Yi and the rest had were far too different from the information recorded about Hypersomnia Stage lifeforms in Yeye¡¯s database. In Yeye¡¯s records, although evolved lifeforms loved to sleep after entering the Hypersomnia Phase, they couldn¡¯t sleep well, and a majority of them couldn¡¯t even achieve a normal level of sleep. If one really had to describe it, then it was just like insomnia: staying wide awake even though the organism was so tired. The body clearly wanted to sleep, but sleep simply evaded the lifeform no matter how hard it tried.


    Precisely because of this reason, all Hypersomnia Stage lifeforms treasured every opportunity to fall asleep completely. If somebody dared to wake them up from their hard-to-attain sweet dreams, practically all of them would have a disposition that said, ¡®wake me up and I¡¯ll kill your entire family¡¯.


    However, their situation was completely different: it was very easy for them to fall asleep every time, and they would always sleep for a long while. This was especially true for Bai Yi; at the start, he would still appear once every one or two days, but toward the end, he wouldn¡¯t even appear after a whole week. And after they all appeared again, all of them had the same reaction¡ªthat is to say, extreme hunger!


    None of them had imagined that they would experience this binging state again, and there were no such records in Yeye¡¯s database. After those experimental subjects woke up, there weren¡¯t many changes to their appetites?


    The rest of them felt that this was completely natural; after sleeping for a few days and starving, it would be strange if they weren¡¯t hungry. However, only Bai Yi and Momo could vaguely feel that this wasn¡¯t the only reason. During the long periods of sleep, their bodies and souls were making certain final adjustments. These adjustments might seem small and mild, but altogether it was actually an incredibly complicated process and consumed a large amount of energy.


    There didn¡¯t seem to be any activity going on during deep level sleep, but the adjustment of the body and soul was actually an unimaginably large project.


    No matter what, they had to eat when they were hungry, and this created plenty of hard work for those who hadn¡¯t entered the Hypersomnia Stage. Fortunately, they had another chef there in Betsy, and food was now no longer lacking in New Zealand. Every time after Bai Yi and the few others fell asleep, Betsy and the remaining people would start to prepare food, calculating how much food they would need when the others woke up after a few days, or dozens of days.


    While preparing all the food, all of them couldn¡¯t help but sigh. It was really very hard to get through. Every step after assimilating with the activated cells was extremely difficult to pass through.


    LV1-1: Binging Stage!


    LV1-2: Brutal Stage!


    LV1-3: Hypersomnia Stage!


    Thinking about it carefully, they had to face many difficulties at every stage. In comparison, a state like that of the Hypersomnia Phase was already relatively better. However, if there weren¡¯t anybody to protect them, then it wouldn¡¯t be easy either. One must know that a person had basically very little resistance to danger once they fell asleep, and Bai Yi¡¯s team could sleep for more than ten days at a time.


    ***


    Editor¡¯s Notes:

 Chapter 177

    Chapter 177: LV2 Metamorphose Stage


    More than half a year had already passed since the incident in New Christchurch, and that city had been officially renamed to the City of Graves. Nobody knew how this name managed to spread, but everyone who heard the name had basically no objections to it. Countless lives had indeed been buried in that place. The City of Graves was extremely dangerous now: there was a strange, carnivorous plant that occupied the entire city, and nothing that entered the city managed to escape death.


    ¡­


    ¡°I really can¡¯t believe this! That uncle obviously dragged us here to be slaves for him!¡± Bellamy retracted her cat claws after killing off her prey. She grumbled continuously, but her hands had never stopped moving.


    In point of fact, Bellamy¡¯s complaints weren¡¯t without reason. Half a year after Bai Yi and the others had entered the Hypersomnia Phase, Nancy, Melvin, and Alodia had also followed them and entered the Hypersomnia Phase as well. Going by Yeye¡¯s data, the Hypersomnia Phase would usually end after half a year, but unexpectedly, Bai Yi and the rest were still asleep, and they hadn¡¯t woken up since a month ago.


    In the end, the only ones who were still active outside were Betsy, Bellamy, Romain Cristot, Ulisses, and Chinchilla. Hence, the job of preparing food completely fell to the few of them, and Bellamy really complained a lot.


    ¡°Then complain to Bai Yi when he wakes up, what are you telling me for?¡± Ulisses curled his lips.


    ¡°Hmph, I must definitely make Bai Yi pay me back for this!¡± Bellamy clenched her little fist.


    Romain didn¡¯t say anything, but just picked up the carcass and went back to the valley. Seeing how the four of them behaved, it could be seen that Bai Yi hadn¡¯t trusted the wrong people back then. All the people from the original team had entered the Hypersomnia Phase; if these newcomers really wanted to do anything to them, they would be utterly defenseless. Of course, Betsy and the rest wouldn¡¯t treat Bai Yi as an enemy for no reason either.


    Why was Bai Yi and his team¡¯s Hypersomnia Stage lasting so long?


    In reality, Bai Yi and his team members couldn¡¯t stop. When he had fallen asleep the last time, Bai Yi realized that his body and soul were interacting intimately and automatically changing toward a new, balanced state. This kind of balanced state hadn¡¯t manifested completely yet, but Bai Yi already felt a completely new feeling within himself.


    LV1-2 Brutal Stage, the cause of that was due to the incongruence between the body and soul. During LV1-3 Hypersomnia Stage, the lifeform would sense the incongruence in itself, and proceed to rebalance its body and soul. On Bai Yi¡¯s team, due to the information they had obtained from Yeye, they had started to undergo deep level sleep ever since the Brutal Stage to do this kind of rebalancing. Hence, when they truly entered the Hypersomnia Stage, their changes seemed to be a step ahead of those of the experimental subjects, and they immediately started their metamorphosis.


    Metamorphosis: The body and soul have both grown to a certain level, reaching a new state of balance.


    The evolved lifeform would sense the existence of the soul for the first time during the Hypersomnia Phase, and after a period of time in this phase, the lifeform would passively start to undergo metamorphosis. The general process was sensing the existence of the soul, then letting the body and soul continuously adjust themselves, forming a complete whole. The moment the body and soul completely harmonized with each other, the entire lifeform would evolve in that moment, and release its absolute life field.


    After another three months, Bai Yi¡¯s body completely relaxed, and slowly floated up. The wings on his back opened up by themselves, and they were even more beautiful than the time when he had opened them himself. Bai Yi at this time didn¡¯t seem to have a consciousness, until¡­ the moment his body and soul reached a new state of balance!


    How could this be described? It was like a clear drop of water falling onto the surface of a dead silent lake; the drop of water rippled through its surroundings, and also broke the dead silence of the lake surface.


    Bai Yi slowly opened his eyes, and after a long while he waved his right hand in front of them. The more than two meter wide pair of wings behind him¡ªwhich looked as light as a feather¡ªimmediately swept, and with a ¡®chi la!¡¯ sound, they left a deep scar on the stone wall.


    LV2¡ªMetamorphose Stage!


    Bai Yi felt the energy slowly circulating in his body and confirmed this fact.


    Based on Yeye¡¯s data back at the research facility, hadn¡¯t the probability of successfully entering LV2 only been 2.31% for the experimental subjects? This was really strange, Bai Yi himself absolutely hadn¡¯t felt any pressure; he seemed to have just passed through the obstacle of Metamorphosis very easily, and entered LV2. Bai Yi quietly pondered on this. Maybe he was special? Or was it that he had found the correct method?


    Bai Yi worried slightly inside; he had managed to pass through the 2.31% success rate of Metamorphosis, but he didn¡¯t know how the others were doing.


    With a thought, Bai Yi¡¯s wings retracted, and the crystal-like thin threads disappeared within his body. This time, even the soft, scarf-like wings behind him vanished completely. However, Bai Yi knew that if he wanted them to, the wings could be brought out again from within his body.


    After doing all this, Bai Yi pushed open the door of the stone room.


    When Bai Yi went outside, he immediately heard Bellamy¡¯s grumbling. ¡°Slice you to death, slice you to death! Bai Yi, you lousy uncle, this place is so boring!¡± Bellamy kept on grumbling non-stop while cleaning food ingredients proficiently with a small sharp knife. At this time, a school of fish about half a meter long each smelled the blood from inside the lake and wanted to swim over, but they seemed to be quite hesitant.


    Finally, two of the fish couldn¡¯t bear the attraction of this smell anymore, and swam toward Bellamy. At this moment, the sharp knife in Bellamy¡¯s hands flew out instantly, and with a ¡®puchi!¡¯ pierced through one of the fish.


    ¡°Heya! Good job, me! There¡¯s fish to eat again today!¡± Bellamy herself jumped up excitedly.


    At this time, a creature more than half a meter long that looked like a small leopard rushed out from behind Bellamy; but on closer look, it was actually a big cat with dense fur. Chinchilla¡¯s eyes shined as he looked at the two fish on the lake surface, and he excitedly cried out. After hearing Chinchilla¡¯s cry, Bellamy hurriedly pulled back the fish that had been pierced. At this time, Bai Yi realized that a thin rope was connected to the hilt of the small knife. This big fish was very strange; its teeth were sharp and densely packed, so Bellamy and the others did want to go into the lake to catch fish.


    Bellamy immediately hugged the strange fish she¡¯d caught tightly. ¡°Chinchilla, no stealing my fish!¡± Probably due to fusing with cat genes, Bellamy loved fish a lot. However, in this valley only this lake had fish, and it was very inconvenient to catch any.


    ¡°Meoowww!¡± Chinchilla slowly circled around Bellamy, just like he was stalking prey. However, Chinchilla¡¯s gaze never left that big fish.


    Two gluttonous cats, but what Bai Yi couldn¡¯t understand was: why was Bellamy cursing at him?


    ¡°Do you need my help?¡± Bai Yi suddenly asked.


    ¡°Help with what? You will get eaten if you go down to catch fish!¡± Bellamy waved her hand, but suddenly realized that the voice didn¡¯t seem right. She abruptly turned around and looked at Bai Yi with her mouth wide open.


    ¡°Bai¡ªB-B-B-B¡ªBai Yi!¡± Bellamy stuttered and said.


    ¡°Am I that scary?¡± Bai Yi asked, and looked at the bunch of strange fish swimming in the lake. He then grabbed a wooden rod lying to the side. Bai Yi tested the special energy circulating in his body and weighed the wooden rod in his hands for awhile, before he smashed the surface of the water without any technique.


    ¡®PA!¡¯, water splashed everywhere, and a powerful shockwave pervaded the lake instantly. Sounds of water sloshing continued incessantly, and all the water within twenty plus meters surged high up into the air. All the strange fish within this range were immediately torn into a few pieces, blood and internal organs flying about everywhere. As for the wooden rod in Bai Yi¡¯s hands, only the part he was holding onto was left, and the rest of it had already completely turned into dust.


    Woahhhhh!!!


    Even Bai Yi himself was stunned; he had only wanted to try using the Great Shockwave technique to send an impact into the lake and kill these strange fish. He didn¡¯t expect that something like this would happen.


    ¡°Sorry, it seems like I¡¯m not too familiar with my own strength,¡± Bai Yi said.


    Although he had mutilated many fish, there were still a few of them around the edges of the impact which had died from the shockwave, yet still remained intact. They retrieved these fish. This commotion alerted everyone, and all of them finally realized with a shock that Bai Yi had finally woke up! One must know that Bai Yi had slept for more than four months this time around.


    ¡°Hey, long time no see, everyone!¡± Bai Yi saw the few of them running out due to the commotion and revealed a bright smile.


    ¡°Long time no see! Wait a moment, I¡¯ll prepare food for you immediately,¡± Betsy promptly said. Betsy thought that Bai Yi was still in the Hypersomnia Stage and would resume sleeping in a short while.


    Bai Yi shook his head. ¡°I think there¡¯s probably no need to anymore.¡± He could sense that after his body and soul had reached a new state of balance, the energy that he expended now seemed to be insignificant. Anyhow, although he felt quite hungry now, his hunger wasn¡¯t really intense.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°My Hypersomnia Phase has already ended,¡± Bai Yi said. Not only had it ended, but he had entered LV2 Metamorphose Stage in one go. Even Yeye didn¡¯t have any detailed information regarding the stages after LV2; from now onward, they would need to slowly grope about for answers themselves.


    ¡°And if my feeling isn¡¯t wrong, I¡¯ve already entered LV2 Metamorphose Stage!¡± Bai Yi continued.


    It wasn¡¯t a big deal if the Hypersomnia Phase ended, as Bai Yi had slept for a really long time initially anyway. So although everyone was a bit surprised by Bai Yi¡¯s first sentence, it didn¡¯t rise to the level of shock. However, Bai Yi¡¯s next words caused everyone to become utterly dumbstruck¡­ entering LV2 Metamorphose Stage just like this? Did they hear wrongly?


    However, looking at Bai Yi¡¯s expression, he didn¡¯t seem like he was joking.


    A short while after the few of them returned to the cave, Momo opened her eyes as well with slight puzzlement in them¡ªLV2!


    ¡­


    Half a month later, the first batch of people had all woken up. Bai Yi, Momo, Woolf, Sharpei, and Pupu brought shocking news to all of them. The five of them had all achieved LV2, and they hadn¡¯t encountered any obstacles along the way either. It was completely unlike what Yeye had described of there being only a 2.31% chance of success.


    Just what was going on?

 Chapter 178

    Chapter 178: System


    Author¡¯s Note: This chapter is about some theoretical knowledge, please don¡¯t find it dry. You guys can comment again after looking ¡®seriously¡¯ at it.


    _______________________________________________________________


    The five of them had all entered LV2!


    This was clearly a good thing, but not only could the others not believe it, even the new LV2s themselves had trouble believing in it. Perhaps they had been unfortunate for too long, and it was finally time for them to get lucky? However, after silently feeling through their own bodies again, each of them indeed confirmed that all five of them had truly entered LV2.


    ¡°Everyone, gather together and think about this: why has there been such a result!?¡± Bai Yi said.


    This was extremely important. If they could find the reason behind it, then that would prove that the probability of getting through Metamorphosis wasn¡¯t the 2.31% that Yeye mentioned, and that there was actually a safe and stable way to do so.


    They started up a power generator that they had transported here long ago. This generator wasn¡¯t normally used due to the lack of fuel, but they had to use it for the sake of getting Yeye to appear at this time. The main computer was Yeye herself, but for her to appear, just the main computer alone wasn¡¯t sufficient. At the very least they needed a speaker, a camera, and a display screen.


    ¡°It¡¯s been another year since you called me! And the conditions have gotten even more primitive!¡± Yeye started grumbling the moment she appeared. However, it was completely true. Yeye was the artificial intelligence of a research facility. She had gone from controlling half of a major research facility, to a small-sized research facility, to a few computers, to this old and run-down computer now. Things really were getting more and more primitive.


    ¡°The conditions are simple, sorry!¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°But there are some really important matters now that we need your advice on.¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t beat around the bush and went straight to the topic at hand. In actuality, they didn¡¯t have a lot of fuel with them either, so even if they had a generator, the length of time that Yeye could appear for wasn¡¯t too long. The amount of electricity consumed in starting up Yeye¡¯s main computer wasn¡¯t insignificant.


    ¡°En, speak then.¡± Yeye saw Bai Yi¡¯s serious expression and kept her thoughts of grumbling and fooling around to herself.


    ¡°Actually, things are like this¡­!¡± Bai Yi detailed the happenings in New Christchurch rather simply, and talked about their changes. He, Momo, Woolf, Sharpei, and Pupu had all entered the LV2 Metamorphose Stage. After that, all of them started to discuss all the information they now had about activated cells in detail.


    ___________________________________________________________________


    LV0 Nascent Stage: Normal people, animals, or plants that were successfully infected by activated cells, as well as the offspring of evolved lifeforms.


    ¡ôAwakening


    No matter whether it was normal lifeforms which had been infected with activated cells at the beginning, or the future generations of evolved lifeforms, all of them contained activated cells in their bodies.


    Activated cells were normally in a dormant state, and they needed to be awakened to be activated. Awakening in the early stages was quite simple: it only required that the host body be healthy and for there to be sufficient nutrients available. However, awakening would become harder and harder in the later stages, and the food required would be more and more precious.


    LV1-1 Binging Stage: After awakening, the activated cells would consume large amounts of nutrients in the host body and ferociously convert them into special energy, causing extreme hunger. In the early stages, Binging Stage lifeforms would fuse with genes from other lifeforms, causing large changes in their physical shapes.


    LV1-2 Brutal Stage: The physical form of every lifeform would enter a stable state determined through long periods of natural selection and evolution. When the physical body abruptly changed, the body would become incompatible with the soul, and cause the lifeform to feel irritated and savage for no reason. Lifeforms could also lose their minds very easily.


    LV1-3 Hypersomnia Stage: When the body and soul changed continuously and grew to a certain extent, the lifeform would instinctively sense the existence of the soul, and at the same time know what it was that it had to do¡­ harmonize its body and soul again.


    For the sake of achieving this goal, the evolved lifeform would naturally desire to sleep!


    ¡ô Metamorphosis


    The stage where the body and soul had readjusted to a certain level and reached a new state of balance.


    An evolved lifeform would feel the existence of the soul for the first time after entering the Hypersomnia Stage. When the Hypersomnia Phase had persisted for a period of time, the lifeform would passively begin to undergo metamorphosis. The general process was feeling the existence of the soul, continuously readjusting the body and soul, and finally reaching a new, stable state of balance. The moment that the body and soul harmonized completely, the lifeform as a whole would evolve in that instant, and manifest its absolute life field.


    ¡­


    Absolute life field: The range of this field was limited to within the physical body. Through the absolute life field, the evolved lifeform could actively manipulate the special energy in their body, rather than using it passively like before. The other usage of the absolute life field was to protect the components of the physical body from the control of others.


    Passive usage: Just like a normal person using their strength, this was a natural ability of the body. As for how the strength was distributed, it wasn¡¯t something human beings could control.


    Protection against outside control: The physical body was usually made out of certain components. To classify them based on their composition, these components were: water, blood, bones, proteins, fats, and muscles. To really divide these even more finely, the elements that made up these things were: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, sodium, chlorine, magnesium¡­ and these elemental components were continuously increasing due to changes in genes.


    Some evolved humans and lifeforms in the later stages could directly manipulate water, blood, or even an atomic element itself. The presence of an absolute life field guaranteed that the components and elements of one¡¯s own body couldn¡¯t be easily controlled by another. The ¡®absolute¡¯ in the term signified the inability to be violated. Of course, this was just talking about normal situations; special situations were another story.


    Normal lifeforms didn¡¯t have an absolute life field. This proved that after metamorphosis, the body and soul didn¡¯t follow the kind of balance that normal lifeforms had, but achieved another, wholly new state of balance.


    ¡­


    Awareness: awareness wasn¡¯t consciousness itself, but a form of measurement of consciousness that people in the later stages came up with. This was also known as divine sense, spirit, mental energy¡­ and so on.


    Consciousness was very important; practically all the actions taken by a lifeform were connected to its own self-consciousness. The stronger one¡¯s awareness, the stronger one¡¯s ability to control the energy inside one¡¯s own body, and the greater the amount of energy that could be controlled at any one time as well. Awareness couldn¡¯t be consumed like energy, but it could become fatigued instead. When a lifeform¡¯s awareness was fatigued, its control would become insufficient even if its awareness was very strong.


    The best way to recover awareness was to rest. Ideally, a lifeform would enter deep level sleep, womb sleep, or meditation in order to experience a good quality of rest.


    1. Strength of awareness: The amount of energy and matter that a lifeform could control at the same time. This was also related to the strength of the absolute life field.


    2. Precision of awareness: The level of fine control over energy.


    3. Toughness of awareness: The amount of time that a lifeform could continuously control energy and matter for.


    The three of these weren¡¯t independent, but rather, intimately connected with and affected by each other.


    ¡­


    The changes of evolved lifeforms in the early stages were completely passive; they could not actively make any decisions, and didn¡¯t know what to do at all. That was why the death rate was very high. However, lifeforms in the later stages found out that the greater the degree of harmonization between the body and soul during the Hypersomnia Stage, the smaller the difficulty of metamorphosis would be. It was basically like how where water flows, a canal would be formed1.


    LV2 Metamorphose Stage: The physical form after metamorphosis wasn¡¯t fixed, but continued to change. Special energy, physical body, soul¡­ practically all the aspects of life would change continuously, resulting in this stage being called the Metamorphose Stage.


    After metamorphosis, through the influence of the absolute life field, the physical body, energy, and soul would change continuously, approaching a deeper level of passive metamorphosis, and the connections between each aspect would grow closer and more intimate.


    1. Energy Transformation:


    All the special energy within an evolved lifeform¡¯s body came from the conversion performed by activated cells, and this kind of conversion was based within the physical body. Given special energy was the energy that an evolved lifeform would be used to using now, this special energy would gradually evolve special characteristics due to individual differences after entering the Metamorphose Stage. These characteristics were similar to fantasy tropes that people had in modern times, such as classifying them into attributes like heat, cold, nature, healing, poison, et cetera.


    The transformation of special energy was a gradual process, and wouldn¡¯t suddenly occur completely overnight. For example, heat-type energy would slowly increase in temperature, from 50 to 60 to 70 degrees Celsius, and not directly jump to 1000 degrees Celsius immediately. If that were to be the case, the lifeform itself wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the sudden change in temperature to begin with.


    2. Body Transformation:


    Along with the changes to the characteristics of special energy, the physical body would slowly change as well, increasing the compatibility of the body and the attributed special energy inside. These two things happened at the same time, and were part of the process of transformation for a lifeform. These processes had no before or after to them, but instead happened simultaneously.


    For example: in those whose special energy transformed to possess the attribute of high heat, the elemental composition and structure of the cells in their bodies would gradually change to become more heat resistant, and they would even achieve fire immunity in the end. Otherwise, if the body couldn¡¯t withstand the transformed energy within itself, then it would really be a joke.


    Although the change in the physical body couldn¡¯t be seen from the outside, the basic elemental compositions and ratios in the body, as well as the cell structure, would be changing. Due to these kinds of changes in the physical body, the more powerful the lifeform was, the more difficult it would be to reproduce.


    3. Soul Transformation: ¡­


    4. Consciousness Transformation: ¡­


    5. Absolute Life Field Transformation: ¡­


    ¡­


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t possible for Bai Yi¡¯s team to know so much after just one discussion; they only managed to figure out a small part of it all based on all the information they had so far.


    After they consolidated all the information that they had and compared the data on the experimental subjects with their own situations, Bai Yi said, ¡°Perhaps metamorphosis isn¡¯t as difficult as we imagined. The evolution of a lifeform is, after all, a natural process; so, the better the readjustment of the body and the soul in becoming more harmonized, the smaller the difficulty of metamorphosis. It¡¯s basically: where water flows a canal is formed.¡±


    ¡°Probably!¡± Yeye didn¡¯t object to Bai Yi¡¯s conclusion.


    ¡°However, just the cases of the few of you aren¡¯t enough to draw the conclusion that it¡¯s really like this. We need more examples to prove the accuracy of this theory,¡± Yeye added.


    ¡°En. Anyway, while you guys haven¡¯t entered the Hypersomnia Stage yet, come find me everyday from today onward to receive hypnosis. This will help you to enter deep level sleep and automatically undergo rebalancing inside,¡± Bai Yi said to Betsy, Bellamy, Romain Cristot, and Ulisses.


    The four of them nodded. They definitely did not have any objections to Bai Yi¡¯s decision. Over this period of time, although they had not gone berserk, they still didn¡¯t feel too good within their bodies. If not for Bai Yi being in the Hypersomnia Stage, they would have asked him for help long ago.


    After discussing and tidying up everything, Yeye felt that this place was too primitive and boring, and she decided to switch off her main computer herself, going to sleep. As for Bai Yi and the new LV2s, they were continuously trying to feel out the changes in their bodies.


    ___________________________________________________________________


    Author¡¯s Note: The basic system regarding the LV2 has already appeared. Although it isn¡¯t complete yet, I still welcome everyone to look for anything that is illogical.


    ***


    Translator¡¯s Note:

 Chapter 179

    Chapter 179: Consolidation Of Findings


    Author¡¯s Notes:


    There¡¯s some changes to the content of chapter 178.


    I only intended to have a full summary of the evolution system so far to make it look more complete, and to also use it as a conclusion for this part. Actually, I already simplified the content, but it still seems to be unbearably long.


    My system, after all, isn¡¯t the same as the system in other novels; the setting isn¡¯t as simple as just giving things a level and a name. Every level has a corresponding change to the biological state, and I try my best to use a relatively logical method to explain the reasoning and cause behind their powers. I initially wanted to reserve some of the settings for LV2, and I ended up releasing all of it here, but so be it then.


    _________________________________________________________________


    Although all of them could feel their strength increase greatly after entering LV2, at the same time they could also feel that they had become unfamiliar with the power inside their bodies. After gaining the ability to control special energy, it was just like there was something additional in their bodies now. If they were careless, they would subconsciously move this special energy around inside their bodies, and cause even normal, ordinary actions of theirs to have terrifying effects.


    Hence, from the start, all of them carefully tried to familiarize themselves with actively using special energy. Based on the limited information that Yeye had about LV2, they started feeling out their own bodies and consolidating their findings.


    Yeye only had two pieces of information in her database¡ª1. an absolute life field would appear in the body after entering the Metamorphose Stage; and 2. the body, energy, and other aspects of the lifeform would be in a state of continuous change. That was also the reason behind the name of the Metamorphose Stage¡ªit was definitely not the ¡®perversion¡¯ that these words normally meant1.


    They didn¡¯t know how the people at that research facility had found out about these two points to begin with, but they continued to study their states from there.


    The absolute life field, this was the direct reason why they could manipulate the special energy in their bodies. Through Bai Yi¡¯s quiet sensing of his body, he could feel that the special energy within him moved based on his will through the influence of the absolute life field.


    But how should he put this? Bai Yi felt that although the flow of the special energy generally moved through the meridians in his body, this wasn¡¯t because the special energy could only flow through these paths; rather, it was just due to the composition of his body. In reality, every cell in his body had already become activated, and special energy existed in every single cell. When Bai Yi tried to control the special energy with his mind, the energy started to gather slowly from the individual cells themselves, so of course it shouldn¡¯t just be restricted to flowing along the meridians. In reality, didn¡¯t the cells that made up the so-called ¡®meridians¡¯ themselves contain special energy?


    Bai Yi held onto Red Kiss and stood by the lake, continuously repeating the same movement¡ªthe sword draw stance of Great Shockwave.


    This was basically the strongest sword skill that Bai Yi had now, but he was just constantly repeating the pose of the sword draw, and didn¡¯t actually draw the sword even once.


    Bellamy and Chinchilla hid behind Bai Yi and watched from afar. The sword skill Great Shockwave was something that all of them had started learning long ago, but none of them had truly been able to grasp it. Bellamy was actually very excited to have the opportunity to see Bai Yi use it personally. However, her initially overflowing excitement gradually turned into dozing off. Bellamy couldn¡¯t help but grumble in her heart: hasn¡¯t it been more than an hour? What is this uncle doing?!


    What was Bai Yi doing? He was, of course, seriously sensing the flow of special energy within his body. Although people couldn¡¯t see any abnormalities on the surface, Bai Yi himself could sense the surges of special energy in his body.


    ¡®Zheng~!¡¯


    With a slow and melodious ringing of the sword, Bai Yi¡¯s Red Kiss came out of the sheath by ten plus centimeters, and his body bent slightly as well. To the side, Bellamy and Chinchilla immediately stared with wide-open eyes, but at this point, Bai Yi suddenly stopped again and even released the sword hilt. Bai Yi looked at his right hand as drops of blood dripped down from the tip of his finger. He hadn¡¯t even truly drawn the sword! The surge of special energy within his body had immediately burst through his pores and pushed the blood out.


    As expected, it was one thing being able to control special energy, but how to control it was yet another issue.


    Bai Yi sheathed Red Kiss again and prepared to go back to rest for a while. Within such a short time, he already actually felt a slight sense of mental fatigue. Seemingly, manipulating special energy was quite draining on his mind. Actually, a normal person would feel mentally tired as well if they worked on something for a long period of time, but Bai Yi still prepared to note this matter down. In all aspects, he wanted to seriously record and consolidate the changes from the Metamorphose Stage.


    Bai Yi turned around and discovered Bellamy and Chinchilla lazily laying on top of a rock.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on? We wanted to see for ourselves what the Great Shockwave truly looked like, but in the end, we only saw you posing over there!¡± Bellamy said idly. Chinchilla meowed as well, swinging its long tail.


    ¡°Making poses, huh?¡± Bai Yi looked at his right hand.


    ¡°You¡¯re injured?¡± Bellamy was immediately surprised. Bai Yi hadn¡¯t moved at all while he was standing over there just now?


    ¡°Small injury. I didn¡¯t control the special energy well enough and it burst through my skin. Didn¡¯t you want to see the Great Shockwave? I¡¯ll only demonstrate this once, so look at it carefully,¡± Bai Yi said to Bellamy, and once more turned around toward the lake. Bai Yi placed his right hand on the hilt again and pulled the blade out in a flash. The little bit of understanding he had gained just now of the way to manipulate special energy erupted ferociously.


    ¡®Zheng!¡¯ a melodious sound rang out from the sword. A faint and transparent red shockwave immediately flew from Bai Yi¡¯s sword and traveled along the surface of the lake.


    ¡°So this is the Great Shockwave? But it doesn¡¯t seem like much.¡± Bellamy wasn¡¯t impressed at all.


    Bai Yi laughed loudly. ¡°Hahahaha, does it? Bellamy you can develop a more powerful sword skill then, I¡¯ll wait for it.¡±


    When the two of them had walked more than ten meters back toward the cave, the sounds of things breaking abruptly came from the opposite side of the shore. A circle of giant trees on the other side of the lake shore suddenly started to slowly fall, and with a loud ¡®boom!¡¯ they crashed onto the ground. Bellamy immediately jumped around in shock and discovered the situation on the other side. Seeing this scene, she couldn¡¯t help but stare with her eyes wide open.


    WOAHHHH! So she¡¯d only seen the start just now, and not the ending. This little lake was oval in shape, and it was roughly 170 meters from this point to the other end of the lake. Bai Yi¡¯s strike could actually reach so far! To think that she¡¯d had the cheek to say that it didn¡¯t seem like much just now.


    At this time, Bai Yi looked at Bellamy teasingly, and the cat-lady immediately exploded.


    ¡°Just you wait! I will definitely develop a stronger sword skill than Great Shockwave!¡± Bellamy said loudly, seemingly not willing to admit defeat.


    Bai Yi nodded. ¡°En, I¡¯ll be waiting.¡± He actually wanted to agitate Bellamy a bit, since all she did nowadays was fool around with Chinchilla. Seeing Bai Yi¡¯s serious look, Bellamy didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. Did she really have to develop a sword skill stronger than Great Shockwave now?


    After the two of them left, the surface of the lake bubbled, and a crab more than one meter in diameter that looked just like a big table slowly rose out of the lake. Looking in the direction that they¡¯d left in and moving its big pincers, it swung one pincer forward with a ¡®swish!¡¯.


    The big movement pushed the water in front of it, causing an unstable piece of rock more than ten meters away to roll toward the bottom.


    However, this crab still thought that it had managed to learn Bai Yi¡¯s previous attack, and its eyes squinted in glee as it waved its pincers about.


    ¡­


    Not long after Bai Yi¡¯s group returned to the cave, Woolf and the others returned as well. Woolf and Pupu were together, while Momo had gone with Sharpei. They were all trying to familiarize themselves with the use of special energy. After they came back, all of them gathered together and listened to the findings that each of them had made about the special energy inside their bodies.


    Bai Yi organized all the findings that they had and recorded them. It didn¡¯t matter if it was all accurate or not, as these things could be gradually edited in the future.


    1. The absolute life field didn¡¯t cause special energy to flow like how they imagined it would; it was more like a magnetic field that exerted a propulsive force on the special energy in their bodies. However, the absolute life field was different from a magnetic field: it didn¡¯t have a fixed direction of movement and could be controlled freely.


    2. The amount of special energy contained within each lifeform¡¯s body was different, and so far, Woolf and Sharpei had the most. After all, this was a kind of energy that was contained within cells, and so far it seemed to be more abundant the larger the size of the body in question was.


    3. Although Woolf had the most special energy in his body, based on his own words he couldn¡¯t even use 10% of it before feeling fatigued and having a sense of mental tiredness. Cross-checking this with the experiences of Bai Yi and the others, it seemed like controlling special energy would place a great burden on the mind. Hence, it wasn¡¯t sufficient just to have a lot of special energy contained within the body; the mind must be able to keep up as well in order to make use of the quantity of special energy.


    In the end, Bai Yi termed the measurement of their mental energy as¡­ awareness!


    4. The same special energy could result in completely different effects based on the method of its usage. All of them had this experience. Randomly using the special energy in their bodies would sometimes not increase the power of their attacks, and even turn into a burden. However, with these primitive conditions that they had, they couldn¡¯t simulate how the special energy in their bodies moved every time, and could only rely on their own memory to remember it.


    5. ¡­


    ¡°Bai Yi, did your tastes change?¡± Betsy suddenly asked while eating.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Ever since you guys went through metamorphosis, your preferences for food started to gradually change. If at the start you guys weren¡¯t picky or liked to eat everything, then now you guys have an obvious preference for certain foods,¡± Betsy said, pointing at what everyone was eating now. Betsy was a chef, and she had been responsible for everyone¡¯s food all along, so she was very clear about this observation.


    Bai Yi looked at the food in front of everybody in puzzlement, and suddenly said, ¡°The natural needs of the body!¡±


    8. Everyone¡¯s bodies were changing during the Metamorphose Stage, and the type of nutrients, substances, and elements that each person needed were all different now. Knowing how to determine what type of nutrients or substances a person needed, and preparing suitable food for each person, were fundamental requirements for a true chef in the future.


    They recorded every nuance and every discovery. Activated cells and special energy were something foreign to everyone¡¯s experience, and they didn¡¯t have the luxury of a systematic way of learning about all this.


    ***


    Translator¡¯s Notes:

 Chapter 180

    Chapter 180: Comparing Tables


    One month after Bai Yi and the other LV2s awakened, Betsy and the remaining people entered the Hypersomnia Stage as well, but their states were much worse than Bai Yi and company¡¯s. They wanted to sleep a lot, but they just couldn¡¯t fall asleep. If not for Bai Yi¡¯s help, they would have probably developed some sort of anxiety disorder from this. People like Nancy and Alodia from the second batch that had gone into the Hypersomnia Stage woke up once in a while as well, and returned to sleep after interacting and exchanging some information with each other.


    Bai Yi recorded all this information about the changes in their states and conditions.


    Before long, Nancy, Alodia, and Melvin had fallen into a lengthy period of deep level sleep as well, and if nothing unexpected happened they were probably undergoing metamorphosis. After another three months, the three of them woke up, and Bai Yi hurriedly questioned them about the outcome. Melvin had entered LV2, but Nancy and Alodia shook their heads.


    Bai Yi asked, ¡°What happened? It doesn¡¯t seem like you guys failed in metamorphosis either.¡± Based on Yeye¡¯s data, the probability of having an incomplete metamorphosis and becoming a defective product was 62.8%. Although these defective products also had power close to that of a LV2, their minds weren¡¯t really awake.


    ¡°How do I describe this¡­ little sister Alodia, how do you feel?¡± Nancy smiled and asked Alodia.


    ¡°Me? I felt that something was missing during the metamorphosis and subconsciously stopped myself,¡± Alodia said.


    Nancy smiled again and nodded. ¡°Same for me.¡±


    Melvin¡¯s initially happy expression gradually turned quiet as he heard what they said. ¡°Something was missing? I felt that too, like an unnatural feeling, but I thought that once I broke through it wouldn¡¯t matter anymore, so I naturally let my body continue changing. Am I lacking something now?¡±


    ¡°Relax, you already entered LV2 and didn¡¯t lose your mind either, so what would you be lacking?¡± Bai Yi reassured him.


    ¡°Then what about you guys, how do you feel? Can you control the state of your body?¡± Bai Yi asked the two girls again. In Yeye¡¯s data, metamorphosis happened passively¡ªit wasn¡¯t something that could be controlled.


    ¡°I feel OK; there¡¯s a feeling like I¡¯m about to break through to something else, but it seems like this can be suppressed if I control it subconsciously,¡± Nancy answered, and Alodia nodded as well.


    ¡°Is that so? We¡¯ll write it down then,¡± Bai Yi said as he took out a notebook.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it, Uncle Bai,¡± Alodia said to Bai Yi. Nancy laughed and looked at him too. ¡°Why is it you doing this kind of thing? What about the others?¡±


    Bai Yi smiled and explained, ¡°Hahaha, I do want to hand this over to other people, but they¡¯re all not suitable. The only five that entered the LV2 Metamorphose Stage are me, Momo, Woolf, Sharpei, and Pupu. Who do you think I should pass this job to? Betsy? Although it is possible, I think that they wouldn¡¯t be able to record things well without experiencing the LV2 stage for themselves, so in the end I decided to do it myself.¡±


    ¡°But since you already said it: Alodia, come and help me to organize the records.¡± Bai Yi passed the notebook to her. When they were in New Christchurch, Alodia had acted as Bai Yi¡¯s secretary for a long period of time as well, helping him to organize and plan some things.


    Alodia nodded. ¡°Sure!¡±


    Although Betsy and the few others had entered the Hypersomnia Stage too, their sleeping states weren¡¯t too deep. Very quickly, the whole team¡ªwhich hadn¡¯t gathered in one place for a long time¡ªcame together. When Betsy and the few others going through the Hypersomnia Phase heard that Nancy and Alodia had temporarily given up and delayed the metamorphosis when they felt like something was missing, they seriously took note of it in their hearts as well. Their situations were even worse than those two¡¯s, as even in the Hypersomnia Stage they needed Bai Yi¡¯s help to get a good night¡¯s sleep.


    Very quickly, Melvin, who had entered LV2, started to try and get a grasp on the changes in his body too. Of course, since there had already been some results documented by the other LV2s, Melvin started by looking through the information they had gathered.


    After doing some tests and comparisons, everyone could immediately tell the difference.


    Although they had all entered LV2, the amount of energy that Melvin could control at once was a lot lower than that of the other LV2s, and his fine control over the energy wasn¡¯t too good either. To make things even clearer for the sake of comparison, Alodia made a table of all their statuses now, and all of all them realized what was wrong through a simple comparison.


    Bai Yi:


    Total quantity of special energy: 10,000; rate of flow of special energy at the same time: 100; maximum rate of flow: 500. With 100 as his rate of energy consumption, Bai Yi would get tired when roughly 2,000 units of special energy had been consumed, and at the same time his rate of flow would start to decrease. Bai Yi¡¯s limit was at consuming roughly 8,000 units of of special energy; at that point in time his mind wouldn¡¯t be able to use even the tiniest amount of special energy anymore. Bai Yi¡¯s mind would be thoroughly fatigued in that state.


    Of course, Alodia¡¯s table was relatively simple, and she used Bai Yi as the benchmark for the status of everyone else.


    Bai Yi: total energy 10,000; rate of flow 100; maximum rate of flow 500; normal state consumption 2,000; maximum consumption 8,000; awareness 100.


    Momo: total energy 7,000; rate of flow 130; maximum rate of flow 700; normal state consumption 2,400; maximum consumption 7,000; awareness 130.


    Sharpei: total energy 19,000; rate of flow 95; maximum rate of flow 550; normal state consumption 2,200; maximum consumption 6,500; awareness 95.


    Pupu: Total energy 15,000; rate of flow 100; maximum rate of flow 450; normal state consumption 2,000; maximum consumption 6,500; awareness 95.


    Woolf: total energy 20,000; rate of flow 90; maximum rate of flow 520; normal state consumption 1,900; maximum consumption 5,800; awareness 70.


    Melvin: total energy 6,800; rate of flow 70; maximum rate of flow 320; normal state consumption 1,400; maximum consumption 4,000; awareness 70.


    All of the numbers were something that Alodia had derived after she spent a large amount of time organizing and surveying everyone¡¯s various situations and conditions. Perhaps this table wasn¡¯t precise, but the general situation wouldn¡¯t differ by much. With this table, everyone could see the differences between the LV2s with a look, and Melvin immediately knew what he was lacking in.


    It was the total amount of special energy and the level of awareness he had!


    If Bai Yi and the four others had entered LV2 easily and without difficulty, then Melvin¡¯s actions had been a bit riskier, and his metamorphosis had been forced through.


    Awareness was a new form of measurement that Bai Yi had created at this time, used to measure the quantity of special energy capable of being used by the body as well as its rate of flow. They obviously couldn¡¯t define awareness so finely at this point in time, but the difference between the six of them could be seen with a glance. Compared to the five of them, Melvin was worse by a whole level.


    At this time, Alodia gave her own theory regarding this situation.


    Perfect Metamorphosis: ever since the start of assimilation with the activated cells, the lifeform continuously underwent rebalancing of the body and soul. When the time for metamorphosis came, the conditions were already right, and success followed naturally. This kind of metamorphosis could enhance awareness and the special energy contained in the body to individual perfection.


    Individual perfection needed to be specified because everyone was different from each other. For example, Momo had a small body, so the amount of special energy that she could contain within her was smaller. On the other hand, Woolf had a big body, but everyone knew that he had a simple brain. Although he had three times the special energy that Momo had, he was a lot worse when it came to awareness.


    Forced Metamorphosis: The degree of harmonization between the body and soul couldn¡¯t be considered too great, but the metamorphosis was successfully completed through force. The total quantity of special energy, awareness, and other attributes were all imperfect, leaving behind flaws.


    Failed Metamorphosis (Alive): LV2.1 Defective Metamorphose Stage, they would definitely have much greater strength than the LV1 form before, but would not have a clear mind.


    Failed Metamorphosis (Dead): Since they were already dead, there was nothing much to say about them.


    The five of them had been together since the start of their assimilation with activated cells, or rather, what was more crucial was that they had been together since Bai Yi had awakened his Reverse Flower Eyes. At that time, they were still in the Binging Stage, but they had already been receiving Bai Yi¡¯s hypnosis to fall into deep level sleep and undergo rebalancing.


    As for Nancy, Melvin, and Alodia, they only joined the team after Bai Yi had entered the snow valley. After that, Bai Yi went into his cocooned state and slept for half a year. Through such a comparison, where the difference had come from became very obvious.


    To undergo Perfect Metamorphosis, they probably had to continuously rebalance the body and soul from the very start. If they didn¡¯t do anything at all, they would probably match the statistics obtained from the research facility, reaching a failure rate of 62.8%.


    ¡°Unless¡­ Perfect Metamorphosis can only be achieved if we started rebalancing the body and soul from the very beginning?¡± Betsy questioned. Now that their differences were so obvious, they would definitely want to undergo Perfect Metamorphosis if possible.


    ¡°This¡­ I don¡¯t know, but I don¡¯t think that it would be that difficult. The experimental subjects in the research facility couldn¡¯t even suppress the changes in the own bodies, and could only passively undergo metamorphosis. But Nancy and Alodia could already suppress the changes in their bodies, delaying their metamorphosis. Maybe there would be some way to make up for this,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°What way?¡± Romain and Ulisses couldn¡¯t help but ask eagerly. As men, they were of course more concerned about something like this; this very clearly impacted their future strength.


    Bai Yi shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Romain and Ulisses couldn¡¯t help but feel very disappointed when they heard his words, but Bai Yi reassured them at this time, ¡°I¡¯ll try my best to help you guys harmonize the incongruence between your bodies and souls. Even if you guys can¡¯t get to Perfect Metamorphosis, you must at least reach the level of Melvin or Nancy. This way, you guys will be able to control the metamorphosis of your own bodies and keep yourself at the boundary point.¡±


    ¡°What use is that?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s of course to let you stay at the boundary of LV1-3 Hypersomnia Stage and look for a way to make up for the deficiency in the future. Since we have discovered some things, other people must have discovered some things as well. There might already be a few ways to make up for this in the outside world,¡± Bai Yi said, and looked into the distance.


    ¡­


    The activated cells had broken out at the same time, and the rate of evolution of this first batch of evolved humans and lifeforms wasn¡¯t actually too distributed. It had already been more than a year since they had entered Mount Arrowsmith. Since they had already entered the Hypersomnia Stage, the people in the outside world wouldn¡¯t be too different either.

 Chapter 181

    Chapter 181: Inclination Of The Energy¡¯s Attribute


    ¡°The absolute life field exists within the body, but it can also faintly extend itself one to ten centimeters away from the body. Other than manipulating the special energy within our bodies, the absolute life field can also control matter to a certain extent. The matter that each person can control is also apparently different due to differences in each individual,¡± Bai Yi slowly said.


    At this time, a transparent ring of air was slowly spinning above Bai Yi¡¯s hand.


    By his side, Alodia obviously couldn¡¯t see anything, but Bai Yi walked over and placed his right hand close to one of her cheeks without really touching it. Alodia¡¯s face immediately went slightly red, but at this time she suddenly felt a gentle breeze coming from the center of Bai Yi¡¯s palm. At this time, Alodia finally understood the meaning behind his words just now.


    The uses of the absolute life field: 1. manipulate energy, 2. control matter!


    Alodia immediately noted down their discovery in a hurry. Of course, right now they hadn¡¯t discovered the other usage of the absolute life field, which was also its most important usage¡ªthe absolute domain, guaranteeing that the matter inside their bodies couldn¡¯t be controlled by others. However, in reality, being able to discover all this in such a short period of time was already very impressive.


    During the Metamorphose Stage, everyone¡¯s bodies, souls, energies, consciousnesses, and absolute life fields were changing in different directions and toward different natures.


    So far, Bai Yi changed the fastest. Bai Yi¡¯s energy now already had a small difference compared to ordinary special energy. Other than that, his absolute life field could already weakly control matter, and the thing that Bai Yi could control was air. Although this control was still very mild, Bai Yi was already gradually inferring his own attribute inclination. However, Bai Yi couldn¡¯t be sure if his ability was purely controlling air, as there seemed to be some other changes as well.


    As for the others, their changes were cryptic and hard to figure out as well. They could only rely on their own intuition and guesses.


    Woolf: the name of his attribute inclination hadn¡¯t been decided yet, but they could more or less tell the nature of Woolf¡¯s energy now. It was a kind of powerful protective ability. It seemed to be able to increase Woolf¡¯s defense, causing his tough, armored skin to become even more durable, yet not creating difficulties in movement. As long as the damaging force didn¡¯t exceed the limit of Woolf¡¯s protective energy, he would basically not receive any injuries.


    Precisely because of this, this guy¡¯s fighting style became more and more savage.


    Sharpei: apparently, the two heads had two different types of energy attribute inclination, but this wasn¡¯t entirely clear as the amount of time which had passed was too short. Even so, all of them realized that Sharpei¡¯s attack power was ridiculously strong; the destructive ability of a swing from his claw was absolutely astounding.


    Momo: there were signs of her inclination to the soul attribute long ago but the general nature of the attribute couldn¡¯t be tested. More specifically, Momo didn¡¯t have too much special energy, but her awareness value was the highest among everyone¡¯s. The rest of them couldn¡¯t help but sigh at her numbers; the drop of the Progenitor¡¯s source blood that Momo had received way back when was definitely extremely precious.


    Melvin: his attribute inclination had already appeared, and if nothing unexpected happened then it should be a high heat-type energy. His temperature was already approaching 60 to 70 degrees Celsius; one would already feel a slight burn with any accidental touches.


    Pupu: this guy still appeared to be as lazy as before; his energy inclination didn¡¯t manifest at all, and nobody knew what it was going to be.


    After Bai Yi finished speaking, he again went to practice his sword techniques by the lake. In the end, Bai Yi held Red Kiss as the special energy flowed from his body into it, and Red Kiss, which was already very sharp, seemed to become even more bewitching. Bai Yi could tell that this was the state that Melvin had mentioned before. In this state, he could activate the haemolytic poison that originated from the Blood-scaled Centipede fangs.


    ¡°Meooarroww!¡± Chinchilla suddenly cried out loudly and dashed out from the side, pouncing toward a crab on the water¡¯s surface.


    However, this crab immediately dived into the water, hurriedly running back into its hole. Chinchilla fluttered around in the water for a while before climbing back out again, its face full of disappointment. Another failure. Just when would it be able to eat the big broth-steamed crab that Bellamy talked about? Sadly, Bai Yi didn¡¯t seem to intend to intervene, otherwise it would have caught the crab long ago.


    Bai Yi and Alodia immediately started laughing as they watched this. They had discovered this big crab long ago, but didn¡¯t want to interfere in the younger generation¡¯s hunting. Moreover, they could tell that this crab was pretty smart as well.


    When Bai Yi returned, he found Momo sitting on a simple balcony, silently reading a book. Beside her, Sharpei lay quietly on the ground.Momo now increasingly had a peaceful and noble disposition, but of course, that was only when she was quiet. After Vala had died, she seemed to promise Vala¡¯s soul something, and Momo nowadays would take the initiative to start studying.


    ¡°Daddy!¡± Momo looked at Bai Yi.


    ¡°En.¡± Bai Yi nodded and sat down.


    Looking at the black sword Momo had placed on the desk, Bai Yi smiled to himself. Where would you find a normal girl who brought a sword with her all the time? But now, she really couldn¡¯t go without it either.


    Bai Yi poured himself a cup of tea and asked, ¡°Is Woolf still disturbing Melvin?¡±


    Momo nodded. ¡°En, Uncle Woolf wanted Uncle Melvin to forge a new greatsword for him, and Uncle Melvin already agreed to it, it was just that he needed the materials. Pupu was also dragged along for the hunt.¡± After thinking for awhile, she added, ¡°Woolf threatened that if Pupu didn¡¯t come along, he would pull out Pupu¡¯s tusks to be used as the materials.¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Bai Yi immediately burst out laughing upon hearing her words, and Alodia to the side couldn¡¯t restrain her smile either.


    Woolf¡¯s greatsword hadn¡¯t let down the dense materials that it was made out of, and there still wasn¡¯t much damage to it even after having been used battle till now. However, it was already unsuitable for Woolf. After all, the greatsword was forged from metal, and Woolf very quickly realized that his special energy couldn¡¯t flow into the greatsword, even though both Bai Yi and Momo didn¡¯t have this impediment. After thinking about this, the problem obviously lay with the materials used.


    The greatsword was forged from metal alloys, and Bai Yi and Momo¡¯s longswords were forged from biological materials. These materials contained activated cells themselves, so they could also conduct special energy. Hence, when Woolf realized that his greatsword was already obsolete, he bothered Melvin endlessly to help him forge a new weapon.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t ask Woolf where they were going either. They were already LV2s, and Bai Yi didn¡¯t need to protect them carefully with their level of strength now.


    ¡°Wait for them to come back and we¡¯ll make a trip out too,¡± Bai Yi said to Momo. Although this valley could be considered safe, nobody knew if any accidents would happen. So normally, they wouldn¡¯t all be absent from this place at the same time, and there would always be somebody keeping guard. Today was Momo and Sharpei¡¯s turn to stand guard outside, and that was why Momo hadn¡¯t gone out.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s also time for everyone else¡¯s weapons to change. Now that we have the chance, we should start working on that,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Sure!¡± Momo immediately nodded.


    ¡­


    The big crab waited for Bai Yi to come back every day, and seriously watched his sword techniques from beneath the water. However, after not seeing Bai Yi or anybody else after waiting for three days, it finally discovered that something was wrong.


    Actually, the big crab itself knew that Bai Yi had long ago discovered it secretly watching from the side, it was just that Bai Yi didn¡¯t care about it. However, the fact that Bai Yi didn¡¯t care didn¡¯t mean that the others didn¡¯t. Bellamy and Betsy would never forget their desire to pull this big crab out of the water and cook up some steamed crab for themselves. When it realized that they hadn¡¯t appeared for a long time, the big crab finally plucked up its courage and climbed out from the lake, gradually heading toward the mountain wall to search for them.


    When the big crab carefully approached the cave, it finally confirmed that there wasn¡¯t anyone remaining.


    Did they leave, that bunch of humans!?


    The big crab felt somewhat disappointed and crawled outside, dragging its feet. Suddenly, this big crab discovered drawings on the cave walls. These were the product of Chinchilla¡¯s moments of interest when it was bored. Bai Yi had told Bellamy to develop a more powerful sword skill than the Great Shockwave, but in the end, all Bellamy came up with a bunch of messy sword skills. Chinchilla still made a show of itself in being very earnest, and carved all these sword skills onto the cave wall.


    Is this that something back then¡­ In an ancient cave, an unmatched martial art was carved onto the walls.


    Actually, Chinchilla didn¡¯t understand much of it either, but it had the habit of sharpening its claws anyway, so it just conveniently did both at once. Anyway, Chinchilla had quite a lot of fun doing this as well. However, at this time, this big crab looked seriously at the random carvings on the wall, and started to slowly wave its crab legs around.


    ¡­


    When the group of them left again, half a year had already passed. At this time, it was already July of 2024, and more than four years had passed since the outbreak of the activated cells.


    Everyone recalled the past four years and sighed with a lot of emotions. Everything had been an experience they would have never imagined having in peaceful times.


    Other than the five of them who¡¯d been present from the start, and Melvin, the rest of them were all stuck at the boundary of the Hypersomnia Stage and metamorphosis, as might be expected. Given this, all of them took the chance to head out again and see for themselves how New Zealand had changed in more than a year, and also to search for any way to make up for this deficiency.


    In the team now were: 1. Bai Yi, 2. Momo, 3. Woolf, 4. Sharpei, 5. Pupu, 6. Melvin, 7. Nancy, 8. Alodia, 9. Betsy, 10. Bellamy, 11. Romain, 12. Ulisses, and 13. Chinchilla. A total of thirteen team members, and almost half of them had entered LV2. Their level of strength now was completely incomparable to before. Of course, Bai Yi believed that the outside world had also changed to become even more dangerous than before.


    More than a year had passed since they¡¯d disappeared, and the Devil Isles had changed, living up to that name even more so. Betsy and the others¡¯ Hypersomnia Phase had ended, meaning that probably almost half of the first batch of lifeforms that had assimilated with activated cells had passed the Hypersomnia Stage and started metamorphosis as well. Inside the research facilities, the probability of failure of metamorphosis was as high as 62.8%, turning lifeforms into defective products. Most importantly, these defective products didn¡¯t have clear minds and only knew how to kill and grow. Their power was absolutely at the LV2 stage, and they were even more brutal than before.


    Without travelling too far, Bai Yi¡¯s team had encountered these kinds of LV2 lifeforms multiple times. Of course, Bai Yi didn¡¯t really need to act at all himself. Since the worry of falling into the berserk state had disappeared, those few who loved to fight like Woolf and Sharpei had their warlike nature completely aroused.


    Woolf didn¡¯t choose to use a greatsword anymore, but chose to use a new weapon¡ªgauntlets!


    Covering the back of one of his hands was a gauntlet that revealed a few sharp claws, in addition to the claws that Woolf himself already had. The gauntlets didn¡¯t have room to fall off unless Woolf lets go of them himself. Combined with the defensive attribute of his energy, this gauntlet was practically made for him.

 Chapter 182

    Chapter 182: Super Super¡­


    The goal of Bai Yi¡¯s team in leaving was to look at the situations of the remaining evolved humans in New Zealand. Unfortunately, even after walking for more than a week, they hadn¡¯t managed to find any other evolved humans in the lush forests of the Devil Isles. Actually, it wasn¡¯t even just evolved humans, they couldn¡¯t find any traces of human activity at all, just as if¡­ everybody had died.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t find even a single human!¡± Woolf said, bored, when they stopped for a while.


    Bai Yi nodded. ¡°En, we didn¡¯t see even a single one.¡±


    The evolved humans on the southern island of the Devil Isles had basically all gathered in New Christchurch back when it was established. With the tide of monsters that had attacked, the number of people who had managed to escape wasn¡¯t many¡ªprobably less than 10,000. After more than a year, the number of people that still survived was probably even fewer, and that was why they weren¡¯t able to find any other evolved humans.


    ¡°Let¡¯s eat something first, then we¡¯ll head to the City of Graves!¡± Bai Yi said.


    None of them had any objections. Though New Christchurch had already turned into the City of Graves, it was still a place where they had worked hard before. They weren¡¯t going just to reminiscence about the past, but also because there might be signs of other evolved humans nearby. However, those were just their guesses; they still needed to make the trip to confirm them. Still, the most important thing now was filling their stomachs.


    Bai Yi and Betsy were both chefs, so they definitely would not let down everyone¡¯s stomachs. The mission of looking for ingredients was left to those few fellows who had nothing else to do. Actually, the matter of what foods they could manage to bring back each day was something that they all looked forward to with great expectations. Very quickly, Woolf returned carrying a vine of fruits. This plant looked like a fox¡¯s tail, with many hard thorns at the end, and at the center were two lumpy, reddish-black fruits that were each as big as a soccer ball.


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what it is either, I¡¯m just asking if it¡¯s edible.¡± Woolf looked at Nancy.


    Nancy was the Medicinal Maker, and she had managed to learn her field very comprehensively during her time in New Christchurch. Things like testing the medicinal properties of ingredients definitely fell to her. Everybody had decided by now that unless Nancy confirmed that something was edible, they wouldn¡¯t dare to put most things into their mouths; otherwise, if they died, they really only had themselves to blame.


    ¡°I¡¯ll open it up and see first!¡± Nancy said, holding her dissection knife. However, just when Nancy pressed the dissection knife against the surface of this fruit, she suddenly creased her eyebrows.


    Bai Yi saw this and took the other fruit as well, trying to cut into it forcefully. So hard! Underneath that layer of soft hair on its surface, the fruit skin was practically as hard as a piece of steel. Bai Yi channeled his special energy into the blade, and slowly used force again, slicing into the fruit. ¡®Puchi!¡¯, this soccer ball sized fruit was finally sliced in half by Bai Yi, revealing the black flesh inside. Looking at it, this thing really didn¡¯t seem like it was edible, but whether it was edible or not couldn¡¯t be judged from just the color.


    Nancy immediately began testing to see if this thing was poisonous and if they could eat it.


    Very quickly, she nodded her head. ¡°Edible, no poison!¡±


    It was enough that it wasn¡¯t poisonous; at least they wouldn¡¯t die after eating it. As for how to make it tasty, that was Bai Yi and Betsy¡¯s job. Bai Yi stretched out his finger, dabbed a bit of the fruit juice on it, and licked it.


    Taste test!


    Unfamiliar things had to be tested for poison first, and afterward Bai Yi and Betsy would taste the thing before discussing a way of cooking it. Unfamiliar ingredients couldn¡¯t be randomly prepared just as they pleased the moment they acquired them.


    Bai Yi licked his finger and his eyebrows immediately creased. He didn¡¯t know how to describe this flavor. The juice had a metallic, rusty, and astringent taste, and it was still unbearably dense. Even if there was no poison in it, they couldn¡¯t bear to eat this. Betsy saw Bai Yi¡¯s face and tried the fruit as well, creasing her eyebrows similarly afterward. The stronger the taste of the ingredient itself, the harder it was to prepare it. For example, in the human world, things with a fishy smell needed other seasonings to cover it up.


    ¡°It tastes really weird?¡± The rest of them seemed quite happy seeing the expressions on their faces.


    ¡°An astringent and rusty taste, you guys try it too. If there¡¯s no need to, let¡¯s not eat this,¡± Bai Yi said.


    Everyone tried tasting it after hearing Bai Yi¡¯s words, and practically all of them had the same reaction as he and Betsy had towards this fruit. However, Woolf licked his lips after giving it a taste and dug out a small piece of fruit to throw inside his mouth. They saw Woolf¡¯s actions and guessed that probably¡­!


    ¡°I need this!¡± Woolf said.


    This kind of fruit was found by Woolf himself, and sure enough it was the type of food that Woolf needed.


    After entering the Metamorphose Stage, the type of food they were inclined to eat changed very severely. It wasn¡¯t that they couldn¡¯t eat normal food, it was just that all of them had a feeling after entering the Metamorphose Stage that this kind of normal food wouldn¡¯t help to nurture the changes in their bodies. However, they weren¡¯t sure what elements they needed to absorb either. They only had a vague sense of it, and would just eat whatever was to their taste.


    With things such as this fruit, the components inside it were completely useless to most people, and even though it was not poisonous, it was also not suitable to their tastes. However, for Woolf, this fruit might have contained some components that were necessary to him. When these kinds of components was absorbed into his body, his body would automatically make the adjustments and gradually change.


    This was the true meaning behind the Metamorphose Stage!


    ¡°Understood. You want to eat it directly, or do you want us to cook it?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    Woolf creased his eyebrows and said, ¡°I think you can cook it a bit, this taste is really too disgusting. I¡¯m scared that I will vomit if I eat it raw.¡± Although every lifeform that entered LV2 could sense what kind of food it needed, sometimes these ingredients really were too disgusting.


    Bai Yi nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll try our best to make it more palatable to you.¡±


    On Woolf¡¯s side, he had captured prey and brought more than ten strange fruits back, but on the other side, Pupu and Romain hadn¡¯t returned yet. Just when they started to worry about whether something had happened to them, Sharpei suddenly stood up and looked uneasily in the direction that Pupu had left in. All of them looked upon Sharpei¡¯s actions and couldn¡¯t help but be on guard as well. What was it exactly that could make even Sharpei so cautious like this?


    Seeing that Sharpei was not only being cautious, but slowly retreating backwards now, Bai Yi immediately placed his hand on his sword hilt.


    What is it!?


    Just when everyone was guessing in their heads, suddenly the wind direction changed, and their location switched from being upwind to downwind. In an instant, all of their faces changed, and Sharpei was even swaying now.


    Too damn smelly!


    From that direction, the wind carried a strange smell that was absolutely indescribable. The moment they smelled it, all of them almost couldn¡¯t help but want to vomit up everything in their stomachs. Sharpei¡¯s nose was the most sensitive, so apparently, even though they had been upwind just now, he had still smelled this odor and couldn¡¯t help but retreat.


    At this time, everyone discovered the two swaying and staggering figures walking toward them, Pupu and Romain!


    Seeing the piss-yellow liquid stains on their bodies and catching the stench drifting off from them, all of them knew where that smell came from. They could tell that Pupu and Romain themselves were about to pass out from that smell, but they still held on and made their way back.


    Woolf pinched his nose and shouted loudly at them, ¡°Don¡¯t come over, you two idiots! Don¡¯t come over, did you hear me?!¡±


    Sharpei didn¡¯t want to lose out either and stubbornly stood on his four legs, barking loudly at Pupu and Romain. The pose of Sharpei¡¯s was incomparably vicious, even more vicious than when facing his blood enemy. However, Sharpei only maintained that pose for a few seconds before Pupu accelerated forward without fear of death, rushing toward them. Sharpei immediately lost his nerve and ran in the opposite direction with his tail between his legs. This was the first time that Sharpei had ever run away from Pupu.


    Everyone saw this and couldn¡¯t hold their laughter in; but they couldn¡¯t truly laugh either, not with this smell still around them.


    ¡°Pupu discovered a plant that had some fruits on it, and insisted that I go and pluck them. But I only plucked one before I couldn¡¯t take it anymore.¡± Romain pinched his nose and threw over a fruit that looked like a pineapple.


    With such a short distance between them, Bai Yi subconsciously stretched out his hand to grab it. However, the moment he held it in his hands he immediately regretted this. He really almost passed out in that instant. This fruit had a dark yellow fluid covering its surface, just like what gathered at the bottom of a latrine pit, and the smell it gave off could only surpass what it looked like, and wasn¡¯t inferior in any way. Most importantly, the moment Bai Yi touched it, this fluid immediately splattered, and Bai Yi¡¯s face changed instantaneously.


    Stinking up people within 3,000 miles around you!


    Everyone around Bai Yi immediately vanished. Bai Yi himself couldn¡¯t help but want to roll his eyes badly, but he still carefully put this thing on a log beside him. Pupu¡¯s intuition didn¡¯t need to be proven anymore, and since Pupu found this thing, it definitely had an extraordinary effect. It was just that¡­ it was really too damn smelly.


    Pupu immediately whined and said some simple human words, ¡°Pupu, eat!¡± Recently, they had discovered that after entering LV2, Pupu and Sharpei¡¯s vocal cords had slight changes as well, and they had slowly started to speak human words.


    ¡°Eat?!¡± Bai Yi looked at Pupu.


    ¡°Pupu, suitable for LV2,¡± Pupu said this sentence with a strange voice.


    Since Pupu had already said so, all of them looked at the fruit covered in the viscous liquid. Suitable for LV2 Metamorphose Stage, but he didn¡¯t say who it was suitable for. Did that mean it was suitable for all LV2 Metamorphose Stage lifeforms? If this wasn¡¯t the case, then Pupu probably wouldn¡¯t have brought this thing back either. However, oh my god, did they really have to eat this? All of them couldn¡¯t help but roll their eyes while smelling this stench that could almost suffocate them to death.


    Bai Yi looked toward everyone, and in the blink of an eye all of those who were caught in his gaze had a fright and disappeared instantly, fearing they¡¯d be chosen by him as the first unlucky fellow to try this fruit. Bai Yi saw their actions and really wanted to scold somebody, they really could all run fast.


    ¡°You bunch of assholes, go and find a place to wash up!¡± Bai Yi shouted at them.


    ¡°The smelliest one is you,¡± Woolf muttered softly. Wasn¡¯t that true? Just now Bai Yi had displayed his quick reflexes and was the first one to hold this fruit in his hands.


    ¡°Hmph!¡± Bai Yi put on a front and grunted coldly, and immediately turned around to head to the river close by. The rest of them laughed loudly and followed behind him; some of that liquid splattered on them too when they stood beside him just now.

 Chapter 183

    Chapter 183: Great Stink Bomb Fruit


    Great Stink Bomb Fruit!


    This was the name that they gave this fruit, and it couldn¡¯t be more fitting. In the end, Bai Yi and Betsy prepared this thing together. Initially, Bai Yi wanted to prepare this himself. There were only two chefs here, Betsy was a lady, and deep in Bai Yi¡¯s bones was the belief that he should be a gentleman. However, Betsy insisted on preparing this thing as well and only said one sentence: a chef will never abandon ingredients!


    Bai Yi was stunned for a moment, and since Betsy was this insistent the two of them decided to prepare it together.


    Firstly, there was the layer of vile, viscous liquid on the surface of the Great Stink Bomb Fruit. Although it really looked too disgusting to bear, the two of them still carefully scraped off the layer of viscous fluid and placed it somewhere else. Every part of the ingredient couldn¡¯t be abandoned just based on their likes or dislikes before tasting. Nobody could be certain if the viscous liquid had any other uses to it.


    While preparing this fruit, they realized that the plants around them behaved like mimosa plants and started to shrivel and curl up. Just from seeing how Momo and the others had disappeared to somewhere else long ago, they could guess the reason behind it. This fruit was practically a biological weapon.


    After scraping off all the viscous liquid, the two of them took the smelly fruit to the river to wash. When they put this thing into the river for washing, its effects were even greater. Starting downstream from where they were, over a continuous stretch about ten meters wide, many strange aquatic creatures floated up to the surface of the river. Many of these aquatic lifeforms desperately ran for the shore, but for a greater portion of them, their eyes directly rolled into the backs of their heads and they floated on the surface.


    The two of them didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. The destructive power of this thing was really too astounding. It was probably only in the unique environment of the Devil Isles that something as special as this plant could be grown.


    After washing it simply, Bai Yi started to cut open the slightly tough outer layer of the fruit. He even got another small knife from Martin for the sake of doing this, intending to abandon it after using it this time. After cutting it open, Bai Yi and Betsy immediately turned their faces way. They had thought that the disgusting smell was only on the surface and was the self-defense mechanism of the fruit; unexpectedly, the flesh inside had an even stronger smell.


    Bai Yi turned his head back, and at this time he was actually already holding his breath, but that powerful stench seemed to be able to disregard his nose and pervade his body directly. He almost suffocated to the point of crying now. Betsy smiled bitterly, but accidentally slowly drew in a breath of air, and fell to the ground in the next instant.


    Bai Yi was immediately worried and shouted, ¡°Betsy!¡± However, he instantly regretted this shout as he inhaled that deep and dense smell. ARGHHHHHH!¡­ Bai Yi suddenly felt like he saw the afterlife in that moment, and similarly almost fainted. But, after all, Bai Yi was a LV2, and his resistance was greater than Betsy¡¯s. He immediately carried Betsy away, and rapidly ran into the distance.


    Far away, Bai Yi saw Woolf and the others standing upwind from them.


    Woolf saw Bai Yi running over, anxiously carrying Betsy, and immediately panicked as well. At this time, they didn¡¯t care about the disgusting smell on their bodies anymore, and immediately gathered around the two with great concern. Nancy was the first one to come to Betsy¡¯s side, and gave her an emergency check-up. After awhile, Nancy turned her head around, trying to hold her laughter in.


    ¡°She¡¯s fine; not poisoned, but she just fainted from the smell!¡± Nancy said, and burst out laughing.


    Fainted from the smell!


    The others were taken aback by her words and started letting out muffled laughter as well. They initially thought that ¡®fainting because it was too smelly¡¯ was just a way of describing things, but something like this had actually happened in real life. Within a short while, everybody couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore, and they all started to laugh out loud. Just where did Pupu find this fruit? It was really too powerful.


    In the midst of all their laughter, Betsy slowly woke up, and looked at everyone in puzzlement.


    ¡°You fainted because it was too smelly.¡± Nancy patted Betsy¡¯s shoulder and laughed again.


    ¡°Is it like that, that smell, really¡­!¡± Betsy revealed a bitter smile herself, and breathed in. ¡°Bai Yi, did you smell it just now? The smell was still extremely horrible just now, but there was an additional, profound aroma inside.¡±


    ¡°Aroma?¡± Not only was Bai Yi dumbfounded, the rest of them were as well. That thing could have an aroma? Was she joking?


    ¡°It¡¯s not exactly right to say that it¡¯s an aroma, it¡¯s the smell something gives off after fermentation. If I really had to describe it, it¡¯s just like old vinegar. That¡¯s right, it¡¯s old vinegar! That intense impact is just like a seasoning that fermented for a very long time. It smells disgusting, but still has that trace of uniqueness to it,¡± Betsy started to quietly mutter to herself, and gradually became excited at the end.


    Bai Yi nodded. ¡°Now that you said it, there really seems to be such a smell.¡±


    ¡°Seasoning, intense impact, use other ingredients to balance,¡± Bai Yi and Betsy¡¯s eyes immediately shined, and they said the same words simultaneously. Both of them were chefs, and although there was some difference in their culinary skills, they both still loved the culinary arts a lot. At this time, the two of them thought of a way to prepare this thing.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try it as well, see if this thing can be used to make some potion. Maybe this thing isn¡¯t just a food ingredient,¡± Nancy said as well. Although the smell was really unbearable, as a Medicinal Maker, Nancy had to test unfamiliar plants or animals for their properties as well.


    Betsy laughed. ¡°As long as you aren¡¯t afraid of fainting.¡±


    ¡°Pupu, Romain, where does the Great Stink Bomb Fruit grow at, are there a lot of them?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°In the east, there¡¯s only one tree, and there¡¯s around a dozen of those fruits. There are no other plants or animals around that tree,¡± Romain said. Apparently, this fruit was also one of those plants that had a gene mutation; otherwise, if this plant really grew everywhere it would kill everybody.


    ¡°I¡¯ll store the one that I cut open earlier first, then we¡¯ll go and take a look at the tree. After that, everybody start searching for suitable ingredients to balance out the intense taste of the Great Stink Bomb Fruit,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°We really have to eat this thing?¡± Woolf¡¯s face was full of despair.


    Bai Yi smiled bitterly and said, ¡°Trust in Pupu¡¯s intuition; this thing is probably extremely important to everyone. Moreover, I can¡¯t eat this thing either before dealing with the smell, so treat it as trusting me and Betsy¡¯s cooking skills too.¡± He himself wasn¡¯t sure as to what extent they could prepare this strange ingredient.


    After confirming this, they found a sealed monster skin to keep the smelly fruit in. They could basically infer by now that the useful part was the flesh inside; the viscous liquid on the outside could be thrown away.


    They didn¡¯t know if they were hallucinating, but they felt like they were still enveloped in that intense stink even though the bag was sealed properly. However, when Pupu brought them toward the Great Stink Bomb Fruit Tree, none of them had that feeling anymore. Even from a few kilometers away, they could already smell this thing. While all of them endured the smell and slowly walked toward that area, they stopped at the perimeter and didn¡¯t want to go further anymore.


    The fruit tree was twisted and bent, various strange, big bumps grew all over it, and some viscous liquid that had burst out from the tree flowed on the surface of its bark. On the top of this tree were more than ten Great Stink Bomb Fruits, each about the size of a pineapple. There wasn¡¯t even a single plant growing within a range of 100 meters around this tree¡¯s area. The closest plant to it was some sparse grass growing 400 meters away, and even that seemed to already be dyed with this smell.


    They looked at the tree from a few hundred meters away and didn¡¯t approach it. If not for the vision of all of them being very sharp now, they probably couldn¡¯t see it clearly either.


    ¡°What a really strange lifeform. Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll look for other food or medicinal ingredients that can go with this thing. I¡¯m afraid nobody else would be interested in this anyway,¡± Bai Yi said.


    Everyone nodded in agreement. If not for Pupu insisting that this thing was beneficial, who would come and touch this? The further away they ran, the better!


    ¡­


    Looking for ingredients to pair with the Great Stink Bomb Fruit was apparently not so easy. In the Devil Isles now, every ingredient was considered foreign by everybody, and looking for an ingredient that could balance out the impact of the smell of this strange fruit was even more difficult. Bai Yi and Betsy found various ingredients along the way and tasted them, trying to ascertain if they could be used for that purpose.


    Plants, animals, and any parts of those things. At this time, the rest of them suddenly realized how tough it was to be a chef.


    As for Nancy, it wasn¡¯t so troublesome for her. She only had to test the medicinal properties of things, and their taste wasn¡¯t part of her concerns.


    After walking like this for half a month, they finally reached the City of Graves. Everyone quietly stood outside the city, looking at the desolate scene in front of them.


    ¡°Should we go in and take a look?¡± Woolf asked. After standing outside for a while, all of them felt that the city was extremely quiet, and it didn¡¯t seem like it would be dangerous. Moreover, with their strength now, they should be able to deal with any dangers that popped up anyway.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Bai Yi suddenly stopped Woolf. The City of Graves was now preternaturally quiet, as if all lifeforms inside had gone extinct. This was extremely abnormal. The City of Graves was something that humans had named it, and that should have no meaning whatsoever to other lifeforms. Even if all the humans had died, there should be at least some evolved lifeforms that lived in this city, but this place was really too quiet now.


    ¡°We¡¯ll walk around the perimeter of the city first and see if there¡¯s anything abnormal. It¡¯s unusual for this place to be so quiet,¡± Bai Yi said.


    Bai Yi¡¯s team walked around the perimeter of the city along places that they generally felt were safe, and finally encountered another team. There were only three people in this team, and when they first met, Bai Yi thought that the three of them were evolved lifeforms. However, the other side saw that Bai Yi was obviously a human and immediately shouted loudly. At this time, Woolf and Sharpei were already right in front of the three of them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t, don¡¯t attack us! We are also evolved humans!¡± The three of them felt the aura coming from the group of people opposite them and immediately raised their hands in surrender. They would really be greatly aggrieved if Bai Yi¡¯s team treated them as monsters and slaughtered them.

 Chapter 184

    Chapter 184: Dangerous City Of Graves


    ¡°You are Bai Yi?!¡± The three people were still very afraid at first, fearing that Bai Yi¡¯s team would attack them. However, when Bai Yi walked out, one of them was immediately shocked, and loudly shouted out. Previously, in New Christchurch, although it couldn¡¯t have been said that the entire city knew him, at least half of the people there could still recognize him.


    Bai Yi walked over, bearing a smile on his face. ¡°I am Bai Yi.¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°The battle in the City of Graves back then was extremely desperate; we still don¡¯t know how we much managed to escape either. I heard that the number of survivors was very small, probably not more than 10,000 people. I also heard that something happened to Hamilton on the northern island of the Devil Isles too, and that the situation there deteriorated more and more in the end. However, information is hard to come by nowadays, so I don¡¯t know what exactly happened either. We actually had eight people at the start, but in this time of more than a year, our team members have died one by one from various dangers, and now there¡¯s only the three of us left.¡± After recognizing Bai Yi, the three of them immediately relaxed. His reputation among the evolved humans was still very good.


    Their bonfire burned quietly, cooking their food. The wood crackled from time to time, releasing soft snapping sounds. The three of them sat on top of a rock, telling Bai Yi¡¯s team their experiences over the past year plus.


    ¡°What about the others?¡±


    Salva shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. We could still see some people at first, but towards the end there were fewer and fewer of them. When those evolved lifeforms passed the Hypersomnia Stage and entered LV2 Metamorphose Stage, the Devil Isles became even more perilous. In the end, the outside really was too dangerous, so we gradually turned around and returned here to the City of Graves, residing at the perimeter.¡±


    ¡°You guys know of any rallying points for humans now?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know. How could there be any gathering points now? There aren¡¯t many people remaining to begin with, and with how everyone was slowly entering the Hypersomnia Phase, everyone basically just found a place with their close teammates and hid there.¡± Salva laughed bitterly. Their numbers weren¡¯t many in the first place, but all the evolved humans still guarded against one another. During the Hypersomnia Phase, they didn¡¯t even have any ability to protect themselves once they fell asleep, so how could anybody have the energy to spare to build a new rally point?


    Hearing Salva¡¯s words, all of their moods became a little heavy.


    There should still be some evolved humans left in the Devil Isles, but there would definitely not be a lot of them. However, all these evolved humans were still wary and guarding against one another, barely managing to make it through each day in the Devil Isles, and struggling without any hope in sight. If they really could, all these people would definitely have wished to return to the normal world.


    ¡°Why did you guys return to the perimeter of the City of Graves?¡± the others asked as well.


    ¡°Because this place is safe.¡±


    ¡°Safe?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, safe. There are basically no evolved lifeforms around this city. We were also chased by those LV2 Metamorphose Stage lifeforms all the way here. After we reached this place, we realized that all the other evolved lifeforms seemed to be avoiding this location. The perimeter of the City of Graves ended up becoming a relatively safe place,¡± Salva explained, and the other two nodded as well.


    ¡°Avoiding this location?¡±


    ¡°Right, it¡¯s very dangerous inside. Before, we saw some evolved lifeforms accidentally wandering into the city, but we have never seen anything coming out from it. It¡¯s like they were all eaten by something.¡±


    Another guy added on as well, ¡°That¡¯s right, the evolved lifeforms that walked into the city would start moving slower and slower. Even though they were struggling vigorously, they seem to be bound by something, and very quickly lost their ability to move. In the end they would be dragged inside slowly, most probably to be devoured by some terrifying monster.¡±


    Bai Yi and his team felt that things were getting more and more mysterious as they listened. Didn¡¯t the city just have a lot of evolved lifeforms and humans dying in it? How had it become like this? Unless it was a ghost city again, just like Wellington?


    Momo shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s not ghosts, I didn¡¯t see any signs of ghosts.¡±


    ¡°The Devil Isles have really become even more dangerous now.¡± Bai Yi heard Momo¡¯s words and couldn¡¯t figure out what was going on either. On the contrary to their expectations, after expending much effort, once they finally met a few other evolved humans and understood some things, their moods became even heavier. At this time, Betsy had finished cooking their food, so Bai Yi didn¡¯t continue on with this topic either, but rather gathered everybody for a meal. The three newcomers didn¡¯t stand on courtesy either, but just thanked him seriously.


    If nothing unexpected happened, the three of them would definitely be willing to follow Bai Yi. Based on his reputation, this was practically a given. Although evolved humans were still on guard against each other, it all depended on who a person was.


    ¡°Should we enter the city and take a look?¡± Woolf asked while eating.


    ¡°You want to see?¡±


    Woolf cracked open his big mouth and grinned. ¡°I¡¯m a bit curious.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t go, that place is really very dangerous! The lifeforms that entered all died mysteriously!¡± Salva immediately stopped Woolf after hearing his words.


    ¡°Hahaha, no worries! I¡¯m very strong!¡± Woolf started laughing loudly.


    Ever since entering LV2, Woolf had become more and more confident¡ªor rather, more and more reckless. Bai Yi glanced at Woolf. Bai Yi was also very curious when it came to the City of Graves. Some time ago, Yu Han had never really answered his question of ¡®Did you really turn the entirety of New Christchurch into a burial gift just to take revenge?¡¯. Although Yu Han hadn¡¯t answered his question, Bai Yi felt that Yu Han would have had his own motives for this, and probably nobody would be able to guess what his motives were. It was likely only Ning Xue knew them.


    ¡°We can go and scout it once, but we must be careful. Not everyone will go in,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°It¡¯s really too dangerous!¡± Salva wanted to stop them again.


    ¡°Relax, we¡¯ll be careful,¡± Bai Yi said.


    The three of them saw that Bai Yi was resolute and didn¡¯t try to dissuade his team again; perhaps they really were stronger than them. On the afternoon of the third day, the group of them came to the place where the three newcomers had supposedly seen an evolved lifeform walking in. After walking a certain distance, it had started to struggle vigorously and tried to escape, but couldn¡¯t do so no matter how hard it tried, and it had finally died inside.


    In the end, they chose Woolf and Pupu to go in. Pupu¡¯s intuition was the strongest among all of them; if he felt that something was wrong, then based on his personality, he would definitely not continue moving forward. In addition, around Pupu and Woolf¡¯s bodies was a supple and strong vine. Bai Yi and a few others stood at the back; if Pupu and Woolf found that something was wrong, they would pull the two of them back.


    Actually, Woolf wasn¡¯t suitable for this sort of scouting mission, but there were only a few of them who had entered LV2. Bai Yi couldn¡¯t bear for Momo to take on such a risk, and as the leader, Bai Yi couldn¡¯t do everything himself. As for Melvin, although he had entered LV2 as well, he was indeed a level lower than the rest.


    Woolf and Pupu headed toward the center of the City of Graves, and Bai Yi activated his Reverse Flower Eyes, seriously observing the situation inside.


    Woolf was quite carefree and walked casually, while Pupu was extremely serious. Pupu was super afraid of dying; if not for Bai Yi giving him no choice this time, he wouldn¡¯t have taken this risk either. Pupu paused after practically every step he took and felt for any changes in his body. After walking for more than 100 meters, his speed became very slow, and Woolf was already ahead of him by more than ten meters.


    Woolf turned around. ¡°Pupu, aren¡¯t you being too cautious? There¡¯s nothing here at all.¡±


    However, Pupu suddenly shouted, ¡°Pupupu, come back now!¡± Pupu oinked and slowly retreated backwards. However, the moment Pupu stepped back, the front leg that he had just raised stiffened in the air. Pupu instantly panicked and cried out pitifully, struggling desperately to move backwards. His four hooves flailed about desperately, but they were seemingly caught in something and he couldn¡¯t escape no matter what.


    Woolf immediately got a shock at Pupu¡¯s actions and wanted to run over, but the moment he took a step he realized he couldn¡¯t move either. It was just like his body was restricted by something invisible, completely unable to move.


    Bai Yi and the rest didn¡¯t hesitate and immediately pulled on the vine. This was a vine that they specially searched for; the amount of tension that it could endure was extremely large. All of them pulled on the vine and felt that there was an immense pull coming from Pupu and Woolf¡¯s bodies. Moreover, within a few seconds, they realized that a restrictive force seemed to spread along the vine and surrounded them as well.


    Not only Pupu and Wolf were being pulled, but this force seemed to be trying to drag Bai Yi and the rest inside as well.


    Everyone resisted against this pull unwaveringly, and fortunately this force didn¡¯t seem to be as strong as it was on Pupu and Woolf¡¯s bodies, so they could still resist it for the moment.


    ¡°Grab hold of the ground, don¡¯t let this force pull you into the air!¡± Bai Yi shouted. Actually, without needing Bai Yi to tell them, all of them had sensed that this power wasn¡¯t especially great, probably equaling about one ton of force on each person¡¯s body. If they could keep their feet on the ground, they could resist it easily. However, if they were pulled into the air, then it would be another story.


    ¡°Meow!¡± The moment Bai Yi finished speaking, the weakest member of the team, Chinchilla, released a pitiful cry, and its body was pulled into the air, flying into the city. Although Chinchilla swung its claws at the ground to get a grip, it only managed to leave a few deep marks on the ground.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Bai Yi cursed and relaxed his body, abruptly rushing forward along with the force and catching up with Chinchilla in an instant. However, after Bai Yi grabbed hold of Chinchilla, he realized that this huge force had already lifted his body in the air and wouldn¡¯t let him touch the ground. Without touching the ground, not even Woolf would be able to use much of his strength.


    ¡°Bai Yi!¡± The rest of them immediately shouted as they saw the figures of Bai Yi and Chinchilla flying into the city. However, in the next moment all of them revealed looks of surprise.


    Bai Yi completely gave up on struggling. Carrying Chinchilla, he relaxed his body and even closed his eyes. At this moment, countless dark, crystal-like, and thin threads left his body continuously, forming a pair of magnificent wings behind his back.

 Chapter 185

    Chapter 185: Creating The Recipe


    All of them saw Bai Yi extending his wings and relaxed slightly. Bai Yi could probably escape this binding force, right? However, unexpectedly, although Bai Yi¡¯s wings grew out, something seemed to have grabbed hold of him, pressing the wings against his body and not letting them spread at all. At this time, without the ground to act against, Bai Yi and Chinchilla were steadily pulled toward the city¡¯s center by this force.


    ¡°Chinchilla, grab hold of me tightly,¡± Bai Yi said, hanging Chinchilla on his shoulder.


    Chinchilla was also frightened now, and immediately gripped onto Bai Yi¡¯s shoulder tightly with its claws. As for Bai Yi, with his right hand he arduously reached for the longsword hanging by his waist. What was this feeling? It was like his entire body was tied up, and he desperately tensed, trying to break out of the invisible rope tied around him.


    Bai Yi¡¯s right hand trembled as he slowly pulled out Red Kiss.


    In such a short moment, Bai Yi and Chinchilla had already flown a few hundred meters. All of the others resisted this pulling force as they gazed at Bai Yi and Chinchilla rolling in the air, their eyes full of worry. Especially Salva and his team; they blamed themselves even more now. They had said not to come to this place from the start, but they didn¡¯t think that Bai Yi¡¯s team wouldn¡¯t be able to resist this danger too.


    Bai Yi¡¯s body tensed tightly, and suddenly¡­ blood boil!


    Great Shockwave!


    A faint red ripple instantly and rapidly spread from Bai Yi¡¯s body, and flew toward the inner city. The range of this Great Shockwave was very wide, and its suppressed power exploded in an instant with incomparable ferocity, seemingly snapping the ropes trapping his body in that instant. A suppressed hum immediately rang through the air, and this Great Shockwave spread far into the distance. At this time, everyone suddenly discovered that the pull on their bodies had abruptly relaxed, and they almost fell down from the imbalance in forces. After everyone stabilized their bodies, they saw Bai Yi flying over from the city at high speed.


    ¡°Get out first!¡± Bai Yi practically reached them at the same time as his voice.


    None of them hesitated, and they immediately took the window of opportunity while the force had disappeared to run outside the city. Running like this, they moved more than a kilometer away, and only when they had reached the place where they normally stayed did they finally stop.


    ¡°Nancy, do a check on everybody for any injuries,¡± Bai Yi said.


    Actually, Nancy had already started doing so without needing Bai Yi to tell her. Very quickly, she finished Woolf¡¯s check-up and shook her head. ¡°There are no problems at all.¡± Nancy finished speaking and started on Pupu. In the end, without needing any confirmation from her, all of them knew that they hadn¡¯t received any injuries. They had only been restricted by that force after entering within a certain distance of the City of Graves, and now that they escaped that restriction, they were fine.


    ¡°It¡¯s good that we¡¯re OK, but what was that just now?¡± Bellamy asked in puzzlement.


    ¡°Who knows. New Zealand now is getter stranger and stranger. Especially after entering LV2 Metamorphose Stage, who knows what strange creatures would be born,¡± Betsy said softly to Bellamy, but actually everyone else heard as well.


    ¡°Then are we still going in?¡± Woolf asked without any fear for his life.


    None of them replied, but they all looked at Bai Yi. At this moment, he was thinking about this meticulously. That kind of powerful restrictive force couldn¡¯t have appeared without reason, and most importantly, they hadn¡¯t even seen the face of their opponent. Having such powerful strength across such a long distance, Bai Yi could almost be certain that this was the thing that Yu Han had sacrificed all the living things in New Christchurch to nurture and grow.


    Yu Han was already dead, Bai Yi could be sure of this. Back then, Momo had even completely exterminated his soul!


    Forget about it!


    Bai Yi knew that the thing inside was definitely extraordinary, and could possibly be some sort of secret weapon, but he didn¡¯t plan to care about it. It was really too dangerous. Bai Yi couldn¡¯t play around with the lives of his companions. Since Yu Han was already dead, they should put the matter to rest for now, and wait until they saw Ning Xue to ask her what was going on.


    ¡°We won¡¯t go in, we¡¯ll ask Ning Xue when we see her in the future,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Ning Xue?¡±


    Bai Yi nodded. ¡°En, Ning Xue, she should know something.¡±


    ¡°Will there even be a chance to see Ning Xue again? Yu Han¡¯s already dead. Would she have the strength to endure in the Devil Isles?¡± Woolf muttered.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look down on people, nobody will stay unchanging. Ning Xue is already very strong now!¡± Bai Yi recalled the last time he had met her and delved into his memories. Ning Xue was not only powerful now, but her heart had also become strong. Woolf had been unconscious back then, so he hadn¡¯t witnessed the changes in her.


    Each one of them now wasn¡¯t the person they had been in the beginning. At the start of the change of the peaceful era, not everyone could be rational and decisive, coolly and elegantly chopping off the heads of their enemies with one strike. Not everyone could be brave and strong either, facing all dangers without fear. However¡­ the gentleness and kindness, the softness and cowardice they¡¯d had at the start could change. Even Ning Xue, a weak little white flower to begin with, could become strong as well. Even Bai Yi, this kind of ¡®good person¡¯ in other people¡¯s eyes, could change.


    People can grow!


    Although there was a price for this kind of growth! Bai Yi stared at his right hand and sighed deeply in his heart.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll leave this place. We aren¡¯t entering,¡± Bai Yi said. Since he already made the decision, the rest of them didn¡¯t have any objections either. After all, the City of Graves now was just too mysterious. It would be better if it was just some powerful monster, but they hadn¡¯t even seen what it was before falling into danger. Although nobody had been injured, none of them knew if they would be able to escape alive if they really got dragged inside.


    ¡­


    They didn¡¯t see anybody else along the way, so they thought that they might as well start looking for special ingredients. These were things that a LV2 couldn¡¯t lack. ¡°Salva, do you guys know of any special plants or animals?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°Special plants or animals?¡±


    Bai Yi nodded. ¡°Right, Special plants or animals.¡±


    Although they didn¡¯t know what Bai Yi was looking for these special plants and animals for, the group of three still told the others of the few types of lifeforms they knew about. Only afterward did they look at Bai Yi¡¯s team in shock; the reason they were inquiring about special plants or animals was actually for the sake of eating them!


    Hearing Bai Yi and Betsy excitedly discussing how to prepare all these strangely shaped things, the three of them were all incredibly taken aback.


    ¡°The flavor isn¡¯t enough. It can¡¯t suppress that smell of the Great Stink Bomb Fruit if we cook them together,¡± Betsy said.


    ¡°But it should be able to neutralize a part of it. We must at least figure out the effect of the Great Stink Bomb Fruit. As for coming up with a complete recipe, we can leave it for later. Also, I suspect that this fruit can¡¯t be kept for a long period of time; it¡¯s already showing signs of change in quality,¡± Bai Yi said, after tasting the Narcotic Seaweed.


    ¡°Looks like we can only do this for now. What ingredients have you set your mind on?¡± Betsy asked.


    ¡°Great Stink Bomb Fruit, Narcotic Seaweed, Gemstone Scorpion, Deep Swamp Rice, Black Intestine Worm, Human-faced Mushroom, Rock Fish¡­ what about you?¡± Bai Yi listed out the few ingredients that he thought would be compatible with the smelly fruit and looked at Betsy.


    ¡°More or less the same as you, but with one extra ingredient¡ªthe Alcoholic Coconut¡¯s juice.¡±


    ¡°Alcoholic Coconut? That¡¯s suitable too!¡± Bai Yi thought about it for awhile and nodded. ¡°To speak of it, we might need to test every one of these. Nobody would know if something¡¯s really compatible with the Great Stink Bomb Fruit without trying,¡± Bai Yi smiled and said.


    Betsy nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s start then.¡±


    ¡°Time to get working, guys! Let¡¯s make a more complete open-roof kitchen first,¡± Bai Yi said. They weren¡¯t just cooking a meal to eat now like before; they had to finely adjust various components and ratios of the complementary ingredients before being able to develop a complete recipe.


    In the end, Bai Yi set up the open-roof kitchen beside a river. Upstream of the river was lake roughly 200¨C300 meters in diameter. This place had a source of flowing water, and the water from the lake was very clean as well. After confirming the location, everyone started to work and created an open-roof kitchen. The kitchen table was made by Ulisses; using his claws, he turned a big piece of rock into a giant kitchen table based on Bai Yi and Betsy¡¯s requirements. As for Woolf and the rest, they went to gather sufficient wood in preparation for later.


    ¡°Just what are they doing?¡± Salva and his team didn¡¯t understand this too well. Was there really a need to put in so much effort and be so serious just to cook something?


    ¡°You want to know?¡± Woolf revealed an evil smile on his face.


    ¡°En, actually we¡¯re just more curious about that Great Stink Bomb Fruit.¡± The three of didn¡¯t know it yet, but their curiosity had already caused them to set one foot inside the main gate of heaven.


    ¡°This is very simple! Later, Bai Yi and Betsy will probably take out the Great Stink Bomb Fruit. If you guys are really curious, then just stand beside them to take a look later.¡± Woolf suppressed the laughter inside his heart and patted Salva¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Oh, is that thing smelly?¡±


    ¡°En, it¡¯s a bit smelly, you can tell from the name itself.¡± Woolf didn¡¯t hide anything either.


    The three of them nodded. Indeed, the fruit had already been named the Great Stink Bomb Fruit, so how could it not be smelly? However, the three of them couldn¡¯t possibly imagine just how pungent the smell of this fruit was. Bai Yi watched the three of them getting dumbly scammed by the idiot Woolf and couldn¡¯t help but find it funny as well.


    Bai Yi¡¯s inner prankster arose as well. ¡°Didn¡¯t you guys want to know what the Great Stink Bomb Fruit is like? Come over then.¡±


    ¡°Oh, OK, coming!¡± The three of them immediately ran over after hearing Bai Yi¡¯s words. As for Woolf and the rest, they immediately started running upwind, and they were even prepared to abandon everything and escape the moment something even seemed wrong. Bai Yi saw Woolf and the others¡¯ actions, but didn¡¯t expose them either; it wouldn¡¯t be good if he alarmed Salva and his friends.


    ¡°This is the Great Stink Bomb Fruit.¡± Bai Yi took out an eight-layer thick monster skin bag, and slowly opened it layer by layer. Before he had opened it completely, that faint smell had already starting wafting into the air.


    Salva and his companions suddenly felt that their curiosity was really not wise, but at this moment, Bai Yi had already opened the last layer of the monster skin bag. Instantly, the smell that had been trapped inside that tight space spread over the surroundings. The three of them just happened to take in a deep breath due to their curiosity, and instantly a shaky image appeared in front of their eyes¡ªwas that heaven!?

 Chapter 186

    Chapter 186: Hundred Flavor Extreme Poison Sushi


    The smell of the Great Stink Bomb Fruit indeed had an extremely great impact on those who smelled it for the first time. At this moment, the three of them finally understood why Woolf seemed a bit weird when he had been talking to them just now. Seeing the three of them swaying about, Woolf and the rest were bursting with joy while watching from an upwind area. However, after they finished laughing, they still came back and gave Bai Yi and Betsy a hand. Since Bai Yi was already there as their team leader, they couldn¡¯t hide by the side forever.


    Nancy got some of the Great Stink Bomb Fruit¡¯s flesh from them and went to concoct a suitable potion with it, while Bai Yi and Betsy truly started on developing a complete recipe.


    ¡°The taste can¡¯t be suppressed; we don¡¯t need to detoxify the Narcotic Seaweed then. Nancy, you balance the poison, it¡¯s fine as long as everyone can tolerate it.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t need the other parts of the Gemstone Scorpion, just the tender meat of its pincers.¡±


    ¡°The Winter Cherry Grass that we just picked is more suitable with this; go and pick some more and bring it back.¡±


    ¡°The Deep Swamp Rice can be the main ingredient, but these kinds of small grains won¡¯t do. Woolf, you guys go and pick the completely matured rice at the centermost area.¡± Oh heavens, that was a swamp! Furthermore, there were a lot of swamp creatures inside!


    ¡°The nutritional value of the Rock Fish is very high, but it¡¯s completely incompatible with this taste. Let¡¯s abandon it.¡±


    ¡°The mutated chili you guys saw last time, bring it back for me.¡±


    ¡°The poisonous components aren¡¯t balanced; didn¡¯t we see a Black-marked Venomous Python last time? Bring it back as well; I think that guy¡¯s venom should be quite suitable.¡± If not for Nancy acting quickly enough, Ulisses probably would have been poisoned to death that time; were they really going to eat that thing?


    ¡°There¡¯s also the¡­¡±


    The moment Bai Yi and Betsy started developing the recipe, various instructions came continuously from them, which made Woolf and the rest frantically busy. With this attempt, nobody knew how many ingredients they used, and the group of them were also sent out to acquire various additional types of ingredients. As for Bai Yi and Betsy, they were completely focused on developing the recipe, trying to see how to use all these ingredients together.


    One week!


    Everyone looked at the sushi that was stacked into a small hill in front of them. This was the recipe that Bai Yi and Betsy had decided on in the end. With the Deep Swamp Rice as the main ingredient, and by combining it with various other ingredients, they had completely balanced and suppressed the taste of the Great Stink Bomb Fruit. All of them sniffed the odor coming from the sushi now. It still had an immense impact, but it wasn¡¯t a purely stinky smell anymore, and on the contrary, it aroused their appetites incomparably. However, none of them really dared to take a bite, because they all knew what kind of ingredients Bai Yi and Betsy had used.


    Just considering the poisonous ingredients, there were already eight of them. Moreover, based on Bai Yi¡¯s requests, Nancy hadn¡¯t removed the poisonous components, but just suppressed them.


    Bai Yi pointed at the big stack of sushi. ¡°Hundred Flavor Extreme Poison Sushi!¡±


    ¡°Can this stuff really be eaten?¡± Woolf and the rest of them couldn¡¯t help but be a bit doubtful.


    ¡°Yes, Nancy adjusted all these ingredients based on everyone¡¯s poison resistance. However, everyone can only eat a limited amount, and not any more. If it exceeds your level of tolerance, then you will be poisoned to death,¡± Bai Yi said seriously. The rest of them heard this and felt distressed in their hearts. This stuff was just a severe poison! They really had to hand it to Bai Yi and Betsy for being able to make this¡ªif anybody else accidentally ate this, they would probably die immediately.


    Bai Yi split everyone¡¯s portions up, and Chinchilla had the smallest portion. Even though the sushi was placed in front of everyone, none of them dared to actually eat it.


    ¡°If I said it can be eaten, that means it can be eaten. Look at you guys, being so careful,¡± Bai Yi said.


    After speaking, Bai Yi grabbed some sushi and took a bite. Actually, how could Bai Yi and Betsy not test the taste while they were preparing the food? They had actually eaten it long ago. However, Bai Yi still didn¡¯t know what effect this stuff had on them. The flavor of the Great Stink Bomb Fruit was balanced, but its effect became unclear now since so many other ingredients had been added.


    Forget about it, just treat it as eating a hard to come by gourmet meal then.


    Since Bai Yi had already started, the rest of them also took a bite of the sushi, although they were still quite suspicious. The sushi, made with Deep Swamp Rice as the main ingredient and wrapped with the other ingredients, was so delicious they could feel it in their bones. Every single ingredient inside was something that could never be found in the outside world. Moreover, Betsy was a true top-level chef. An intense burst of flavor hit their taste buds the moment the sushi touched their tongues. Although none of them were gourmets, all of them only had a single thought in their hearts¡ªdelicious!


    Initially, they were quite hesitant about eating the sushi, but they couldn¡¯t stop anymore after taking the first bite, stuffing sushi inside their mouths non-stop. Especially Chinchilla, Salva, and Ulisses¡ªthey stared at other people¡¯s sushi longingly with sullen faces. The amount of sushi they were given was really too little, and furthermore. their appetites were all huge now, so they still felt deeply unsatisfied after finishing their portions.


    Chinchilla stealthily sneaked up beside Sharpei, prepared to steal a few pieces of sushi. However, the moment it stretched its paw out, it was pressed to the ground by Sharpei.


    ¡°No!¡± Sharpei said.


    ¡°Meow~!¡± Chinchilla immediately whined and rolled around cutely below Sharpei, but this time Sharpei wasn¡¯t moved at all. This wasn¡¯t a joke. Sharpei understood his owner Bai Yi well. Since Bai Yi had said everyone¡¯s portion was fixed, then that really meant that it was fixed. If they ate any more, they would definitely keel over and die.


    ¡°Chinchilla, don¡¯t bother Sharpei anymore, you really can¡¯t eat any more of that. However, I still have some ingredients left; if you like it, I can make some more for you tomorrow. But there won¡¯t be any left for others,¡± Bai Yi said. Everyone¡¯s ability to tolerate and break down poison was limited. On the second day, the poison within Chinchilla and the others¡¯ bodies wouldn¡¯t be completely broken down yet, so the amount they could eat was even smaller.


    ¡°Meow!¡± Chinchilla saw that Bai Yi had spoken as well and didn¡¯t bother Sharpei anymore. Even Chinchilla knew the finality of Bai Yi¡¯s words within the team.


    However, looking at the rest of them gorging themselves with joy, it really felt annoyed. Chinchilla then turned its head over to the other food that they had prepared and pounced on it as if it was venting its frustration.


    As expected, the six LV2s in the team ate the greatest amount of Hundred Flavor Extreme Poison Sushi. After they finished eating, all of them looked at Bai Yi in dismay. In the end, they had already finished eating it all, but just what was the use of that Great Stink Bomb Fruit? After eating until his stomach was round, Pupu immediately looked for Bai Yi and asked Bai Yi to hypnotize him, and entered deep level sleep. With Pupu leading the way, Bai Yi and the rest also more or less knew that they needed to enter deep level sleep to let their bodies adjust themselves.


    ¡°We¡¯ll take turns then. Let Woolf and a few others enter deep level sleep first,¡± Bai Yi said.


    After Woolf and a few others entered deep level sleep, the rest of them fell into their own shallow sleep as well, and felt the changes in their bodies. Even Salva and the few others weren¡¯t exceptions. Over this past week, they¡¯d also accepted that the Great Stink Bomb Fruit definitely had some hard to describe and important effect; otherwise, Bai Yi and his team wouldn¡¯t have tried to develop a recipe to turn it into a dish so seriously.


    Very quickly, Romain, Ulisses, Bellamy, and a few others woke up; but Pupu, Woolf, and Momo remained asleep, much like how they had been when they were undergoing metamorphosis. Pupu had said it: this thing was effective even for LV2s! However, this was probably also only effective for LV2s and above.


    ¡°Romain, Ulisses, I¡¯ll leave our safety to you guys. The few of us will enter deep level sleep for now,¡± Bai Yi said to the few companions that had already woken up. They all hadn¡¯t reached LV2 yet, so apparently for them, the Hundred Flavor Extreme Poison Sushi was just a unique tasting delicious dish, and didn¡¯t have any other special effects.


    The few of them nodded. ¡°En!¡±


    After they nodded, Bai Yi also entered deep level sleep with Sharpei. After all the LV2s entered deep level sleep, the rest of them stood watch over this place and waited for them to wake up again. All of them were very curious: just what kind of effect would this Great Stink Bomb Fruit have?


    Self-Adjustment:


    Sleep is a very magical state for lifeforms. In deep level sleep, womb sleep, meditation¡­ and other states above those, lifeforms would automatically adjust their own bodies to undergo the most perfect changes. In comparison to other methods that borrowed the help of outside substances, this method was more natural, because it was the kind of change brought about by the body itself.


    During every instance of deep level sleep or womb sleep, a lifeform would undergo a shallow level metamorphosis. In the same way, every instance of such sleep would bring about a slight adjustment in the physical body, so sufficient nutrition and food was needed. However, what sufficient food referred to wasn¡¯t just about being full, but replenishing the elements that were lacking in the body for the attendant metamorphosis.


    Tonic Cuisine:


    A qualified chef would prepare suitable food based on each individual¡¯s needs to replenish the consumption of elemental components in their bodies. In the later stages, the most important thing for a chef wasn¡¯t just to create the most delicious food, but to see what the components that each individual needed were, and to replenish those.


    The Hundred Flavor Extreme Poison Sushi that they¡¯d made this time was a type of tonic cuisine. Perhaps the tonic cuisine this time wasn¡¯t the dish most suitable for everyone, but the component of the Great Stink Bomb Fruit inside displayed its effects and slowly caused Bai Yi and the others to change.


    Energy, physical body, soul, consciousness, absolute life field¡ªduring the Metamorphose Stage, every aspect of life was progressively changing toward what each individual was most uniquely suited for.


    Great Stink Bomb Fruit¡ªits effect was to enhance the strength of the absolute life field!


    Moreover, the Hundred Flavor Extreme Poison Sushi this time didn¡¯t just have the Great Stink Bomb Fruit inside, but it had other components as well. Hence, their physical bodies and energy slowly changed as well. After six days to a week of sleep, depending on the individual, all of them noticed these changes right away. Although the difference was only roughly around ten percent, all of them could easily sense it.


    Not only had their energy attribute inclinations increased, even the strength of their absolute life fields increased as well. Needless to say, this was the effect brought about by the Great Stink Bomb Fruit. No wonder Pupu had insisted on picking that fruit back then!

 Chapter 187

    Chapter 187: Heading Towards The Peaceful World


    The changes in their bodies weren¡¯t big, but still extremely obvious. Once all the LV2s woke up, they didn¡¯t need to specially check for such changes and could sense them in their bodies.


    Woolf felt the changes in his body and said excitedly, ¡°Is this the effect of the Great Stink Bomb Fruit? So powerful!¡±


    ¡°Not necessarily, there are other ingredients in the sushi as well, perhaps these are the effects caused by other ingredients.¡± Although Bai Yi also felt that these were the effects of the Great Stink Bomb Fruit, he couldn¡¯t treat that as true so simply.


    ¡°Are you guys really discussing this? If it¡¯s the source fluid that¡¯s in question, I have some here,¡± Nancy suddenly interrupted.


    That¡¯s right, Nancy had the source fluid from the Great Stink Bomb Fruit. Although the fluid had been diluted many times over, the smell was similarly unbearable. The smell wasn¡¯t suppressed by other ingredients in a way like what Bai Yi and Betsy had done; normal people would probably vomit upon getting a whiff of it, not to mention actually consuming it. After Nancy said this, all of them looked at each other. If nobody tried this source fluid, then they wouldn¡¯t know what effects it had. But who should try it?


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it!¡± Unexpectedly, Melvin stood out first himself.


    Melvin shrugged. ¡°My foundation is significantly worse than that of you guys, so the effect should be the largest on me if it¡¯s really effective. Let me try it then.¡± All of them understood immediately: Melvin minded the gap between him and the other LV2s quite a bit. Due to his incomplete metamorphosis, his energy total was inferior to even Momo¡¯s, and when it came to awareness his deficiency was greater still.


    Bai Yi nodded. ¡°OK then, wait for your body to adjust after a few days and consume it.¡±


    ¡°Why do I need to wait for a few days?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a given. What do you think these things are? You can¡¯t recklessly eat them. As long as they are things with medicinal properties to them, your body will be bound to develop some form of resistance after taking them once. Taking them continuously within a short period of time is bound to diminish their effects. Moreover, the various components within the Hundred Flavor Extreme Poison Sushi haven¡¯t completely broken down yet within your body. If you really want to test the effects, it¡¯s best to wait for a few days for your body to go back to normal,¡± Nancy explained.


    Melvin nodded. ¡°Is it? OK then.¡±


    In the end, Melvin took the potion that Nancy concocted from the Great Stink Bomb Fruit after just two days. Looking at Melvin¡¯s pained face as he pinched his nose and swallowed the potion, all of them couldn¡¯t help but want to laugh. He still gagged for quite a while after swallowing the potion, but for the sake of testing its effects he couldn¡¯t vomit it out.


    ¡°I swear, I would rather die than drink this thing again!¡± Melvin practically had only one breath of life left in him as he said this.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see if you will consume it again in the future; maybe there won¡¯t be enough for you even if you want it then,¡± Nancy teased.


    The results of their experiment came out very quickly, and Melvin looked at the potion that Nancy had made with both love and hate. The effects were already clear: based on the quantity of Great Stink Bomb Fruit components, Nancy¡¯s potion had a slightly greater effect than the sushi. That is to say, Nancy managed to use the fruit more efficiently. After all, the Great Stink Bomb Fruit could essentially be considered a rare medicinal ingredient, and Nancy was more experienced in this enterprise.


    However, even after knowing the difference, all of them unanimously refused to consume Nancy¡¯s potion and continued using Bai Yi and Betsy¡¯s tonic cuisine.


    ¡°Hmph, you guys don¡¯t know what¡¯s valuable!¡± Nancy grumbled with a cold face.


    The rest of them didn¡¯t retort after hearing her and just smiled apologetically, fearing to offend her now. The potions that Nancy concocted had really good effects, but her only focus was effectiveness, and she wouldn¡¯t do anything like trying to make the potion taste like fruit juice. Seeing Melvin¡¯s face like he was on the verge of death, they could tell how ¡®amazing¡¯ the taste was.


    ¡°Hahahaha, let¡¯s leave it at this. Since you guys like the tonic cuisine, then we¡¯ll prepare it based on the recipe next time as well. However, now, we will head to Lake H¨¡wea first,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°We aren¡¯t going to pick the remaining Great Stink Bomb Fruits?¡± Woolf asked. Normally, wouldn¡¯t people not leave anything behind if they found something good?


    ¡°No need, we¡¯ll talk about it when the rest have reached LV2 as well. Those things don¡¯t have much effect on those below LV2. Moreover, the Great Stink Bomb Fruit Tree has a very strong self-defense ability; you can tell from the absence of any living things around it. Normal lifeforms would probably never approach it. We can head to Lake H¨¡wea first,¡± Bai Yi explained.


    Hearing Bai Yi¡¯s words, Woolf looked at Betsy and the rest with embarrassment; he had already forgotten that the Great Stink Bomb Fruit was only useful to those LV2 and above. If they picked it all now, it would be a great waste to Betsy and the others. As for the Lake H¨¡wea mentioned by Bai Yi, that was a piece of information that Salva and his team recently recalled. Half a year ago, they heard some rumors that a lot of Hypersomnia Stage lifeforms had gathered near Lake H¨¡wea, seemingly attracted to that place by something.


    Due to it being too dangerous, Salva and his team had only remembered this piece of information in their hearts and didn¡¯t intend to go to that place.


    However, after hearing this information, Bai Yi and his team had completely different thoughts from them. After the Hypersomnia Stage, they would start to undergo metamorphosis if they didn¡¯t have the ability to control their changes. Why would those Hypersomnia Stage lifeforms gather near Lake H¨¡wea? Bai Yi had never looked down on other lifeforms; especially after assimilating with activated cells, all evolved lifeforms had become very intelligent. Perhaps those evolved lifeforms had found something that was beneficial to their metamorphosis and decided to gather at that place.


    Since they didn¡¯t have any goals now, then they might as well head to Lake H¨¡wea.


    Along the way, when they started talking about their goals, all of them more or less felt that if they could successfully achieve LV2, they would want to leave the Devil Isles and return to the human world. This was the wish of all humans, and also their greatest wish. After struggling for close to five years in the Devil Isles, everyone understood that there was already no more hope for humans here. The City of Graves did not just bury an entire city, but also the hope of all evolved humans.


    Returning to the human world, huh?


    When Bai Yi heard their discussions, he couldn¡¯t help but look toward the direction of Australia. It wasn¡¯t that evolved humans hadn¡¯t wanted to leave the Devil Isles before, it was just that there was never any good news on the other end. On the side of the normal humans, they were worrying about how to capture some evolved lifeforms from the Devil Isles in order to conduct experiments on them. Weren¡¯t these evolved humans just walking right into a trap?


    Bai Yi wanted to go back as well, but he hadn¡¯t seriously thought about this problem before. No matter whether they were in LV1-1 or LV1-3, it was only their physical bodies that were strong. There would obviously be no problems if they were facing normal humans, but if they were facing large concentrations of modern armed forces then they would be no match for powerful hot weapons. However, now that they had really entered into LV2, they could perhaps negotiate with the people in the human world. Even if things didn¡¯t turn out well, they would already have a certain level of ability to protect themselves.


    Bai Yi turned to look at Momo. This girl was already nine years old now, and stood at 1.4 meters tall. Even in comparison to Bai Yi, she wasn¡¯t that much shorter anymore. A child this age should still be whining and crying to their parents, but the Momo of the present was independent and strong, having a maturity and composure that didn¡¯t belong to a small kid. Should he be happy about this? But precisely because of this, Momo had lost a lot of the joy that she should have had in her childhood. If they had the chance, it really was time to return to the human world.


    ¡°Daddy?¡± Momo looked at Bai Yi in puzzlement.


    ¡°Momo, do you want to return to the human world?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we humans?¡± Momo asked in confusion.


    Bai Yi couldn¡¯t help but cover his face, almost laughing out loud. Their experiences over these few years had really changed them a lot. Subconsciously, they had already split themselves away from normal human beings. ¡°I¡¯m talking about the normal human world, just like your life before. Do you still remember? In the past, living in the house, the gluttonous fat little girl,¡± Bai Yi said while gesturing.


    A kid¡¯s memory wasn¡¯t too clear, but with only a few short years behind her, Momo could still remember the days where she played and created trouble all day with Sharpei.


    ¡°Niniya!¡± Momo softly said a word, her face showing some grief.


    Bai Yi gently hugged Momo and didn¡¯t say anything anymore. Momo was only nine years old, after all, and got sad very easily. Niniya was the child of their neighbour back then; she was one year older than Momo and the two of them had been close playmates. However, they had never seen each other again ever since the activated cells broke out. If nothing unexpected happened, Niniya had probably died long ago.


    ¡°That kind of peaceful and quiet life, does Momo want to go back to it?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Momo nodded seriously.


    ¡°However, would they accept us?¡± Although Momo was still young, she already understood a lot. Over the past four years, from her own experiences as well as learning from Vala and Alodia, Momo had grown rapidly. Furthermore, with the deaths of Sara and Vala right before her eyes, the growth of Momo¡¯s heart had accelerated even more.


    ¡°No problem, leave it to your daddy! They would definitely accept us, we are humans too, after all. At the very least, I will find a peaceful and quiet world for us.¡± Bai Yi raised his thumb to Momo. Momo looked at her daddy¡¯s serious expression and couldn¡¯t help but raise her thumb as well; hers was smaller than his by a size, but she put it together with his, and the two of them started laughing loudly.


    The rest of the team behind them heard Bai Yi¡¯s guarantee to Momo and all smiled as well.


    In peaceful times, perhaps many people would hope that their dull days would change and be different. But after experiencing so much, experiencing the deaths of countless family and friends, all of them finally understood how precious the normal and peaceful days were. The changes in the Devil Isles were definitely not as beautiful as those depicted in stories; this wasn¡¯t a world that the small number of lucky people could represent. Every person was a living human being, and they all had their own thoughts, experiences, and sorrows.


    A peaceful and quiet world, huh!

 Chapter 188

    Chapter 188: Tranquil Grass


    Betsy seemed to have made some kind of decision and said to Bai Yi, ¡°Bai Yi, regardless of whether we manage to find anybody else this time, I have decided to enter LV2 and find a way to head to Australia. I want to see for myself, how is the human world like now? After entering LV2, we would have significant power to protect ourselves in human society, right? Perhaps we could use ourselves as an example and let the normal humans accept us.¡±


    Bellamy stuck out her head from the side. ¡°It¡¯s the same for me!¡±


    ¡°OK.¡± Bai Yi nodded. They had to leave this place sooner or later; they couldn¡¯t stay in the Devil Isles forever. However, the matter of how to get out first required a thorough plan. Anyway, they had to head to Lake H¨¡wea first and take a look; this was their short-term goal for now.


    Lake H¨¡wea was located in the central area of the Southern Alps, and split them into east and west sections. Actually, there were two completely different lakes; it was just that there was a section of the two lakes where they were very close together, and it looked just like a single lake on the map. Hence, the two lakes were labeled on the map as a single lake. Lake H¨¡wea itself had been a popular tourist destination; the land was vast, there weren¡¯t many people there, and the mountains among which the lake sat still retained a clear, natural scenery.


    Initially, they didn¡¯t think that they would see any evolved humans at Lake H¨¡wea, but when they reached this place the situation was more chaotic than they had imagined.


    On the east side of Lake H¨¡wea, a water plant type vegetation had been discovered and was named Tranquil Grass. After a series of experiments by some evolved humans, they discovered that after consuming the fluid of the Tranquil Grass, lifeforms would automatically enter a strange state where they weren¡¯t really awake or asleep. Their vital signs would become extremely stable, quiet, and peaceful. Most importantly, the success rate of metamorphosis would increase if they consumed the fluid of this Tranquil Grass before it.


    Bai Yi¡¯s group weren¡¯t the only smart people around; the three idiots they¡¯d picked up hadn¡¯t taken this piece of information seriously, but other people hadn¡¯t been so careless.


    After the first batch of people had obtained the Tranquil Grass and a portion of them had safely entered LV2, this information slowly spread out and attracted a large number of evolved humans to this place.


    Based on their estimates, there were somewhat more than 2,000 evolved humans here, with roughly 50 LV2s. These numbers were practically all the remaining evolved humans left now on the southern island of the Devil Isles. The remainder of people had all definitely died due to various kinds of dangers.


    All the evolved humans were basically in the Hypersomnia Stage now, or at the boundary of metamorphosis, so all of them had gathered at this place after learning about Tranquil Grass.


    However, even though they had all gathered here, nobody managed to obtain any of that Tranquil Grass. Tranquil Grass was a kind of special water plant that grew inside Lake H¨¡wea. The Tranquil Grass that could be picked on the sides of the lake had basically all been harvested already, and the Tranquil Grass at the center of the lake wasn¡¯t so easily acquired. It was needless to say how many dangers there were in the Devil Isles now, let alone what they might encounter diving into the lake that ranged from 5 to 100 meters in depth.


    Unimaginably ferocious evolved lifeforms were hidden under the seemingly calm surface of the lake.


    When Bai Yi¡¯s team arrived at this place, they only attracted the attention of a small group of people. Lake H¨¡wea was still very big; the 2,000 plus people were split into more than 100 teams of varying sizes, all stationed at different locations. They were all looking for an opportunity to see if they could acquire some Tranquil Grass from inside the lake, and successfully undergo metamorphosis to enter LV2.


    When Bai Yi¡¯s team came to the southernmost edge of the lake, they encountered another small team by chance. At the start, they just gave basic greetings to each other; there already weren¡¯t many evolved humans left, so they would normally all be friendly to each other as long as there weren¡¯t any feuds between them. However, after giving their greetings, this group of people realized with a shock that this was actually Bai Yi¡¯s team.


    Bai Yi¡¯s team stopped at Gladstone on the southernmost edge of Lake H¨¡wea, and the news of Bai Yi¡¯s appearance very quickly spread to all the remaining teams by the lake. Of course, even if they knew, all of them basically only came to say hi to Bai Yi¡¯s team. Nobody was more noble or valuable than anybody else anymore; though Bai Yi still had a decent reputation among evolved humans now, nobody would come up to him desperately trying to join his team.


    After tidying up a place for them to settle down, Bai Yi¡¯s team also started to study this rumored Tranquil Grass.


    Bai Yi gathered everyone together. ¡°From the information gathered from other people, the Tranquil Grass has the effect of increasing the success rate of metamorphosis. The exact effect is unclear, but we can see from the messy information around that Tranquil Grass causes evolved lifeforms to enter a mysterious enlightened state. In that kind of state, the success rate of metamorphosis increases greatly, and this is also the source of Tranquil Grass¡¯s name.¡±


    ¡°Honestly speaking, other than Salva and his team, I¡¯m not worried about whether the rest of you could undergo metamorphosis successfully. However, the reason why we came out here was to look for a way to make up for any deficiencies, so as to undergo a perfect metamorphosis, and this Tranquil Grass might be an opportunity.¡± Bai Yi started discussing the matter with everyone after settling all of them down.


    ¡°I¡¯m quite interested in a plant like this. Actually, I¡¯ve been trying to concoct a kind of potion that can increase the success rate of metamorphosis as well, but you guys already know that progress has been slow. This Tranquil Grass that we¡¯ve found this time might be a chance,¡± Nancy said, her body language carrying maturity and intelligence.


    ¡°But from the experiences of other people, it¡¯s extremely difficult to harvest this Tranquil Grass,¡± Betsy said as well.


    All of them heard this and they immediately looked around at each other. The Tranquil Grass grew in the heart of the lake, so whoever went to pick this grass must be both able and proficient at swimming. Among everyone, the only one who fused with some aquatic creature¡¯s genes had been Woolf with an alligator. Staring at Woolf, who looked like a fat dragon now, all of them felt doubtful of whether Woolf really could swim in the water.


    ¡°Is it me?¡± Woolf was still so clueless.


    Bellamy walked in front of Woolf and acted familiar with him, trying to pat his shoulder. ¡°Of course it¡¯s you; you¡¯re the only one on the team who fused with the genes of an animal that could even barely be considered an aquatic creature. Also, you already entered LV2; haven¡¯t you thought that you are very awesome recently? We¡¯ll leave the mission of picking the Tranquil Grass to you then!¡± However, even sitting down, Woolf was still much taller than Bellamy. She got up on her tiptoes and tried to reach Woolf¡¯s shoulder, but couldn¡¯t, making all of them feel like laughing.


    Everyone immediately started laughing looking at Bellamy¡¯s antics.


    ¡°Woolf, can you move about freely in the water?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    Woolf shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve never tried before.¡± So far, other than bathing, they had never moved around or battled in deep water before. Even during the period of time they spent fixing the ship in Wellington, they hadn¡¯t gone into the sea either, because it was really too dangerous.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do this then: we¡¯ll find a shallow place and see how good each of us is in the water. Remember, we aren¡¯t playing around; this is to let us test if we are able to move and fight underwater,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Understood!¡± Woolf immediately said.


    Before long, on the second day, they found a suitable place right beside Lake H¨¡wea. This was a big depression in the ground roughly 30 meters wide and 100 meters long, and the depth ranged from one to seven meters. Other people had searched this place long ago, and other than a bunch of random aquatic perennial plants, nobody had found anything like Tranquil Grass growing here. However, it happened to be suitable for Bai Yi¡¯s team to test their swimming abilities.


    ¡°Remember, the most important thing in the water is to remain calm because humans aren¡¯t suited to live in water. A lot of the time we start panicking when we meet with danger and struggle needlessly, this is the biggest reason for drowning¡­ you bunch of scoundrels!¡± Bai Yi still wanted to give them some warnings, but the moment they came to the body of water, all of them immediately jumped into it along with Woolf and started playing around.


    Bai Yi suddenly felt like a parent, and the rest of his team were disobedient little kids.


    ¡°Daddy, I want to go down too!¡± Momo looked at Bai Yi with excitement in her eyes. Momo had still been too young way back when, so although Bai Yi had brought her to the beach a few times, she had never really played in the water before. He hadn¡¯t been able to be at ease since she wasn¡¯t even five years old then, so the most he had allowed Momo to do back then was to build sandcastles.


    ¡°Go, just be careful!¡± Bai Yi was already at his wit¡¯s end with this bunch of idiots. Under the leadership of Woolf, they would probably treat this water test as a play session.


    ¡°Daddy¡¯s the best!¡± After hearing Bai Yi¡¯s words, Momo immediately hugged him and gave him a kiss before running toward the small, hastily constructed wooden house by the side of the depression. Although they had all changed to look like monsters, there were still a few girls on the team, and they had made a few sets of underwear for themselves. And this time, they had even used some monster skins to make some swimsuits for themselves too.


    After a while, Bai Yi was stunned when he saw the few girls come out. Girls really had a natural ability to dress themselves up, and wearing their monster skin swimsuits, the few girls looked to have a kind of wild charm now. Other than the swimsuit on Momo¡¯s body, she also had a few fluffy white rings on her wrists and ankles, making her appear very adorable.


    However¡­ Momo actually still carried Black Underworld with her at this time. He stared at the black sword being carried by Momo on her back, which wasn¡¯t much smaller than her¡­ why did it look so out of sorts?


    ¡°Bai Yi, can you talk to Momo? How is she going to swim carrying Black Underworld at a time like this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not safe in the lake; I must have my weapon with me,¡± Momo said seriously. She had not experienced the kind of upbringing that a normal child should have. Being a child that grew up in the Devil Isles, her sense of caution was even more severe than Betsy¡¯s or Nancy¡¯s, both of whom had grown up in peaceful times.


    ¡°If it¡¯s for playing, carrying the black sword really isn¡¯t too suitable. Take this one instead,¡± Bai Yi said, and he passed over a short knife that was somewhat more than 20 centimeters long. Two ropes were connected to the knife, and she could tie it horizontally behind her back. Momo looked at the short knife and her black sword, before finally nodding and exchanging the latter for the former.


    Betsy and Nancy saw the interaction between Bai Yi and Momo and facepalmed. ¡°This father and daughter pair is really beyond any cure!¡±


    ***


    Editor¡¯s Notes:

 Chapter 189

    Chapter 189: Plan


    Regardless of what the others said, Bai Yi still let Momo take the knife with her and helped her to tidy herself up. Momo actually wasn¡¯t much different from a normal human, although she had some faint fur on her. After Bai Yi helped her tidy up, Momo drew the knife and swung it around a few times before nodding and sheathing it without looking at it.


    Woolf flopped around in the water and shouted at Bai Yi, ¡°Bai Yi, come down too! It¡¯s been so long since we swam, it feels quite good.¡±


    Other than Woolf, Sharpei was also practicing his own doggy style of swimming, while Pupu just lay flat on the surface of the water with his limbs spread out, floating without moving like a dead pig. Chinchilla didn¡¯t really like water and had never been able to catch that big crab back in the valley. However, at this time, it also brushed at the shallow waters with its limbs. Bai Yi looked at the few scoundrels floating around in the water and could only sigh helplessly.


    Just when Bai Yi wanted to go into the water to test his swimming proficiency, the figures of a few evolved humans walked over from their left side.


    A familiar voice came from the distance. ¡°Chairman Bai Yi, how relaxed you are.¡±


    The former Minister of Public Security of New Christchurch, Alcott! Bai Yi immediately recognized him, stopped everything that he was doing, and went to receive him. Alodia saw Bai Yi walking over and immediately followed behind him as well. She now acted like Bai Yi¡¯s secretary, constantly helping him to handle various matters.


    ¡°Alcott, long time no see.¡± Bai Yi revealed a smile as well. Actually, the relationship between the two of them wasn¡¯t so good, but they seemed more familiar with each other now meeting again after such a long time.


    ¡°Hahahaha, nobody saw you in this past year plus; some people even said that you died carelessly in that battle!¡± Alcott walked over.


    Hearing Alcott say this, Bai Yi only smiled and didn¡¯t say anything in reply. Alcott saw that he wouldn¡¯t be able to fish out what Bai Yi had been doing over this period of time, and didn¡¯t bother with these little schemes further; instead, he started to chat randomly with him. Through Alcott, Bai Yi understood the battle in New Christchurch back then even more. After all, Alcott had been the Minister for Public Security back then¡ªhe definitely knew more things than Salva and his team.


    ¡°Is that so? Freud and Isaac both didn¡¯t manage to escape?¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    Alcott nodded too. ¡°En. To talk about it, I never expected that Freud would be so selfless and stay behind to personally block those frenzied evolved lifeforms from advancing. If not for him, there probably wouldn¡¯t be so many of us remaining here now.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s the case, out of the five ministers, besides Freud and Isaac, the other three made it out safely?¡±


    ¡°En, other than me there¡¯s still the Minister of Agriculture, Edgar, and the Minister of Medicine, Lucretia. They are both in the area, but the distance is a bit far, so they didn¡¯t rush over immediately. Actually, my goal in finding you this time isn¡¯t to talk about all this. I have an idea in mind, and I want to invite you to work together on it,¡± Alcott said.


    ¡°En, what idea?¡± Bai Yi smiled slightly in his heart. So, after talking so much he¡¯s finally getting into the main topic?


    ¡°Actually, I have a plan, which is to gather the remaining evolved humans and harvest the Tranquil Grass together. No matter how many we manage to pick in the end, we would distribute it meritocratically. This way, we wouldn¡¯t be like a plate of loose sand1. Not only would we not get any Tranquil Grass if only a few people went down at a time, but we would also just turn into food for those evolved lifeforms in the lake.¡± Alcott looked at Bai Yi seriously, carrying hope and expectation in his eyes.


    Bai Yi looked at Alcott as well. Bai Yi could obviously sense that Alcott wasn¡¯t doing as well as he had in New Christchurch, so much so that he hadn¡¯t even entered LV2 yet. Bai Yi remembered from the words of the people nearby that there were already more than 50 individuals who had entered LV2. In the Devil Isles now, you had to speak with your strength; things like status and identity were completely worthless.


    Yeye¡¯s analysis before had been: the authority and fear brought about by personal strength were more effective than the kind of authority given by the masses. This prediction had already started to manifest itself.


    Alcott probably wanted to acquire some Tranquil Grass and enter LV2 through this method. After all, this so-called meritocratic distribution still needed to be allocated by somebody. It wouldn¡¯t seem appropriate no matter what if Alcott, as the person who initiated this plan, couldn¡¯t get any Tranquil Grass himself.


    ¡°How about it, what do you think? As long as you join in this, with your fame and the addition of Edgar and Lucretia¡¯s participation, I have very great confidence that we can accomplish this.¡± Alcott looked at Bai Yi with anticipation.


    Really, trying to wave me around like a spear? Based on Alcott¡¯s strength back then, he shouldn¡¯t be in this state no matter what. Did he really focus too much on maintaining his power and neglect other things? I remember that this guy came to the treatment center frequently for treatment as well. Under normal circumstances, he shouldn¡¯t be in a state where he can¡¯t even get past metamorphosis!


    Bai Yi looked into Alcott¡¯s eyes and found they were filled with anxiousness and scheming. Was metamorphosis really related to the state of the mind? With Alcott¡¯s state of mind now, it would be strange if he could get past metamorphosis successfully, and that was why he had gotten stuck at the boundary. Most probably, Alcott was aware of this himself and didn¡¯t dare to take the risk of undergoing metamorphosis, putting his hope on the Tranquil Grass instead.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t answer his question for a long time and Alcott became somewhat anxious. ¡°Bai Yi, Chairman Bai Yi, what do you think?¡±


    Bai Yi nodded. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll agree to your idea. However, as for who participates in picking the Tranquil Grass and how it is distributed, that all needs to be discussed properly first.¡±


    ¡°Of course, of course!¡± Alcott immediately nodded excitedly after hearing Bai Yi¡¯s words. Once this succeeded, the distribution at the end was still up to the people at the top. These special privileges were always present, and Alcott was already dreaming about how much he should take for himself.


    Alcott completely failed to notice that a trace of a smile appeared at the corner of Bai Yi¡¯s lips, a smile that had a hint of ridicule to it.


    ¡°Since Chairman Bai Yi has already agreed to this, let us gather the other teams then.¡± Alcott couldn¡¯t wait any longer.


    Alcott had passed the Hypersomnia Stage long ago; after all, he was the among the group of leaders in New Christchurch back then and went for treatment frequently. However, when he reached the door to metamorphosis, he became afraid and didn¡¯t attempt to forcefully break through. Afterward, his situation slowly deteriorated over time, and the worse he felt, the worse his mood became. In the end, he himself was aware that if he tried to forcefully breakthrough at this time, his metamorphosis would fail for sure, and he would become one of those defective products that lost their minds. Hence, this was why Alcott placed all his hopes on the mysterious Tranquil Grass.


    ¡°Sure. Alodia, I¡¯ll leave the matter of contacting other people to you. Pupu, Romain, and Ulisses will follow you,¡± Bai Yi said to Alodia.


    Alodia nodded. ¡°OK.¡±


    With Pupu and the few others following by her side, Alodia didn¡¯t have to worry about her safety either. Don¡¯t just look at Pupu¡¯s fat body; he was a genuine LV2 now, and that intuition of his was astoundingly sensitive. Romain and Ulisess¡¯ strength wasn¡¯t too poor, and most importantly, Alodia herself wasn¡¯t weak either.


    ¡­


    While Alcott and Alodia contacted other people, Edgar and Lucretia also came to Bai Yi¡¯s location. Edgar didn¡¯t have much to say, but Lucretia immediately questioned him endlessly when she arrived.


    ¡°Bai Yi, do you really not know that guy¡¯s intentions, or are you intending to grab a share too?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°I¡¯m talking about Alcott. It can¡¯t be that you don¡¯t know that guy¡¯s intentions, right?¡± Lucretia didn¡¯t bother to be polite at all. Due to Nancy studying at her side back then, she was more familiar with Bai Yi.


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°Then you also intend to¡­?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m thinking for the sake of everyone. Alcott indeed has his own ulterior motives, but his words aren¡¯t unreasonable either. If we continue being like a plate of loose sand now and let small groups continue heading into the lake to pick the Tranquil Grass, we are just serving ourselves on a platter to those evolved lifeforms. Even if we occasionally manage to obtain some Tranquil Grass, it would definitely be pitifully little, and only sufficient for a few people to use.¡± Bai Yi gestured for Lucretia to take a seat.


    Lucretia looked at Bai Yi doubtfully but still sat down. As for Edgar, he had long found a comfortable place to sit.


    ¡°Actually, what you are worried about is just the last segment: how the Tranquil Grass is distributed!¡± Bai Yi smiled toward the two of them.


    ¡°Giving yourself and your friends some benefits due to you being in some privileged position¡ªI don¡¯t actually object to such behavior. Everyone in the world has selfish motives; there are no fish in pure water2¡­ I¡¯m no exception. However, something like this has to have a limit, and beyond that limit, it is simply what we know as corruption. Listen to my distribution method first,¡± Bai Yi said and looked at Lucretia.


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll listen to your distribution method first.¡±


    ¡°First is distribution by contribution. Nobody is willing to do free labor, especially those who have to risk their lives to enter the lake, so distribution by contribution is necessary.¡± Bai Yi drew a big circle in the sand and cut off a large section from that circle.


    ¡°This is for those who risk their lives to pick the Tranquil Grass, no matter which team they are from. This amount will be distributed by the number of people sent. After that is the organizer and initiator of this plan; although they have contributed as well, they only take up this tiny bit.¡± Bai Yi split off another section, but this section was much smaller: probably not even 1% of the entire circle.


    ¡°Then what about the remaining 30%?¡±


    ¡°Even if we distribute it by contribution, many people wouldn¡¯t be able to get any. But are you willing to give up on those people just like that? My plan is to use this 30% of the harvest to try and concoct potions. You must know that there¡¯s a new job class in the Devil Isles called the Medicinal Maker; they are the ones that can bring out the effects of medicinal ingredients to the utmost,¡± Bai Yi said.


    Lucretia immediately looked at Nancy. Medicinal Maker, huh?


    ¡°Alcott¡¯s side will never agree to this distribution method.¡±


    ¡°He will agree. it¡¯s better than not getting anything, after all,¡± Bai Yi smiled and said, and the edge in his tone made Lucretia cast sidelong glances at him. LV2, and stronger than any other LV2 she had seen!


    ***


    Translator Notes:

 Chapter 190

    Chapter 190: Is This Incitement?


    ¡°LV2 Metamorphose Stage!¡± Lucretia said softly.


    ¡°En, aren¡¯t you the same?¡± Bai Yi smiled and didn¡¯t say any more.


    ¡°Speaking of this, we really have to thank you. All the people who managed to entered LV2 recently were basically those who had received good treatment at your place previously. The Tranquil Grass does have the effect of increasing the success rate of metamorphosis, but everyone knows what the most crucial thing is. If not for the information you released at the start, and the Hypnotist class you created back in New Christchurch, there would probably be a lot fewer LV2s now.¡± Lucretia and Edgar stood up and thanked Bai Yi seriously.


    ¡°It was just for the sake of evolved humans as a whole, there¡¯s no need to be so serious.¡± Bai Yi wanted to get up as well but was lightly pressed down by Lucretia, who made him accept their gratitude.


    ¡°We still ought to.¡±


    Edgar started to speak as well. ¡°I think you should also know that it is precisely because of your reputation among evolved humans that Alcott would come and find you. Actually, he had this idea long ago, but not many people cared about him. Do you know why?¡±


    ¡°Because of his selfishness and the breakdown of societal structure, right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. The breakdown of the societal structure caused the title of Minister of Public Security of New Christchurch to become worthless. Furthermore, when other people had entered LV2 and he had not, the difference in strength gradually became more obvious, and many people would not give him their attention.¡± Edgar could be considered to have agreed to Bai Yi¡¯s distribution plan already, and this was why he started to seriously discuss the feasibility of this plan.


    ¡°Thus, the people we should pay attention to now are those 50 plus people who entered LV2?¡±


    Lucretia supplemented him with the details. ¡°53 people, based on the numbers we have now. Some of the people among them are relatively famous like the leaders of various teams. Other than that, there¡¯s also some of the lower profile people who journeyed to this far off place and were the first to discover the Tranquil Grass. You would have to convince all these people.¡± Just like Bai Yi said, this was actually a good thing, if not for the bunch of scum in high positions. It wasn¡¯t like nobody had thought about doing this before, it was just that they didn¡¯t have the fame and reputation to, and most people didn¡¯t trust them.


    Bai Yi nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll convince them, I guarantee it.¡±


    ¡°Since you have so much confidence, we¡¯ll just wait for the results then.¡± Lucretia nodded as well.


    ¡­


    Even though there were only slightly more than 2,000 people, they still had to spend three days to fully gather everybody. All of them came to a temporary gathering place and waited, wanting to see what Bai Yi had to say. These people all gathered here basically because of Bai Yi¡¯s previous reputation and fame, and as for Alcott, nobody actually cared about him.


    Seeing that everyone had arrived, Bai Yi walked up on stage.


    He looked at everyone below him and started speaking after a period of silence. ¡°Everyone, I am Bai Yi. I believe that all of you should know me.¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t use any loudspeakers, but his voice was incomparably clear, ringing in everybody¡¯s ears. Bai Yi¡¯s absolute life field granted him simple control over air, and the simplest thing he could do with it now was causing vibrations in the air to produce sound.


    Just as Bai Yi spoke, the crowd broke into whispers as well, and there was a slight commotion. This was just human nature; unless they were some kind of trained soldiers, when people gathered they would always be boisterous and noisy like in a market.


    ¡°2,113 people; this is the number that we just counted yesterday, and also all the evolved humans here.¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t try to forcefully suppress the commotion but slowly continued with a faint smile on his face. ¡°Very lively, right? Look at all of you squeezing together and chatting so noisily. I almost have the illusion that everyone is doing very well, and that there isn¡¯t much pressure on us.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps some of you might say, ¡®That¡¯s right, we are indeed doing very well¡¯. Entering LV2, increasing in strength, expanding the team; you guys can ensure your own safety now even if you meet any evolved lifeforms.¡±


    ¡°But is that really the case!?¡± In an instant, Bai Yi¡¯s tone abruptly turned, and his face became incomparably solemn.


    ¡°Everyone, I am actually very sorrowful¡ªreally very sorrowful. Once upon a time, there were a few million people in New Zealand but after a few years, there¡¯s only this group of us left. 2,113 people, what a big number, what a lively place, huh? I really can¡¯t imagine how you guys can have such a relaxed attitude as to be chatting here so idly.¡± Bai Yi¡¯s tone became heavier as the whispering below gradually quietened, and the place became incredibly quiet.


    ¡°I think all of you should already know why I and a few friends gathered all of you here today. To unite together, and form teams with all the people who are more proficient in water combat to harvest Tranquil Grass together. After getting the Tranquil Grass, we will distribute it to everyone based on their contributions. Other than that¡­¡± Bai Yi saw that the crowd had finally quietened down and continued to speak.


    ¡°Hmph, it sounds nice, but it¡¯s just for your own sake in the end.¡± This kind of opposition character would never be lacking at any time. Moreover, there would definitely not just be one of this kind of character; it was just that most of them were shrewder, and wouldn¡¯t jump out so hurriedly.


    Bai Yi looked at the guy who spoke. ¡°That¡¯s right, I am doing this for myself.¡±


    Housman Clive: one of the lucky ones to enter LV2 not long ago. Due to his burst in strength recently, he had pulled some of the evolved humans without a team together and had a decent reputation. Most importantly, this guy fused with the genes of an octopus and could move freely underwater. He would find one or two stalks of Tranquil Grass from time to time, and there were already three LV2s under him right now, so he was more arrogant.


    ¡°Hahaha, Bai Yi, you really are honest, admitting that it¡¯s for yourself just like this! Aren¡¯t you guys planning to use the pretense of ¡®for everybody¡¯s sake¡¯ to turn all of us into your slaves, while you sit there and wait to enjoy the Tranquil Grass?¡± Houseman waved two of his tentacles while the multiple eyes on his face blinked.


    ¡°I think you guys don¡¯t have to participate in gatherings like this anymore. Why not just follow me? I can actually get a few Tranquil Grass from time to time! Although I can¡¯t guarantee that all of you will get any, at least the probability would be larger.¡± Housman immediately stood up and walked to the stage, openly trying to recruit people to his team.


    Sounds of clapping rang out, and Bai Yi actually started to clap. Just when everyone felt confused, Bai Yi spoke again.


    ¡°Then?¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t mind Housman¡¯s disruption, and his face still remained gentle.


    Housman looked at Bai Yi. ¡°Then what?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m asking you what happens after that. After everyone follows you, what do you plan to do?¡± Bai Yi guided him patiently and systematically.


    ¡°Of course I will¡­ how would there be a ¡®then¡¯ now? It¡¯s already very good to enter LV2!¡± Housman wanted to talk about what would happen afterwards, but he had indeed never thought about this problem before.


    ¡°Why not listen to my suggestion then?¡± Bai Yi¡¯s tone still remained very gentle; however, on the contrary, Housman felt a kind of pressure coming from Bai Yi¡¯s body, causing him to subconsciously give way.


    ¡°OK then, let me hear what good ideas you have.¡±


    Bai Yi smiled and returned to the front stage. Comparing Bai Yi and Housman, Housman¡¯s actions seemed just like those of a clown. Seeing how Bai Yi looked like now, Housman felt extremely pissed off inside. But at this time, Bai Yi didn¡¯t care so much, and once more opened his mouth. As he started speaking again, everyone couldn¡¯t help but want to continue listening to his words.


    ¡°I already mentioned before that the purpose of doing this is for myself. However, it¡¯s definitely not like what the majority of you think, using the privilege of my position to stuff my pockets with Tranquil Grass,¡± Bai Yi said in a bitingly cold tone, viciously cutting across the air with his right hand. Everyone couldn¡¯t help but focus their attention, wanting to hear Bai Yi¡¯s explanation.


    ¡°I said this before as well, that I feel very sorrowful. Sorrowful that of the millions of people in New Zealand back then, there¡¯s only slightly more than 2,000 of us remaining that we can gather. This is after just a few years; what would happen in a few more years? How many of you here would still be remaining then? Even for those who entered the LV2 Metamorphose Stage, can you guys guarantee that you will definitely be able to survive? Even if you manage to survive, are you willing to continue on like this, living on the edge every day in the Devil Isles?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not willing!¡± Bai Yi pointed to himself and shook his head heavily.


    ¡°I know my own limitations. I¡¯m stronger now after entering LV2, but without a big enough group, any individual would just fall to the fate of being a henchman or an experimental subject for the countries outside. The ¡®for the sake of myself¡¯ I said earlier, is to fight for everyone here to enter LV2 and leave this place together, to return to the safe human world outside!¡± Bai Yi raised his right hand and pointed to the west.


    All of the evolved humans subconsciously turned to look at that direction. In that direction was Australia; the closest landmass to New Zealand with normal humans on it.


    ¡°Binging Stage: we were too busy looking for food, and we were also in the midst of confusion and panic, so we didn¡¯t plan on going back to the human world.¡±


    ¡°Brutal Stage: our bodies¡¯ changes started to stabilize, but look at all of us! We all look like monsters. Most importantly, we can¡¯t control our own berserk states. If we went out in this state, undoubtedly the normal humans would just see us as berserk monsters, so we didn¡¯t think of going back to the human world at this stage either.¡±


    ¡°Hypersomnia Stage: most of us are at this stage now. This stage will be over with some sleep, but the pressure over the success of metamorphosis always hung in our hearts, so probably nobody chose to return to the human world at this time as well.¡±


    ¡°Hence, my plan is to, as much as possible, let everyone here get past metamorphosis and enter the LV2 Metamorphose Stage. We would gain a certain level of power, be able to completely control our minds and not do anything that goes against our wills. At that point in time, all of us can return to the human world together, and fight for a safe place to stay in.¡±


    ¡°What about you guys?¡± Bai Yi asked seriously at the end.


    ¡°I want to return to the human world.¡±


    ¡°I want to go back as well. I came to New Zealand on exchange, my parents are still waiting for me. It has already been more than four years¡­ I don¡¯t even know how they are now.¡± One of them started to cry while talking.


    ¡°I want to go back as well, but actually I just want to show off to the normal humans there,¡± One of them was apparently more of a joker.


    ¡°Me too¡­¡±


    Bai Yi looked at everyone¡¯s expressions and started to smile warmly. The dust had settled!

 Chapter 191

    Chapter 191: Unwritten Rules


    The crowd gradually roused up in support of Bai Yi; but similarly, he found that a lot of people below remained calm and weren¡¯t incited by his previous words. These people were all relatively more rational, and simple incitement wouldn¡¯t have much effect on them. He needed to have a thorough plan and method of distribution that could convince them first before gaining their approval.


    Bai Yi smiled. Luckily, he had never intended to gain power for his personal interests. This plan could absolutely be said to be for the sake of everyone.


    Bai Yi slowly started to talk about the plan that he had considered carefully before. ¡°My plan is to gather all the people who are proficient in either swimming or in underwater battle to form a squad. It doesn¡¯t matter if there aren¡¯t many of them; as long as they have the absolute ability to protect themselves underwater, they can continuously harvest Tranquil Grass. With regard to the distribution method, Tranquil Grass would, of course, firstly go to every member of this squad.¡±


    ¡°Based on our understanding, the size of Tranquil Grass isn¡¯t too different. At the start, when Tranquil Grass was easier to pick, some testing was done on it, and it was found that using up to three stalks of this grass was the most effective application. So, we will satisfy the needs of every member of this first squad and give each of them three stalks.¡±


    ¡°As for the distribution afterward, there would be no priorities and no special privileges; it would be distributed based on the amount of Tranquil Grass we have. If the numbers are sufficient, then everyone else will get three stalks as well, without undergoing any danger. If the difference in the quantity of Tranquil Grass is too big, it wouldn¡¯t be fair to give it to only some people, so I hope to pass this grass to the Medicinal Makers to handle. Don¡¯t forget, we have a new profession in the Devil Isles called Medicinal Maker, and they are the ones who can bring out the effects of medicinal ingredients to the utmost,¡± Bai Yi said seriously, and looked downwards.


    Alcott still looked at Bai Yi with plans already in his mind. In his heart, Bai Yi was just saying all this. In the end he would still ensure that his own people got the benefits, right? But¡­


    ¡°I¡¯ll repeat this again: other than the squad that risks their lives to collect Tranquil Grass, nobody else has any priorities or special privileges. Nobody,¡± Bai Yi said, and his gaze gradually swept across everyone. Those who still had some schemes in their minds looked at Bai Yi¡¯s expression and felt their hearts skip a beat. It can¡¯t be, this Bai Yi is really going to be so fair and impartial?


    ¡°I welcome everyone to inspect this operation at any time. If you really find people who abused their power for personal gains,¡± Bai Yi paused for a moment, placing his left hand slowly on his scabbard. With a ¡®zheng!¡¯, the blade came out of the sheath by a bit. All of them shivered in their hearts. This Bai Yi had practically never battled back in New Christchurch, but the sharpness he revealed just now felt incomparably pressuring. Especially those LV2s, perhaps it was due to their five senses being more acute, but they sensed it even more deeply than the others.


    Bai Yi acted very casual, and said, ¡°Relax. Even if we find people like this, I wouldn¡¯t kill them either. After all, there¡¯s really not many evolved humans left. We would only temporarily expel them from the group, and they would have nothing to do with the operation for a time. It¡¯s very easy. I believe the remaining people would know how they should treat this kind of people in the future.¡±


    Easy? Easy your ass! If this kind of people didn¡¯t get killed after being caught, they would probably be completely ostracized in the future!


    An intimidation tactic to make everyone feel a clear pressure, and relaxing his stance afterwards. This made all their hearts beat rapidly, but nobody dared to stand out and object to this. As long as the person was a human, one would never do something as stupid as that. Standing out now to object would be to place themselves directly in opposition to everyone else¡¯s interest.


    ¡°This is my plan for distribution. Do you guys still have any objections to it?¡±


    ¡°Of course there is one objection. This distribution method seems logical, but what if we waste the Tranquil Grass in the end and are not able to concoct a potion from it? What if the potion so concocted doesn¡¯t have as good of an effect as we expected, and there¡¯s not enough to distribute to everyone? How are we going to solve this?¡± The group of people who were more rational before finally spoke up. Apparently, Bai Yi¡¯s plan and distribution method really made them get serious.


    ¡°As for this, do you guys have any good solutions?¡± Bai Yi smiled and asked. Actually, in Bai Yi¡¯s heart, he didn¡¯t think that there were any good solutions to this. After all, this plan was taking a risk in and of itself; it wasn¡¯t possible to only have benefits. However, if somebody else really had a good distribution method or they could get everybody to be more active, that would be a good thing as well. Afterward, the crowd started to noisily discuss the plan this time.


    1. Picking suitable people to enter the lake; 2. collecting and consolidating the information about the aquatic evolved lifeforms they have encountered in the lake so far; 3. drawing a simple map and indicating the areas where they had found Tranquil Grass previously; 4. gathering all the Medicinal Makers from all the teams so they could start discussing how to develop the formula for the Tranquil Grass potion; 5. preparing a medical team, as the people entering the lake would definitely get injured, so a complete medical team was necessary; 6. finding a suitable place for metamorphosis.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t want to pass on his responsibilities, and so he became the leader of this operation, coordinating all of the movements. However, after passing all of the instructions down, he suddenly realized that he had some time with nothing to do. During this free period of time, Alcott came to look for him.


    ¡°Bai Yi, isn¡¯t this too much?¡± Alcott asked.


    ¡°Is it? What is too much?¡± Bai Yi looked at Alcott. There were no other people in Bai Yi¡¯s room now; even Alcott¡¯s two guards had stopped outside. Although Bai Yi didn¡¯t have a title anymore, in reality he was the leader of everyone¡ªat least for now.


    Alcott lowered his voice and said, ¡°Bai Yi, you really have no selfish motives? I believe that everyone would understand; even if you really took some Tranquil Grass for yourself, the others wouldn¡¯t say anything.¡± If Bai Yi got some, he would of course have the chance to as well.


    ¡°These are the unwritten rules, aren¡¯t they?¡± Bai Yi¡¯s smile didn¡¯t reach his eyes.


    Alcott nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, these are the unwritten rules!¡± During peaceful times there were innumerable unwritten rules around. Although they hadn¡¯t been expressed explicitly, they did exist. Many people felt that all these unwritten rules were unbelievably disgusting, but most of the time these people became the supporters of these unwritten rules themselves.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, there aren¡¯t any unwritten rules this time.¡± Bai Yi raised his right hand, showing Alcott the way out, and added a few words. ¡°I¡¯m serious!¡±


    Alcott stared at Bai Yi seriously for a long while, before leaving the place with a difficult to describe expression. After Alcott left, Alodia came up to Bai Yi. ¡°Uncle Bai, we need to monitor his and some other people¡¯s actions closely, otherwise they really might sabotage us,¡± Alodia said while making a cup of green tea for Bai Yi.


    ¡°Then who do you think is suitable for this mission?¡±


    Alodia heard Bai Yi¡¯s question and thought for a while before opening her mouth. ¡°Young Lady Momo!¡±


    ¡°Momo?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Young Lady Momo is only nine years old; everybody knows this. Due to her young age, people would be more likely to relax their guard around her. Other than that, Young Lady Momo has already entered LV2, after all; she¡¯s very strong. Finally, Young Lady Momo has the Spirit Devouring Butterflies with her as well. There are only five of them left now, yet in many situations, they would be more useful than eavesdropping personally. But¡­¡± Alodia slowly said, although she didn¡¯t continue after that ¡®but¡¯.


    But¡­ would Bai Yi be willing to let Momo do a shadowing and surveillance mission like this?


    ¡°What if Sharpei and Momo go together?¡± Bai Yi asked, and started laughing to himself. What use was that? Even if he was powerful, with Sharpei¡¯s huge size it would be impossible for them to conceal themselves. Sure enough, when it came to Momo he really wasn¡¯t too rational about things.


    Bai Yi sipped the green tea and said faintly, ¡°Let Momo go then.¡±


    Bai Yi was actually clearer than Alodia on Momo¡¯s growth. After all, Momo would never hide any changes in herself from him. Although she was only nine years old, Momo was already incomparably mature in some regards from the long years spent growing up on the Devil Isles. However, in Bai Yi¡¯s heart, Momo was still the little baby girl looking for protection he had found crying in the pouring rain. When Alodia recommended Momo for this mission, it made Bai Yi suddenly realize that Momo had started to grow up as well.


    Very quickly, they called Momo over. Bai Yi gave his careful instructions, Momo listened to everything seriously, and finally, all of his feelings condensed into two words: ¡°Be careful.¡± Bai Yi kissed Momo on her forehead.


    Momo nodded. ¡°En, daddy, I will be careful.¡± Bai Yi and Momo stared at each other before suddenly bursting out into laughter, the two small dimples on Momo¡¯s cheeks making her look incomparably adorable.


    ¡­


    To ensure the safety of the personnel, the first stage of selection of people for the underwater squad was very strict. With the requirements for good swimming ability and outstanding underwater combat ability, a large portion of the possible applicants was eliminated. Actually, a lot of them had very decent strength, but they became incomparably helpless when placed underwater. Even a lot of the evolved humans that fused with genes from aquatic animals didn¡¯t necessarily do well in the water. Even if they fused with genes from aquatic animals, they had spent all their time on land over the past few years, so they weren¡¯t familiar at all with being underwater.


    As the one in charge, Bai Yi would of course check on the selection of members of the squad. When Bai Yi arrived, many people were undergoing their tests in the water. This was an even bigger body of water close to the lake, and the deepest part was roughly 20 meters deep. There were already some aquatic evolved lifeforms in this place, it was just that they were temporarily scared off by the number of people here.


    ¡°How¡¯s the test going?¡± Bai Yi came up beside Housman and asked. Although Housman had embarrassed himself somewhat in the previous gathering, no matter what, he still had very outstanding underwater combat abilities; otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able to bring back a stalk of Tranquil Grass every few days. Hence, for the selection of the squad, this guy was actually the one in charge overall.


    ¡°It won¡¯t do. It completely won¡¯t do. There¡¯s barely even a few that can keep up. Honestly speaking, for those that haven¡¯t entered LV2 yet, even if they fused with some genes from aquatic animals, they would still just be serving themselves up on a dish with those unfamiliar movements when they go down.¡± Housman didn¡¯t bother to be courteous at all.


    ¡°How many are there? We don¡¯t need a big squad, but a squad that can definitely protect themselves. The numbers aren¡¯t important.¡± Bai Yi ignored Housman¡¯s complaining.


    ¡°Five¡ªno, only four, actually!¡±


    ¡°How many people haven¡¯t taken the test yet?¡± Bai Yi creased his eyebrows; the numbers were too small. No wonder it was so hard to obtain Tranquil Grass.


    ¡°The team leaders I guess. They don¡¯t seem to be willing to take the risk; for example, you.¡± Housman looked at Bai Yi jokingly.


    Bai Yi was stunned for a moment after hearing his words, and said, ¡°Me?¡­ Get everyone to come for the test, nobody can escape this.¡±

 Chapter 192

    Chapter 192: Wilfully Carefree


    At this time, Lucretia came over and as well, and said, ¡°Bai Yi, it looks like the distribution system isn¡¯t really suitable.¡±


    ¡°You need a squad that can absolutely protect themselves underwater; that also means that all the Tranquil Grass will be collected by them. However, your distribution method before only ensured what they needed¡ªthat is, three stalks for every person¡ªwith the rest being distributed to everyone else. With these conditions, even if they have the ability, I¡¯m afraid that they would purposely hide themselves and not take the risk. It would be better for them to just wait and enjoy the fruits of other people¡¯s labor later on,¡± Lucretia said slowly.


    ¡°Human nature!¡± Bai Yi smiled and said.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, human nature. I actually think that the distribution method that you drew on the sand the first time was quite good. Those who take the risk would get 70%, or maybe even more, and the Tranquil Grass they obtained would be distributed up according to their own choices. The remaining 30% would then be used by Medicinal Makers to develop into potions. Since the rest could get free Tranquil Grass potions even if they didn¡¯t do anything, they don¡¯t have the qualifications to complain either. Of course, in this process, if the squad members that obtained 70% of the Tranquil Grass would willingly take the initiative to donate it, the effect would be even better.¡± Lucretia looked at Bai Yi.


    ¡°Prestige!¡± Bai Yi smiled and said again.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, prestige!¡± Lucretia nodded. ¡°In modern society, many people will do charity, but they will make it very high profile every time they do it, to the point where there¡¯s some suspicion of playing to the gallery. What do you think of a situation like this?¡±


    ¡°Sensationalizing charitable events to play to the gallery?¡± Bai Yi asked in doubt.


    ¡°Yes, for example, donations and such.¡±


    ¡°Donations¡­ regardless of how much they sensationalize and hype it up, as long as it¡¯s not fake, then charity is charity. It won¡¯t become a bad thing just because of a few trying to sensationalize it. They gain prestige from doing charity, and those who are needy also receive a certain amount of aid. Although there are always people who would say that this was just putting up a farce, I think such people are much better than those who only know how to criticize others, but not do anything to help those in need,¡± Bai YI slowly said.


    ¡°What a really objective and rational point of view.¡± Lucretia couldn¡¯t help but clap. In modern society, there weren¡¯t many who could look at things in an objective way.


    ¡°That suits us then. Let those who take part in the risk have 70% of the Tranquil Grass collected, and let some of the more impartial people inside the squad willingly donate their Tranquil Grass out to others. They don¡¯t have to donate everything; they could totally keep enough for their friends and their own needs, and at the same time still obtain prestige,¡± Lucretia said.


    Bai Yi nodded. ¡°I understand. As expected you are still better at these kinds of things.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m skilled in these kinds of things, but rather that you think too well of other people. The sociological interactions within human society are an extremely huge area of study. Let me handle this matter,¡± Lucretia said.


    ¡°Sure!¡± Bai Yi nodded. Actually, it wasn¡¯t that he thought too well of people, but¡­


    ¡­


    Very quickly, the new distribution system was announced, and it instantly provoked an immense reaction. Just like Lucretia had said, many people were planning to sit around and wait for the benefits to come, but now so many of them had to split just 30% of the harvest? A very big group of people immediately became unhappy, and noisily demanded an explanation.


    ¡°It starts!¡± Bai Yi looked into the distance, seemingly able to see the boisterous crowd.


    ¡°They have already started monitoring to see whose attitudes remained the same throughout, and are thus worthier of trust,¡± Alodia quietly replied.


    It was only because Alodia had been following Bai Yi all along that she knew that he had intentionally planned all this. Bai Yi had already thought of the 30% and 70% distribution at the start; how could he not know the pros and cons of such a plan? However, when Bai Yi announced the distribution system, it only gave priority to satisfying the bare minimum needs of the squad that took the risk to pick Tranquil Grass, and there weren¡¯t many privileges given to them. All this was because Bai Yi wanted to see everyone¡¯s attitudes.


    ¡°Alodia, do you think that I¡¯m very despicable?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    Alodia hesitated for a moment, and answered, ¡°I don¡¯t think so, it¡¯s just that I don¡¯t really understand this.¡±


    ¡°I really do hope that everyone can enter LV2, head for the normal human world together, and look for a safe environment. It can be said that they are all our future comrades-in-arms. But, not everybody is trustworthy, and this uproar this time is the first filter. At least we can see the true nature of some people,¡± Bai Yi said quietly.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Alodia nodded.


    After Bai Yi finished speaking, he brought Alodia out, and now he needed to give the furious crowd an ¡®explanation¡¯. Why did the distribution system suddenly change, and why was the change so big as well? Actually, that was a good question: why? Why did so many people take so many things as if they were their rights?


    ¡°They are risking their lives to pick Tranquil Grass; therefore, it is their natural right to have such a huge say in allocating the Tranquil Grass. As for whether they give the remaining Tranquil Grass to their friends or companions, that is their freedom. Even if some of them are willing to hand out the Tranquil Grass for the sake of everybody, that is their nobleness as well,¡± Bai Yi said to the crowd, which was in an uproar now.


    ¡°How can you do this?!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, you already said that you were going to distribute it one way earlier, but you changed it all of a sudden! Don¡¯t tell me you are going to change it again later and announce that the leaders will have priority?!¡±


    ¡°Is going back on your words how you do things?!¡± After Bai Yi finished speaking, the words of retaliation became even louder.


    ¡°I guarantee that this is the final distribution system; there will not be any more changes to it. Other than that, if anybody is unhappy, then you can join the Tranquil Grass harvesting squad yourself; then you can have the right to split 70% of the harvest,¡± Bai Yi said to everyone, while pointing his right hand to the body of water where they tested their swimming proficiency and battle ability.


    ¡°If you¡¯re unsatisfied, then go over there!¡± Bai Yi repeated again, and the voices below gradually quietened.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t continue speaking, but brought Alodia to leave this place, leaving behind a bunch of people standing there blankly. They didn¡¯t know who to bring their complaints to now. Should they continue to look for Bai Yi? But he didn¡¯t seem like he would care about them anymore. At this time, Bai Yi suddenly started laughing while walking, and his laughter was extremely jubilant. Even Alodia wondered if something was wrong with him.


    ¡°Uncle Bai, Uncle Bai, are you still OK?¡± Alodia asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Bai Yi¡¯s laughter hadn¡¯t stopped. ¡°Alodia, don¡¯t you find it funny? Look at that bunch of people below, taking the reaping of others¡¯ efforts as their given right; and they actually had the cheek to come to me full of righteousness and question why!¡± Bai Yi laughed until he almost couldn¡¯t breathe anymore, and even leaned on Alodia.


    ¡°Uncle Bai, you are laughing so loudly because of this?¡± Alodia looked at him in puzzlement.


    ¡°Why?¡± Bai Yi looked at Alodia.


    ¡°No, nothing.¡± Alodia supported Bai Yi. Looking at his eyes, an illusion seemed to appear in her own eyes. Slowly, Alodia¡¯s heart became more and more dazed, and she leaned towards Bai Yi. In the middle of her daze, Alodia suddenly felt that she had kissed something. That was my first kiss¡­ Alodia thought in her heart, and woke up with a start. Alodia¡¯s face went completely red with shyness after waking up; she realized that Bai Yi had used one finger to press on her lips, and he was looking at her with puzzlement.


    My first kiss¡­ was actually to Bai Yi¡¯s finger!


    Alodia immediately felt incomparably dejected in her heart; as for what kind of dejectedness it was, even she herself wasn¡¯t clear about this. However, this shouldn¡¯t be considered my first kiss, Alodia consoled herself. But at this time, Bai Yi didn¡¯t notice Alodia¡¯s change, but rather he closed his eyes and rubbed the center of his brows.


    ¡°Alodia, do you feel that something is wrong with me?¡± Bai Yi asked after returning to the room.


    ¡°Something wrong¡­ Uncle Bai, the feeling you gave people before was that of calmness and reserve. With your personality, you wouldn¡¯t do something like intentionally trying to test other people, and definitely not laughing at other people so mockingly like just now. It feels like Uncle Bai has changed to become somewhat wantonly carefree recently.¡± Alodia slowly spoke her thoughts after Bai Yi asked the question.


    Bai Yi sat on his chair, his right hand clutching onto his forehead as he silently thought about his recent changes. Bai Yi stretched out his right hand, and a circle of air slowly began to spin on his palm. With regard to his changes, other than being able to weakly control air with his absolute life field, his energy seemed to have some other changes as well. Abruptly, Bai Yi seemed to have a thought on the reason behind his changes. Metamorphose Stage, huh?


    ¡°Alodia, which personality of mine do you think is better?¡± Bai Yi suddenly asked.


    ¡°Eh, me? I think both are good,¡± Alodia replied with a small voice.


    Bai Yi stretched out his index finger and raised Alodia¡¯s head that hung low, nodding. ¡°Are they? Thanks! Let¡¯s go then, we¡¯ll participate in the selection of new squad members as well. No matter what, we have to present an example.¡±


    ¡­


    The selection trial of new squad members was much more popular than before, due to the new distribution rules that Bai Yi had announced. Although the people that got selected for the squad would face great danger to their lives, they would similarly also gain great rewards. Moreover, there was still this sufficiently big medical team and supply team behind them for support.


    There was somebody in Bai Yi¡¯s team that had been selected, and as expected, it was of course Woolf. Fusing with alligator genes and perfectly entering LV2, he was in the earliest batch of LV2s, and his strength was indeed extremely great. The most important thing for Woolf now was to become familiarized with the water, so that he could gain greater ability to protect himself and battle in the water.


    Woolf carried his big tummy and shouted to Bai Yi, ¡°Bai Yi, do you want to come and try?¡±


    ¡°Sure!¡± Bai Yi said, and suddenly accelerated, dashing towards Woolf¡¯s direction. He actually stepped on the surface of the water a few times before falling inside, without knowing if it was because his speed was too fast, or from some other cause. After going into the water, Bai Yi delved into deep thought for a while; just now, it hadn¡¯t seemed like it was just because he was going too fast.

 Chapter 193

No content

 Chapter 194

    Chapter 194: Mishap


    Everything went very smoothly at the start; across more than 20 days, the harvesting squad collected a total of 377 stalks of Tranquil Grass, and to them, this was more than enough. However, to everyone else, this amount was like pouring a cup of water on a burning cart of firewood1. Furthermore, at this time, an accident happened to the squad. It wasn¡¯t just one or two injured members, but every single one of them. Although they gathered all the medical team together to work on this, they still couldn¡¯t find a suitable solution to this problem.


    Woolf and the rest of squad were infected by parasites!


    Large-sized aquatic evolved lifeforms were basically not a problem in front of the special squad; what Bai Yi was worried about were those kinds of small-sized, colony-type aquatic lifeforms, such as piranhas. Fortunately, there weren¡¯t any such lifeforms in this lake. However, the news that Woolf and the squad brought back ended up being even worse than this. In the depths of the lake, there was a stretch of aquatic algae, and a type of parasitic insect actually laid its eggs inside the water.


    This kind of parasite initially lived within the algae, but after Woolf and the squad had barged their way in, the miniature parasite eggs had entered their stomachs through their various orifices and started to hatch in their intestines. If not for a guy in the squad being extraordinarily sensitive, they wouldn¡¯t have even discovered this.


    ¡°Did such a thing happen to anybody else?¡± Bai Yi asked with a calm face.


    ¡°Yes, but very few of them; probably just a little more than 100 of them. However, we don¡¯t know if there are more hidden parasite eggs in other people. This kind of parasitic insect is apparently a kind of mutated creature that lives only in a small area, and they haven¡¯t completely proliferated yet. The squad¡¯s intrusion into their living space just happened to become the opportunity for them to proliferate throughout the entire lake, and now nobody dares to enter the water anymore,¡± Lucretia explained.


    The two of them talked as they headed toward the medical center. Bai Yi wanted to visit Woolf and the rest of the squad. When Bai Yi arrived, Woolf was bragging to a few other people. Everyone had met with numerous dangers in the Devil Isles so far, and who had the most dangerous experience became something to brag about to others. At this time, Woolf was telling the others about the Great Stink Bomb Fruit. Of course, Woolf didn¡¯t talk about the effect of the Great Stink Bomb Fruit, but just its unique smell.


    ¡°You guys don¡¯t know, but that smell was totally carried by the wind for a few hundred kilometers; without even coming close the smell was already unbearable! Not a single plant or animal lived within a few hundred meters of that tree, and even in places further away, the wild grass was also dyed with its stink,¡± Woolf described.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you are talking about the stinky tree growing near Methven?¡±


    Woolf immediately nodded. ¡°Ah, yes, yes, you know it?¡±


    Leiden talked about what had happened previously. ¡°Of course I know of it; back then there were already people talking about how a tree started to mutate, and how the smell that came with the wind normally was so freaking smelly. I went to take a look a year back as well, but it wasn¡¯t as smelly as you described. Initially, some people wanted to chop down the tree back then, but they were persuaded not to by other people. Nobody knew how many mutated plants and animals there were in the Devil Isles, and this tree wasn¡¯t obstructing anybody by growing there, so there was no need to chop it down.¡±


    Lucky you guys didn¡¯t chop it down; you guys don¡¯t know just how great the effects of the Great Stink Bomb Fruit are! Woolf criticized in his heart.


    ¡°Hey, Bai Yi!¡± Woolf saw Bai Yi walking over and immediately waved his hand.


    ¡°You look pretty energetic.¡± Bai Yi slowly walked over with a smile on his face.


    ¡°I¡¯m doing fine. Actually, I don¡¯t really feel anything; if not for those doctors telling me that I¡¯ve been infected with parasites, I wouldn¡¯t have realized it at all.¡± Woolf started laughing loudly.


    ¡°Look at you, the parasites probably can¡¯t bring down a guy like you either.¡± Housman gave Woolf a punch. The fifteen people here had gone down to harvest Tranquil Grass together over the past half a month, and the relationship between them had grown to be quite good.


    ¡°Hahahaha, don¡¯t be too jealous!¡± Woolf shook his butt and actually started dancing.


    ¡°This guy; aren¡¯t you guys afraid that maybe we can¡¯t find a solution to this? No matter which parasitic insect or plant is involved, normally the host body won¡¯t have a good ending, you know?¡± Bai Yi was really at his wit¡¯s end with Woolf.


    ¡°Speaking of this, Bai Yi, there¡¯s nobody who went to harvest Tranquil Grass recently, right?¡± Woolf stopped and asked.


    Bai Yi nodded. ¡°Of course not. Nobody even went into the water anymore.¡±


    ¡°Then how much Tranquil Grass did we collect?¡±


    ¡°377 stalks!¡±


    ¡°Only 377 stalks? This is totally insufficient for everyone, right? Hey, Bai Yi, actually we discussed this a bit previously as well, and we have made a decision.¡± Housman stood up and looked at Bai Yi from above. It couldn¡¯t be helped; Bai Yi¡¯s height was already a decent 1.85 meters, but it couldn¡¯t be compared to these guys, who had grown greatly in size.


    ¡°What decision?¡±


    ¡°We have decided to donate all of the Tranquil Grass that we have collected to the Medicinal Makers to develop into a potion. You have to ensure the success of those Medicinal Makers; at the very least, the effect of the potion must be dozens of times better than purely consuming the fluid of the Tranquil Grass! Otherwise, if in the end there isn¡¯t enough for everyone to consume, I won¡¯t let you off, do you hear me?!¡± Housman roared loudly at Bai Yi, but Bai Yi didn¡¯t avoid him at all and stared at him.


    ¡°En, of course!¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    Housman acted domineering and said, ¡°En, it¡¯s settled then,¡± ignoring Bai Yi afterwards.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave first.¡± Bai Yi looked at Woolf and the rest of the squad. Everyone knew just how ferocious the various evolved lifeforms on the Devil Isles were, because countless numbers of evolved humans had died to these creatures. Apparently, after being infected by those parasites, Housman and the rest had done some mental preparation as well.


    After leaving the medical center, Bai Yi said solemnly, ¡°Put all our resources into finding a treatment method!¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Lucretia also couldn¡¯t help but answer seriously.


    Before Bai Yi could even leave this simple medical center, Nancy ran over. ¡°Bai Yi, bad news: the Tranquil Grass was stolen!¡±


    There was an instant of oppression, and everyone felt as if they were suffocating. Only afterwards did everyone see the icy and malevolent smile on Bai Yi¡¯s face.


    When their minds came back to them, everyone realized that Bai Yi had already disappeared. All of them swallowed their saliva. Seriously, there was actually somebody who chose to create trouble at a time like this? What was this if not looking for death? Only the people who were familiar with Bai Yi knew that, although on the surface he looked like he wouldn¡¯t hurt a fly, that was quite far from the truth. Lucretia and Nancy looked at each other, and they could tell that somebody was going to be very, very unlucky this time.


    ¡­


    At this time, in a patch of dense brush more than ten kilometers away from Lake H¨¡wea, Momo stopped a group of more than 60 people. Because of the mission that Bai Yi had given her, Momo had always been secretly monitoring Alcott. When she found that something was wrong, she immediately chased after him, and unexpectedly she just happened to intercept this bunch of people here.


    ¡°Momo!¡± This group of escaping people were clearly extremely shocked.


    ¡°Stay here!¡± Mom grabbed onto the black sword behind her tightly.


    Alcott walked two steps forward. ¡°Momo, what are you trying to do? You didn¡¯t even greet your Uncle when you saw me.¡±


    ¡°Purposefully luring away the guards and coming to this place. I think, this place should be the storage spot for the Tranquil Grass, right? You guys stole the Tranquil Grass?¡± Momo seemed to see through Alcott¡¯s actions.


    Alcott was stunned for a moment, and said with a smile, ¡°It can¡¯t be helped; who asked your father to be so stubborn? He won¡¯t even let me have some of the Tranquil Grass first. A person shouldn¡¯t be so inflexible.¡±


    ¡°Because parasites appeared in Lake H¨¡wea, people probably won¡¯t be able to harvest any more Tranquil Grass. After that, you felt that you wouldn¡¯t be able to get any Tranquil Grass, and decided to do this?¡± Momo asked again.


    Alcott and the others were stunned again, but afterwards he laughed. ¡°Momo is really smart; since you already know, then get out of the way. As long as you step aside, we will not harm you.¡±


    ¡°Trash!¡±


    Beyond everyone¡¯s expectations, Momo said this word coldly, and the black sword came out of its sheath. Momo held the black sword in her hands, and a dark, transparent flame started to burn on the blade. Looking at Momo¡¯s actions, they knew that she had no intention of stepping aside, and intended to make all of them stay here.


    ¡°Really, a little girl dares to be so arrogant! You entered LV2, right? Let me tell you, there are four people that entered LV2 here, and furthermore, we have so many other people!¡± A guy wearing a monster skin cloak that looked extremely insolent shouted this. ¡°Since you don¡¯t know what¡¯s good for you, then we can only send you to your grave; we can¡¯t waste time here!¡±


    ¡°Ha!¡± this guy abruptly grunted, and his body tensed as white mist started to rise from it.


    Basses: his absolute life field could mildly control water, and his energy characteristic had changed to high heat, reaching a temperature of 160 degrees Celsius so far!


    This guy called Basses carried a gigantic bone club full of holes and jumped right at Momo as all of his companions immediately dodged. They weren¡¯t like this guy, whose body had already changed to become able to withstand this kind of high heat. It definitely wouldn¡¯t feel good if they were hit by that high-temperature steam.


    Momo swung her black sword and intercepted him instantly.


    The sword and club collided together, and high-temperature steam instantly shot out rapidly from the holes in the club. Basses saw Momo being enveloped by the steam and couldn¡¯t help but reveal a sinister smile. However, in the next instant, with a ¡®kacha!¡¯ his bone club broke at the point of contact with the black sword, and a black vacuum strike flew through his head.


    At this time, Momo walked out from steam with her special energy released outside of her body, as if burning in a transparent flame.


    ¡­


    Bai Yi opened his wings after leaving the medical center and flew toward the place where they stored the Tranquil Grass. When he arrived, he ignored the surprised looks of others and directly walked in. When Bai Yi reached this place, a transparent Spirit Devouring Butterfly slowly flew out from a dark corner.


    ¡°Lead the way!¡± Bai Yi said softly.


    After the Spirit Devouring Butterfly stopped on the back of his hand, Bai Yi flew into the sky again, heading straight for Momo¡¯s current location.


    ***


    Translator¡¯s Notes:

 Chapter 195

    Chapter 195: One Versus Four


    When Bai Yi flew off, the rest of them started moving as well; especially members of Bai Yi¡¯s team like Sharpei and Pupu¡ªthey dashed over at their top speed. After all, the incident of the Tranquil Grass¡¯s theft was such a big matter that it very quickly alarmed everyone. Everyone knew that there already wasn¡¯t a sufficient quantity of Tranquil Grass, but all their hopes were placed on this amount now, so they couldn¡¯t help but feel anxious.


    Lucretia looked at Nancy¡¯s quiet appearance and couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried?¡±


    ¡°Bai Yi is really angry this time!¡± Nancy didn¡¯t answer her question.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s just start on our own work. Regardless of whether if it¡¯s concocting a suitable potion or finding a way to cure the parasitic insects, we can¡¯t afford to dally with both,¡± Nancy said to Lucretia.


    ¡°Ha, seriously, don¡¯t forget that I was your teacher for a period of time before,¡± Lucretia said laughingly.


    ¡­


    ¡°Stay here!¡± Momo said seriously, with her black sword pointed diagonally. Everyone there went a bit silent; none of them had managed to come to their senses yet. Basses, whom they initially thought was powerful enough alone, ended up falling into a disadvantage in an instant. The girl, who was rumored to only be nine years old, was actually this strong? Although by now everyone had learned long ago that strength couldn¡¯t be measured by age, they were all still very surprised.


    ¡°What a good sword!¡±


    ¡°Bastard! Kawada, don¡¯t you like swords? This sword is definitely suitable for you!¡± Basses touched his hair¡ªor, actually, his fur would be more accurate; that strike just now had instantly sliced off half of his hair. When he heard Kawada Machida praise the sword, he immediately wanted to pull Kawada over to help him.


    ¡°I¡¯m taking the sword.¡± The strange looking man that looked like a praying mantis with four arms walked out.


    Basses nodded. ¡°Then you better put more effort into this.¡±


    After that instantaneous clash just now, these 60 people were all startled; but it was only at the level of being startled, since they also had four LV2s on their side as well. After Kawada Machida stepped out, Basses retreated back. He still wanted to save face; after all, Momo was a little girl, and so far this group of people didn¡¯t have the intention of ganging up on her.


    ¡°That¡¯s a given,¡± Kawada said, drawing four different longswords from behind his back; from the looks of it, all four of them were decent swords.


    Wind!


    After seeing this guy stand out, Momo immediately went on guard. Through her eyes, she could clearly see the flow of air around the edge of his blades. This guy actually had the same type of energy inclination toward air as Bai Yi.


    Four Sword Style: Wind Slicer!


    Instantly, Kawada dashed toward Momo, his four arms swinging the swords at her from different positions. Momo¡¯s eyes turned heavier for a moment, and she suddenly pulled her black sword, clashing with the four swords in the next moment. Multiple sounds of metallic collisions rang out and joined together into a long, continuous ringing. Both of them moved shockingly fast, and some of the guys who hadn¡¯t entered LV2 yet couldn¡¯t even capture their movements properly. Until suddenly, a huge ¡®ZHENG!¡¯ rang out.


    Kawada slammed all four of his swords against Momo¡¯s black sword at the same time.


    Between the five swords, a chaotic air flow instantly erupted and forced Momo¡¯s petite body to shoot backwards. Momo then flipped in the air and landed on the ground.


    A trail of blood slowly flowed down Momo¡¯s little face. She used her left thumb to gently wipe it away and licked it with her small tongue; it had a slight salty taste. This guy¡¯s sword skills weren¡¯t weak at all, and his four limbs swinging four swords around seemed to complement each other very well. If not for Momo¡¯s sword skills being excellent as well, she would have probably lost right then. Moreover, the degree of control over air that he had was even stronger than Bai Yi¡¯s, but his energy characteristic didn¡¯t seem to have any other special attributes.


    As expected; just like daddy said, all the evolved humans who could survive until now are all very strong, Momo thought inside her heart. Everyone had to grope about from scratch; if Bai Yi¡¯s team could develop some things, other people could as well. This Kawada Machida opposite her was Japanese. He loved swords even in normal times, and after New Zealand had changed, he was similarly studying and practicing; his sword skills weren¡¯t inferior to Bai Yi and the rest.


    ¡°Give me the sword and I¡¯ll let you leave,¡± Kawada said to Momo.


    ¡°Not possible, and you guys aren¡¯t allowed to leave anyway,¡± Momo said seriously. Momo was still young, and her grave words at this moment just seemed like a little kid¡¯s stubbornness in the eyes of these people now.


    ¡°You really don¡¯t know what¡¯s good for you! I¡¯ll just take it myself then,¡± Kawada said furiously.


    ¡°Kawada, since you want the sword, there¡¯s no problem if we leave this to you, right?¡± Another LV2, Julian, said.


    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have the time to waste here, so I¡¯ll make a move first,¡± Julian said, and he prepared to walk through by the side. At this time, all of them knew what it meant to be stuck here; probably not long from now, the people chasing them would catch up.


    ¡°I said, none of you are allowed to leave!¡± Momo¡¯s black sword lifted up lightly and an Air-splitting Strike flew out, flying right in front of Julian¡¯s body. If Momo had needed preparation to use this kind of attack in the past, then now she could use this attack at will just by making use of the special energy in her body.


    ¡°Little girl, know what¡¯s good for you.¡± Julian¡¯s face turned slightly colder.


    Alcott immediately and hurriedly said, ¡°Don¡¯t kill her, be careful of Bai Yi¡¯s vengeance.¡± Although Alcott had stolen the Tranquil Grass, he just wanted to get through metamorphosis and enter LV2, and not to create such a great feud with Bai Yi. Alcott was still quite familiar with Bai Yi from before; although Bai Yi rarely acted in front of others himself, he had luckily managed to see Bai Yi in action once. Bai Yi¡¯s battle ability combined with the Reverse Flower Eyes was practically unbeatable at this stage.


    ¡°How freaking troublesome, everyone is still so afraid of this at this time. Since you are so scared, why didn¡¯t you stop at the start? It¡¯s just you guys grumbling and mumbling back there; the people chasing us are almost here! When we really enter the Devil Isles, who would be able to find us?¡± The last LV2, Agnes, said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do this together; the sooner we settle this, the sooner we can get moving. Kawada, since you want this little girl¡¯s sword, you will get fewer stalks of Tranquil Grass later, any problems with that? If there¡¯s no problems then let¡¯s start,¡± Agnes said sinisterly after taking a deep breath from a stick of black tobacco in her hands. The tobacco in Agnes¡¯s hands wasn¡¯t real tobacco, but a type of poisonous plant that she had found which could excite the nerves slightly.


    ¡°I have no objection.¡± Kawada looked at Momo¡¯s black sword and revealed a look of desire in his eyes. If he could get the black sword in exchange for a few stalks of Tranquil Grass, then it was an overwhelming profit for him. Only people who loved swords could see how precious that sword was.


    ¡°Then!¡± Agnes revealed an evil smile toward Momo, and the colored patches on her body gradually lit up.


    In this moment, Momo¡¯s heart was calm like still water. She raised her black sword horizontally and her left hand pressed on the back of the blade. In the next instant, the four LV2s attacked at the same time. However, although the four of them attacked together, she could still see that the strength of their attacks were all different. Compared to Agnes, the other three of them were slower by a bit, and their attacks weren¡¯t going for the kill either.


    Circle Dance Strike: Break!


    Momo pushed the black sword with her left hand and spun her body twice instantaneously, and two circular ripples immediately flew outward at her surroundings. As expected, the four LV2s stopped one after another and blocked the two circular sword qi1. However, the other people didn¡¯t do as well. The two circles of sword qi spread out over 360 degrees, and immediately sliced apart the surroundings. ¡®Puchi¡¯ sounds rang out continually as the people who reacted slightly slower all fell to the ground screaming pitifully, while an entire circle of trees in the surrounding area fell with multiple crashes.


    At this time, the rest of them understood why the four team leaders hadn¡¯t gotten all of them to attack together. With a single difference in their stages, the difference in their strengths was like heaven and earth. After becoming able to freely control their energy, every single one of their attacks wasn¡¯t something those who were below LV2 could withstand. The five of them clashed together immediately, while the others could only run away and avoid the battle. The rest of them now were like minions who could only buy soy sauce2.


    However, the more the others watched the intense battle between the five of them, the more envious they were of the power of a LV2.


    ¡®Keng!¡¯, Momo forcefully parried two of Kawada¡¯s longswords, and her body trembled slightly. At this time, Momo suddenly noticed that the air that she was breathing in carried a slightly sweet and sickly smell.


    ¡°Did you notice it? But it¡¯s too late.¡± Agnes smiled arrogantly.


    At this time, Momo suddenly realized that the colored patches on Agnes¡¯s body seemed to be breathing, releasing a scent which bore that sweet and sickly smell. Looking at the brilliantly colored patches on Agnes¡¯s body, Momo could basically guess one thing: this person was probably skilled in using poison. That was why she could use a poisonous plant as a cigarette earlier like that.


    Momo surveyed her surroundings quickly and discovered that it wasn¡¯t just Agnes, but the other three of them didn¡¯t get poisoned either. This wasn¡¯t a video game, and there was no such thing as switching off friendly fire; since the three of them didn¡¯t get poisoned, that meant that they had their own ways to filter out the poison.


    Basses: high internal temperature; once the poison entered his body its structure would be damaged and become ineffective.


    Kawada Machida: control of air; he was able to filter out the poisonous components.


    Julian: his energy could filter out some abnormal things, so he wasn¡¯t affected either.


    Of course, the three of them had learned about Agnes¡¯s poison long ago, and this also wasn¡¯t the only poison that she could use. No matter what, since they had to work together they definitely restricted each other as well, and they would be ill-founded if they completely suppressed one another. Agnes had even more powerful poison, it was just that she didn¡¯t use it.


    Momo took out an antidote pill that Nancy had concocted for ordinary poisons and put it into her mouth.


    Initially, Momo didn¡¯t have the intention to kill; even those who were hurt by her circular strike were probably only heavily injured. At this time, Momo¡¯s eyes gradually became icy, and two transparent Spirit Devouring Butterflies slowly flew out from the black sword.


    ¡­


    ¡°I¡¯ll be there immediately!¡± At this moment, Bai Yi hurried toward Momo¡¯s location, his face incomparably cold.


    ***


    Translator Notes:

 Chapter 196

    Chapter 196: Judgment of Danger


    Momo had a very strong sense of danger because when New Zealand had suddenly changed, she was only four years old, and this was the time when a child¡¯s personality started to form. Momo really had not had the intent to kill just now; she only wanted to stall this group of people here. Even when she had to face off against four LV2s and fell into a disadvantageous position, Momo still thought the same way. However, after getting poisoned, the chord that called ¡®danger¡¯ inside her heart was strummed.


    She was poisoned, and although the antidote that Nancy had concocted was useful against many poisons, it was also similarly ineffective against many others. Momo immediately judged that she had to win in a short period of time, otherwise she would really be in danger.


    If it continues like this, I will very likely die!


    After making such a judgment inside, Momo immediately revealed her little canines.


    Momo¡¯s energy had inclinations toward the soul, and it had the ability to exterminate spiritual beings. In reality, on Bai Yi¡¯s team, the one with the most fatal attacks was actually Momo. It was just that Momo had always been protected very well, and very rarely revealed herself in front of other people. The four opponents battling with Momo immediately felt the air around her change, and the little girl dashed toward them instantly, pointing her black sword towards Agnes.


    Scattering Butterfly Dance!


    The black sword flashed past, and a large patch of afterimages appeared in the air. Agnes couldn¡¯t imagine that not only would the poison not affect Momo but on the contrary, it made her attacks even sharper. After hurriedly avoiding the blade, before Agnes could feel the slightest sense of relief, four beautiful butterflies spread their wings from the afterimages of the blade and slowly flew up, magnificently gorgeous. Unfortunately, Momo only had four Spirit Devouring Butterflies left on her, otherwise, the scene would have been even more beautiful and even more deadly.


    What is this?


    Before Agnes could figure things out, the four Spirit Devouring Butterflies suddenly landed on her body. A pain hundreds of times more intense than a wasp¡¯s sting spread through her body, and Agnes immediately screamed pitifully, her hands furiously scratching her body in a panic, trying to stop the pain. This was real damage to the soul; the kind of pain that arose from the soul was absolutely incomparable to the kind felt by the body.


    While Agnes was screaming miserably, Momo retracted her black sword for a moment and rapidly thrust forward. This was the true Wasp Sting, a variation on the thrust in her sword techniques.


    ¡®Ding!¡¯, it was Kawada that could react in time, and he hurriedly crossed two of his swords to block in front of Agnes. Actually, even though the four of them were working together with Alcott, they didn¡¯t really have a close relationship with each other. Or rather, they even hoped to see each other make fools of themselves or get injured. However, at this time, Kawada judged at that moment that if he still intended on watching the show, Agnes may not get off with just an injury, but truly die.


    ¡®Ding!¡¯, Kawada instantly felt a tremor work through his body all the way into his bones, and a powerful, piercing force immediately came from the black sword opposite him.


    ¡®Kacha!¡¯, the two swords blocking Momo¡¯s black sword immediately broke from their centers and fell to the ground.


    Wasp Sting: developed from the basic thrust in sword techniques, the piercing and attacking power of it at a single point made it the strongest sword skill in the arsenal of Bai Yi¡¯s team now.


    Kawada and Momo both grunted at the same time. Kawada looked at the blood gradually leaking out of a small point on his chest and sucked in a breath of cold air. If not for the two swords blocking for him, he probably wouldn¡¯t have gotten off with such a small injury. As for Momo, she felt her breathing becoming obstructed at that moment. Sure enough, Nancy¡¯s antidote didn¡¯t have much effect against the special kind of poison that Agnes had.


    ¡°Damned brat! I¡¯m going to torture you to death today!¡± Agnes finally caught her breath and said sinisterly. Veins popped out and twitched on her face, and Agnes was apparently in a lot of pain. However, at this time, she trembled as she stretched out her right hand, and the colored patches on her slowly brightened. Air bubbles slowly rose out from them, looking like they were going to explode at any moment. Even her three companions were stunned when they saw this and immediately retreated backward.


    They could still resist the kind of poison she¡¯d used previously, but they had to avoid this kind of poison.


    Agnes actually didn¡¯t die; was the number of Spirit Devouring Butterflies too few? Momo had to deal the final blow herself, but¡­ She suppressed the discomfort in her heart and brought out her ruthlessness.


    Spirit Devour!


    The Spirit Devouring Butterflies grew by consuming souls in the first place, but a single butterfly¡¯s spirit devouring ability wasn¡¯t very strong. The Spirit Devouring Butterflies could survive in Wellington because of their large numbers. However, at this time, the four Spirit Devouring Butterflies received Momo¡¯s orders and immediately started to devour Agnes¡¯s soul in a frenzy.


    Agnes, who was still cursing initially, instantly clutched her head in pain and fell to the ground, panting heavily, but she couldn¡¯t even manage to scream now. Looking at Agnes¡¯s miserable appearance, the rest of them felt a lingering fear inside as well. At this time, Momo considered Agnes with an incomparably icy look on her face.


    In a few short seconds, Agnes slowly stopped twitching as her hands continued to clutch at her head.


    At this time, the four Spirit Devouring Butterflies slowly flew up from Agnes¡¯s body. The four butterflies now seemed like they had eaten too much, and appeared to be a little plump. Although the plump butterflies still looked quite pretty, Momo knew that she won¡¯t be able to use them temporarily.


    Agnes¡¯s team members looked at the battlefield from afar, and shouted in fear, ¡°Boss, hey boss, what happened to you!?¡± These people wanted to approach but were scared of getting attacked, so they were very hesitant.


    ¡°Just what kind of ability is this?¡± Basses and the two others looked at Momo in shock.


    ¡°Probably something like a parasite.¡± Julian thought of the things that Woolf and the others had encountered.


    ¡°Who cares what ability it is! Let¡¯s move quickly, we¡¯ve already delayed for a very long time. Anyway, she¡¯s poisoned too; the faster we settle this, the faster we can leave.¡± Kawada felt a sense of danger at this time as well.


    However, before the few of them could act, Momo¡¯s actions grew even faster. Sensing the changes in her body, Momo knew that the poison was even more powerful than she had initially thought; the longer this dragged on, the more of a disadvantage she would be at. The black sword went back into its sheath and Momo breathed deeply. The kind of heavy atmosphere around her caused everybody to subconsciously feel oppressed.


    Kawada saw Momo¡¯s movements and immediately grew alarmed. Shit! Kawada instantly shot out, drew his two remaining swords, and took a defensive pose.


    ¡°Dodge!¡± Kawada roared loudly, and his four swords tilted toward the same direction.


    Four Sword Style: Hurricane!


    Break: Great Shockwave!


    ¡®Zheng!¡¯, three shockwaves immediately collided with a huge hurricane made out of sword qi. The intense air flow and cutting attacks instantly wreaked havoc on the surroundings. Huge gashes appeared in the vegetation around them, and the land within a 100 meter radius looked just like a giant mixer. After dozens of seconds, the chaos calmed down, and everyone realized that in a 100 meter plus radius around them, various large trees looked like they had gone through a blender, and laid messily all around in broken pieces.


    At this time, ¡®kacha!¡¯ sounds suddenly came from the four swords in Kawada¡¯s hands, and all of them broke. On his body, three gigantic wounds split open, and blood flowed out profusely from them. Looking at the little girl forcing herself to stand up opposite him, a trace of unwillingness flashed through his eyes.


    I lost!


    But Kawada was very unresigned with his loss; this time it was completely because of his weapons being far too inferior.


    However, the thinking of the little girl opposite him was really risky. Under normal circumstances, if somebody got poisoned, then they would temporarily retreat; but Momo¡¯s attack just now had actually been planned to exterminate everyone before the threat to her life erupted. Kawada used swords as well, and he could sense that Momo had been targeting everyone here with her strike just now.


    At this time, Basses and Julian climbed up miserably and swallowed their saliva. Looking at the chaotic battlefield, they were really speechless with shock. Although they had barely managed to block the attack just now, they could only feel ashamed of themselves when they thought of their own strength. Both of them looked at Momo and Kawada subconsciously; there had been a time when they still snorted disdainfully at Kawada for practicing his sword skills tirelessly and diligently every day, but a sense of realization suddenly rose in their hearts now.


    They were already completely different from normal humans and stood at a higher stage of life, but they were still restricting their own potential with their old ways of thinking.


    Basses looked at his right hand, and high-temperature steam rose continuously from it. Initially, he was still very gleeful about his own ability, but from the looks of it now, his usage of his power was still at a very crude and rudimentary level.


    Julian looked at Momo holding onto her black sword unmovingly, and asked, ¡°What happened to her?¡±


    ¡°The poison has spread very deeply now; everybody knows that you should be quiet and calm down after getting poisoned. This kind of intense attack caused her blood circulation to rise rapidly, and spread the poison through her body even more quickly.¡± Kawada panted with large breaths.


    ¡°What do we do now, do we act?¡± Basses asked. At this time he actually became hesitant.


    ¡°Peter! Hey, Peter, what happened to you!?¡± A guy looked at the face of his companion, covered in blood, and shouted at him after climbing out from beneath a broken tree. When he didn¡¯t get a reply from his companion after a long time, he immediately screamed malevolently and dashed towards Momo. ¡°Kill you, I¡¯m gonna kill you!¡±


    Seeing Agnes¡¯s subordinate rush over, the three LV2s didn¡¯t know why, but they didn¡¯t stop him or try to get ahead of him. At the same time, a sense of wariness of Momo rose in the three of them.


    However, before this guy could reach Momo, a dark red light suddenly shot down from the sky. This ray of light pierced this guy instantly and heavily staked him into the ground. Kawada looked at the half of the blade revealed on the outside and subconsciously sucked in a breath of cold air.


    Red Kiss!


    Bai Yi¡¯s treasured sword, there was probably nobody among the evolved humans that did not know this by now.


    Alcott was incomparably familiar with this sword; no matter what, his level of familiarity with Bai Yi far exceeded that of anybody else here. After seeing this sword, a sense of despair rose instantly in Alcott¡¯s heart. I¡¯m finished. Bai Yi caught up with us in just the short while of getting stalled here.


    However, where was Bai Yi?


    Just when everybody thought of this, a gust of wind suddenly blew down from the sky, and all of them couldn¡¯t help but close their eyes. When they opened their eyes again, they found Bai Yi standing on top of Red Kiss¡¯s hilt, and a dark, crystal-like pair of wings behind his back slowly folded in onto themselves. In his pair of eyes was a soul-shivering iciness.

 Chapter 197

    Chapter 197: The Cruel Bai Yi


    Bai Yi stood on top of the sword hilt stabbed vertically into the ground, his gaze sweeping through everyone there. All of them subconsciously swallowed a gulp of saliva. Even those who had been screaming in pain before from their injuries in the battle all shut their mouths now, fearing to attract Bai Yi¡¯s attention with any sound. Unknowingly, the feeling of intimidation that Bai Yi brought about grew stronger and stronger, not just because of his status, but also due to the gap in strength among those present.


    ¡°Bai Yi¡­!¡±


    ¡®Pa ta!¡¯, there was the soft sound of something hitting the forest floor, and Bai Yi immediately turned his head toward Momo. He had been too far away just now, so he thought that she had only suffered some mild injuries, but he immediately grew alarmed when she collapsed. In a flash, Bai Yi immediately appeared next to Momo and supported her body. However, the first thing that drew the attention of his eyes were Momo¡¯s discolored lips.


    Poison!


    Now¡¯s the time!


    ¡°RUN!¡± Kawada suddenly roared, but he himself did not make any movements.


    Hearing Kawada¡¯s shout, the group of people who had initially been stifled by Bai Yi¡¯s pressure immediately reacted. Before, there had only been Momo, who rarely showed herself, and even then she managed to push them to this extent. With the addition of Bai Yi now, they clearly didn¡¯t even have to wonder about the battle¡¯s outcome; it would only end in their complete defeat. If Bai Yi managed to keep them here, they would probably all be finished.


    The majority of people here were too jumpy from being suffocated by Bai Yi¡¯s pressure and lost their own individual thoughts about things. They didn¡¯t even think about the consequences and their bodies started to move automatically after hearing Kawada¡¯s ¡®run¡¯. Sure enough, at the moment the remaining people started running, Bai Yi picked up Red Kiss and swung towards the guy that ran the fastest.


    At this time, Kawada shouted again, ¡°Alcott, keep the Tranquil Grass safe and we¡¯ll meet up later!¡±


    Bai Yi naturally looked into the crowd to search for Alcott¡¯s figure. Meanwhile, Kawada instantly ran toward the direction of a slope without caring about the injuries on his body. However, even at a time like this, Kawada¡¯s speed wasn¡¯t the fastest but mixed himself in among the chaotic crowd.


    Bai Yi looked at the chaotic crowd and coldly and severely said, ¡°Stop now!¡±


    ¡°I SAID STOP!¡±


    Bai Yi¡¯s mood was already terrible enough, and now he completely lost all his patience for being courteous. Seeing that nobody listened to his words, he immediately grabbed both Red Kiss and Black Underworld. Momo was just beside him, so Bai Yi didn¡¯t try to chase after them. He only retracted both swords for a moment and then instantly swung them both outward in a cross.


    Double Edge!


    With a buzzing sound, two crescent-shaped strikes instantly shot out, spreading outward like a ripple. This circular ripple instantly flew more than a hundred meters. The people who were still trying to run away immediately cried  out miserably. Bai Yi¡¯s attack wasn¡¯t just a warning; he sent the strike flying very close along the ground, parallel to it. Other than a few of them who were in lucky positions and managed to dodge Bai Yi¡¯s sword qi, the rest of them had their legs split in half horizontally.


    In an instant, wretched screams filled the air, and everyone writhed on the ground, holding their dismembered legs and wailing in pain.


    ¡°Shut up,¡± Bai Yi shouted coldly again.


    However, the kind of pain inflicted by having one¡¯s legs cut off wasn¡¯t something that could be tolerated just because one wanted to; even with Bai Yi¡¯s shout, many of them were still screaming in agony. At this time, Bai Yi headed straight for one of the guys screaming the loudest, grabbing this guy by the neck with his left hand and plunged Red Kiss slowly into his heart with the right.


    ¡°I told you guys to shut up.¡± A malevolent look appeared on Bai Yi¡¯s face.


    With Red Kiss slowly plunging into his heart, a look of terror appeared on this guy¡¯s face, and he squirmed around uncontrollably from the pain, but not a single sound escaped from his mouth due to the overwhelming fear. The rest of them looked at his miserable state and covered their mouths tightly, fearing to attract Bai Yi over toward them if they made the slightest noise.


    Too cruel!


    A mysterious sense of terror rose in all those who were still alive. In the eyes of the outside world, Bai Yi was actually an extremely good-natured person, and he very rarely got angry either. However, at this time, all of them suddenly felt indescribably shocked at the cruelty and apathy that Bai Yi showed.


    Nobody would ever stay unchanging; perhaps Bai Yi really had been very good-natured before, but now, within that good-naturedness was a concealed, cold resoluteness. Moreover, Bai Yi was really in a horrible mood now. Woolf and the squad had been infected by parasites, the development of the Tranquil Grass potion had shown no progress, and Momo fell unconscious after getting poisoned. Regardless of which issue it was, the result was that Bai Yi was unable to calm down. The fact that he didn¡¯t take the lives of all these thieves with his first strike was already him retaining enough of his rationality.


    ¡°Very obedient!¡± Bai Yi said softly, and stopped Red Kiss¡¯s progress.


    ¡®Puchi!¡¯, Bai Yi pulled Red Kiss out from the guy¡¯s chest. Although bright red blood flowed profusely from the hole in his chest, the guy¡ªwho Bai Yi released¡ªbreathed deeply and heavily, feeling like he had just barely escaped death.


    ¡°Alcott!¡± Bai Yi looked at Alcott crawling on the ground in the distance.


    ¡°How did Momo get poisoned? Where¡¯s the antidote?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°You must promise not to kill me¡­¡±


    ¡°Try and negotiate with me and you can just die right now!¡± Bai Yi¡¯s Reverse Flower Eyes abruptly glared down at him. The intense intimidation instantly caused the words that Alcott wanted to say to become jammed inside his throat. Bai Yi wasn¡¯t joking around; from his actions just now, it was obvious that he was really in a very foul mood. Bai Yi would probably kill him with a swing of his sword if he tried anything else.


    ¡°It¡¯s Agnes¡¯s poison, her subordinates should have the antidote,¡± Alcott immediately answered.


    Bai Yi looked around among the ones still alive, and one of them immediately rolled over and shouted loudly, ¡°I have it with me! Team leader¡¯s poison is very powerful; we are quite afraid of getting poisoned accidentally too, so we carry the basic antidotes on us.¡± This guy crawled on the ground while slowly taking out a packet of medicinal powder.


    ¡°Is it effective?¡± Bai Yi took a few steps and appeared in front of this guy in a flash.


    ¡°Yes, yes! Team leader didn¡¯t use her most powerful poison just now, only her basic poison gas.¡± This guy nodded hurriedly, deeply afraid that Bai Yi would slaughter them all if anything happened to Momo now. Bai Yi received the medicinal powder and sniffed it, before looking at this guy¡ªReverse Flower Eyes!


    ¡°Is this really the antidote?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s the antidote.¡±


    ¡°How do you use this?¡±


    ¡°Just pour the powder into the mouth and consume it with blood; the effect is better than consuming it with water.¡±


    It isn¡¯t meant to taken with water? Bai Yi was slightly taken aback. After confirming that it was the antidote, Bai Yi immediately made a cut on his arm with Red Kiss and poured the antidote into Momo¡¯s mouth, preparing to feed her. However, Momo had already fallen unconscious at this time; the moment Bai Yi¡¯s blood fell into her mouth, she almost gagged from the smell of it. Bai Yi didn¡¯t try to avoid arousing suspicion at this time and directly fed Momo the antidote mouth to mouth.


    At this time, the guy who had taken out the antidote suddenly snapped out of his daze, almost like he just abruptly woke up.


    Reverse Flower Eyes, Bai Yi used his Reverse Flower Eyes just now! Thinking back on Bai Yi¡¯s question, this guy couldn¡¯t help but secretly feel relieved that he hadn¡¯t intended to lie just now, otherwise he would probably already be dead.


    ¡°You guys can tend to your wounds, but nobody is allowed to leave,¡± Bai Yi said, and he started to treat Momo¡¯s wounds by himself. Momo didn¡¯t just get poisoned in the previous battle; while clashing with Kawada, she also sustained many wounds to her body. The rest of them heard Bai Yi¡¯s words and started to quietly treat their wounds. There were some muted grunts from time to time, but nobody dared to actually scream out loud.


    At this time, almost none of them managed to escape except for one person. This was the guy who had shouted for them to run at the start, and called for Alcott to take the Tranquil Grass to attract Bai Yi¡¯s attention¡ªKawada Machida. Right now, this guy slowly rolled down along a slope off to one side, heading toward a creek that was about two meters across. Although it was small, in the eyes of this guy it was his chance to flee.


    Bai Yi was occupied and worried about Momo¡¯s injuries, and didn¡¯t even ask about the Tranquil Grass, so he didn¡¯t notice Kawada¡¯s little plot either. When Bai Yi finally came to his senses, that guy had already disappeared without a trace. Soon after that, Momo finally opened her eyes, and Bai Yi let out a big sigh of relief.


    ¡°Thank heavens!¡±


    Bai Yi hugged Momo gently, letting himself feel a deep fear now that everything was over. Although Alodia had said that Momo was the one most suitable for the shadowing mission, Bai Yi had still been very worried all along. Especially when he had seen Momo collapse; his heart had almost stopped beating, and that was why his methods were so cruel then.


    ¡°Daddy!¡±


    When she woke up, Momo immediately and anxiously said, ¡°Tranquil Grass!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, everything¡¯s fine now,¡± Bai Yi said softly. Hearing his words, Momo also slowly relaxed. Although she had only been poisoned for a while, the poison had invaded her body very deeply due to her risky decision earlier. Even if she took the antidote, she probably had to rest for a period of time now.


    ¡°Alcott, the Tranquil Grass is with you, right?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°En, it¡¯s with me.¡± Alcott didn¡¯t make any other movements and just appeared to be very listless. Bai Yi looked at Alcott and slowly shook his head; he didn¡¯t denounce him, but rather just glanced at the bag behind Alcott. A sigh¡ªthat encapsulated the entirety of Bai Yi¡¯s mood now.


    Alcott initially thought that Bai Yi would say something, but in the end, he only received a sigh, and somehow that made him feel even more dispirited.


    ¡­


    Not long after, the rest of them reached this place as well and saw the numerous injured people lying all over, along with Bai Yi sitting quietly beside Momo. All of them finally relaxed after seeing this. The medical team and the rest of them went through all the survivors methodically, and after doing a headcount they realized that there was one guy that managed to escape.


    ¡°That so?¡± Bai Yi was unexpectedly calm and only said these simple two words after hearing this news.

 Chapter 198

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 Chapter 199

    Chapter 199: Conversation


    Lucretia kept her gratitude in her heart; there wasn¡¯t a need to emphasize just how valuable something that could enhance the strength of the absolute life field was. Even if the poison inside Woolf¡¯s body was from the poisons contained within the Hundred Flavor Extreme Poison Sushi, Bai Yi could have just told her about the few poisonous ingredients and kept the complete recipe a secret.


    Things were much better after getting a lead toward the solution, and Lucretia immediately started conducting tests with this direction in mind. They tried out the eight types of poisons that Bai Yi had used in his cooking first, and other natural poisons after that. Before long, they managed to come up with a precise formula that could effectively kill the parasites, which they had named Iron Hookworms.


    However, even though they managed to kill the parasites, the Iron Hookworms struggled vigorously in the hosts¡¯ bodies when they were on the verge of dying, and caused all those infected unimaginable pain. Those with slightly weaker constitutions immediately foamed at the mouth and fainted; if they weren¡¯t sure that this method was effective, nobody would have dared to use it.


    Although they were terribly tortured, all of them felt joy while suffering. It was a great blessing to be able to kill those parasites, and they felt this especially so after looking at the few guys in the worst conditions. A mature Iron Hookworm was more than 20 centimeters long, yellowish-black in color, and had a hooked, forked tail at the end of its body. It was easy to imagine that some of them had dozens of these worms in their bodies; it would require a miracle for them to recover from something like this.


    ¡­


    ¡°Damn it! I¡¯m going to even puke my intestines out at this rate! This is so damn disgusting!¡± Woolf grumbled with a pale face, looking at the small Iron Hookworms writhing about on the verge of death in his vomit.


    ¡°You are already considered quite lucky; the ones with the worst conditions already had the Iron Hookworms digging into other parts of their bodies, and not just in their intestines. Although they can kill the Iron Hookworms after taking the poison-type medicine, how to expel the worms from their bodies is another problem. A few of them have died themselves before they could completely kill the worms,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Their brains; the worms had dug into their brains,¡± Bai Yi reminded him solemnly. He had seen the ones in the worst conditions himself; the hosts had still been alive when the Iron Hookworms crawled out from their ears and noses, and some had even dug their way inside their eyeballs. Those kinds of frenzied and miserable shrieks still made him shiver inside even now. That was definitely much more terrifying than dying from a blade.


    Woolf vomited noisily again, then suddenly held onto his belly and ran toward the toilet at the back. After a while, he came out again, and looked completely exhausted like all the energy had been drained from his body. ¡°I¡¯ll never go into the water again!¡± Woolf said seriously.


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Bai Yi started laughing loudly; no matter what, they had a solution now, and he could finally breathe a sigh of relief. What was a little bit of pain?


    After solving the problem of the parasites here, good news came from Nancy¡¯s side as well. Although their test subjects were coerced into undergoing metamorphosis, the potion that Nancy and the rest had created was indeed effective. The success rate of metamorphosis was as high as 80%, and the amount of Tranquil Grass consumed was less than half of what was needed normally.


    However, even if the amount consumed was less than half, it was still not enough. Nobody dared to continue going into the water to collect Tranquil Grass anymore, so they had to develop an even more effective Tranquil Medicament.


    ¡­


    While Nancy and the other Medicinal Makers were busy researching an even more effective Tranquil Medicament, Bai Yi was also testing his own body. Specifically, the two things he had noticed before¡ªbreathing while his body was underwater in the lake, and the few steps where he had floated on top of the lake while jumping in.


    A deep and forthright voice sounded, ¡°This won¡¯t do. You would indeed have the ability to suck and stick to the surface by controlling the energy inside your body, but the water flow is formless; to let the water¡¯s surface support the weight of your body you would need to control a very large volume of water. As of now, the range over which we can control energy is still only within the range of our absolute life field, which is within our bodies. Although we can manipulate energy within a certain area around our bodies, you should also know that that is just the residual light released by our absolute life field, and not that our absolute life field has managed to extend outside of our bodies.¡±


    ¡°En, indeed. It¡¯s still impossible for me to stand still on the surface of the water; the most I can do is to run across the water like those martial arts experts in the old legends.¡± Bai Yi nodded as streams of air rolled around his body, and he gently stepped across the water to walk onto the shore.


    A guy squatting on top of a rock beside the lake said, ¡°I heard that there¡¯s Iron Hookworms inside the lake, aren¡¯t you scared of getting infected?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, since I already know about it I just have to be careful and it won¡¯t be a problem.¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t have to breathe underwater, and he could clearly sense the air around his body, so he was also very sensitive to any impurities in the water itself. Water dripped off Bai Yi¡¯s body now as he walked to the shore, but he didn¡¯t seem haggard in the slightest.


    Bai Yi looked at the tall guy squatting on top of the rock. ¡°You should be Augustine, right? The LV2 who appeared in the City of Graves back then and saved a lot of people.¡±


    ¡°Ahahahaha! Actually, it¡¯s not as impressive as you put it!¡± Augustine started laughing loudly and shyly scratched the back of his head.


    ¡°No matter what, I should still say a word of thanks. If not for you then there would probably be a lot fewer evolved humans now.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that, you¡¯re making me sound like an outsider!¡±


    Bai Yi went along with Augustine¡¯s words. ¡°Haha, sorry! Actually, to speak of it, we really aren¡¯t too different. You guys could be considered to be our elders.¡±The two of them observed each other seriously; one of them was a LV2 that had escaped from a research facility early on, and the other was a leader that had emerged after the sudden change in New Zealand. Their auras collided together uncontrollably; it was completely the natural reaction that somebody would have upon seeing an opponent.


    A soft ¡®pa!¡¯ sounded in the air, and both of their auras relaxed at the same time.


    Augustine was slightly taken aback. He had entered LV2 way back in that research facility, but he couldn¡¯t gain an inch in the clash of their auras just now. Just how did this guy raise his strength?!


    ¡°It¡¯s very unexpected that you would appear in a place like this. You should be looking for me for something, right?¡±


    ¡°Actually, it¡¯s nothing much. I just heard that it was pretty lively here, so I came over and took a look,¡± Augustine said.


    ¡°Oh, really?¡± Bai Yi casually sat on a rock as well, and lost the serious look that he normally had.


    ¡°Oh, right. I heard that you guys are planning to return to the human world?¡±


    ¡°En, we are planning to do this. Do you have some suggestions?¡± Bai Yi looked at Augustine. As a being that had already been LV2 from the start, he must have had a very different experience over these five years.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have suggestions, but I think I should tell you about some things,¡± Augustine said.


    ¡°I¡¯m all ears,¡± Bai Yi said seriously.


    ¡°Do you know how many experimental subjects there were in the whole of New Zealand?¡±


    ¡°Around two hundred to three hundred thousand, I guess?¡± Bai Yi recalled the information he had gotten from Martin and Yeye a while back.


    ¡°Then do you know how many experimental subjects managed to escape?¡±


    Bai Yi shook his head. ¡°That I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Probably around twenty to thirty thousand. Oh, I¡¯m talking about those that successfully escaped the research facilities and entered New Zealand¡¯s environment. Of course, I¡¯m also one of them. Oh, by the way, I escaped from Tongariro National Park Research Facility, to speak of it. I still really have to thank you. If not for you guys, I probably would have already starved to death by now. Hahahaha!¡± Augustine laughed loudly.


    Bai Yi was slightly surprised hearing his words; he didn¡¯t expect that they were the ones who let Augustine out.


    ¡°But do you know how many experimental subjects are still alive now?¡± Augustine¡¯s tone suddenly became very low.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Less than 20.¡± Augustine looked at Bai Yi. Bai Yi didn¡¯t interrupt him either, but waited silently for Augustine to explain.


    ¡°There were more than twenty thousand experimental subjects that escaped from the research facilities at first, but the humans that still retained their rationality only numbered three to four thousand. In addition, at that time, they were all at the LV1-2 or LV1-3 stages. It¡¯s really regretful; although you guys released some ways to control the berserk state, for them it was too late. Most of them basically failed in metamorphosis,¡± Augustine said.


    ¡°2.31%!¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m talking about the success rate of entering LV2 inside the research facilities, which also held for your batch of experimental subjects. It¡¯s probably not too different for those people; even if it was higher it wouldn¡¯t be by much,¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°En, that¡¯s indeed the case. The success rate of them entering LV2 was slightly higher, but it wasn¡¯t much higher either. Most of them became LV2.1 defective products, and me and a few friends killed them afterwards.¡± Augustine looked at Bai Yi, his eyes incomparably cold and detached.


    Bai Yi shook in his heart; killed!


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Really, what kind of look is that? Not only did you not thank us, but you even have a look of hostility. Think about it seriously: what kind of standard were you guys at back then, and what kind of standard were those LV2.1 defective products at? If we didn¡¯t kill them, then most of you would have definitely died after meeting them. I don¡¯t like to do this at all, but I have to admit that your bunch of evolved humans are the main group in New Zealand now. If there could be any changes, they would definitely happen to you guys, like now,¡± Augustine said seriously.


    Only now did Bai Yi suddenly recall things. They really hadn¡¯t meet many experimental subjects along the way. He had initially thought that it was because New Zealand was too big and had a low population; but unexpectedly, it was because Augustine and his group had been killing off all those overly savage creatures.


    ¡°Thank you!¡± Bai Yi nodded seriously.


    ¡°No need, no need. Actually, I don¡¯t know if what I did was correct either; I just thought of it that way back then and followed through with it. The reason I came here today is actually to collect some Tranquil Grass and transplant it somewhere else. This stuff is extremely useful to all evolved lifeforms, but other places haven¡¯t discovered something like it yet,¡± Augustine said.


    Bai Yi smiled. ¡°Is that so? I have this intention too.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right, there¡¯s still one more thing. You guys intend to return to the human world, right? Actually, over these five years, many people returned to the human world, including a batch of experimental subjects that returned at first. Some wanted to live a quiet and peaceful life, some wanted to take revenge, but their endings weren¡¯t good at all. There isn¡¯t much goodwill in the outside world toward evolved humans and lifeforms now,¡± Augustine reminded Bai Yi at the end, carrying a big bunch of Tranquil Grass in his hands.


    ¡°Thanks a lot!¡±


    ¡°Remember to contact me if you guys manage to find a safe place. I¡¯ll just stay in the Devil Isles for now then.¡± Augustine carried the bunch of Tranquil Grass away and very quickly disappeared from this place.

 Chapter 200

    Chapter 200: It¡¯s Been Five Years


    Apparently, Augustine¡¯s appearance was the last unexpected event, and he didn¡¯t even interact with anybody else but instead disappeared after those few words with Bai Yi. After Augustine disappeared, Alodia ran over from one side and looked at Bai Yi angrily.


    ¡°Uncle Bai, really! Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t know that there are Iron Hookworms in the lake? Why are you doing something so dangerous!?¡± Alodia lectured Bai Yi. After Bai Yi had rejected her kiss the previous time, Alodia hadn¡¯t said anything either and had only started to take care of Bai Yi¡¯s daily activities even more meticulously. Bai Yi hurriedly apologized, and his easy-going appearance made Alodia unable to continue lecturing him, even if she wanted to. However, she didn¡¯t know what had happened just now at all.


    ¡­


    Without the secret schemers, and without the parasites, everything else seemed to proceed on track from then on. All their resources were devoted to the development of the Tranquil Medicament, and all the effort finally produced results.


    The Tranquil Medicament produced decent results during all the batches of tests. The failure rate was still quite high at the start, but after a few improvements, the success rate basically reached at least 80%. Although there was still a chance of failure, nobody could complain either. The research and development of any drug was an extremely complicated process, and everyone knew that it was already very good to have produced such a result.


    In the end, they still didn¡¯t have enough Tranquil Grass, so Bai Yi and a few others went into the lake to collect some more again. Although they already had the poison composition to counter the Iron Hookworms, everyone had still developed a kind of phobia toward going into the water.


    Although the development of the Tranquil Medicament was a success, Betsy and the others were on the contrary somewhat disappointed. To them, successfully completing metamorphosis wasn¡¯t a problem; what they had wanted was a way to make up for their deficiencies and undergo a perfect metamorphosis. However, the effects of this medicine were already clear now, and it didn¡¯t have the effect they were hoping for. Although they were disappointed, Betsy and the others didn¡¯t really display it on the surface either. Actually, they were still quite glad inside; no matter what, the success of this medicine was a good thing for everybody.


    As for those companions who had failed in metamorphosis and completely lost their minds, they didn¡¯t kill them either and only expelled them out of the area. Hopefully, they would have the chance to recover one day.


    The most important thing now was that these 1,400 plus people who had entered LV2 could now completely control their emotions and rationality, and they would never lose control and go berserk again. They could now finally try going back to the human world.


    After everyone entered the Metamorphose Stage, Bai Yi immediately gathered the ten plus leaders among the evolved humans and started to discuss this problem in detail. Nobody objected to the general goal of returning to the human world, but how to go about doing this exactly wasn¡¯t a simple issue.


    Bai Yi sat in the main seat and started speaking first, ¡°Anybody has any opinions? Feel free to speak up.¡±


    Bright hesitated for a while before standing out to speak after Bai Yi asked. ¡°Australia isn¡¯t too far from New Zealand: it¡¯s only about 2,250 kilometers away. If it was before, it would be an easy thing to reach Australia by either plane or ship, but it¡¯s very difficult now. Firstly, we can consider the airplane, but we can basically eliminate that option. Maybe some of us here have some knowledge about airplane construction, but probably none of us are some kind of professional aerospace engineer. Furthermore, we don¡¯t have the conditions required to build an airplane in the first place. Secondly, there¡¯s the sea route¡­¡±


    These issues were actually quite common sense ones, but since somebody brought them up, the others listened to them seriously as well.


    ¡°If we go by sea, that would also be very difficult. Activated cells spread from New Zealand first, so there must be many terrifying aquatic evolved lifeforms gathered around the waters of New Zealand. Normally speaking, the chances of meeting with these aquatic creatures aren¡¯t high, but once we met them we would be very down on our luck. However, I have never seen any seaborne evolved lifeforms before, so I don¡¯t have much of a direct impression of them,¡± Bright said, and shook his head.


    Truman chuckled and said, ¡°Aquatic evolved lifeforms, haven¡¯t we seen them before? There¡¯s so many in Lake H¨¡wea, many of us saw them before while collecting the Tranquil Grass.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s really just at that level, we really don¡¯t have to worry, hahahaha!¡±


    ¡°To speak about it, we have all basically been operating on land; we really haven¡¯t seen many seaborne evolved lifeforms. Even back in New Christchurch, I only saw a land shark once, and it was about 20 plus meters long.¡± After somebody started the topic, everyone else started noisily joining in the discussion. After getting through metamorphosis, everyone¡¯s moods seemed to become much more relaxed.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t try to put on airs and make everybody behave seriously, but just rested his chin on his left palm, and said casually, ¡°Too small!¡±


    ¡°What is too small?¡± Lucretia asked.


    Bai Yi smiled and said, ¡°I mean that land shark back then was too small. Other than that, I would advise you guys not to compare the aquatic creatures in Lake H¨¡wea to the aquatic creatures in the sea. Perhaps the stage of evolution of the activated cells would be similar, but the aquatic evolved lifeforms in the sea have a natural advantage in size. The kind of impact from facing off against their gigantic size, you would only know it if you saw it for yourself.¡±


    Another guy heard Bai Yi saying this and couldn¡¯t help but ask curiously, ¡°To think of it, I heard that your team seemed to face a seaborne evolved lifeform before; what was it like?¡±


    ¡°That¡­ wasn¡¯t a pleasant experience.¡± Bai Yi chuckled bitterly.


    The rest of them got curious as well. ¡°Tell us. At least we would have a better impression of what to expect.¡±


    ¡°OK, I¡¯ll tell you guys.¡± Bai Yi raised his hands in surrender without any trace of the airs or arrogance of a leader.


    ¡°Actually, at the start, my team was only active on the North Island of New Zealand, but we ended up crossing the Cook Strait to come to the South Island. Unfortunately, in the end, after just a few dozen kilometers of travel, we met with a seaborne evolved lifeform; it was a gigantic golden sea serpent.¡± Bai Yi gave in to everyone¡¯s request and started to talk about their experiences back then, letting those who had never seen a seaborne evolved lifeform have a better impression of them in their minds.


    ¡°Sea serpent? How big was it?¡±


    ¡°This¡­ I don¡¯t know how long it was exactly, but I would estimate it to be more than a hundred meters long. Just the diameter of the cross-section of its body was close to ten meters wide.¡± Bai Yi drew a circle with his right hand in the hall. Everyone was stunned upon hearing his words, and suddenly Truman started to laugh out loud.


    ¡°Hahahaha, Bai Yi, you are joking right!? I might have believed you if you said that it was a whale of that size, but for a sea serpent to be so huge¡­¡± Truman was still laughing at the start, but very quickly he couldn¡¯t laugh anymore because Bai Yi wasn¡¯t laughing.


    Bai Yi only said softly, ¡°I¡¯m serious!¡±


    Truman couldn¡¯t laugh anymore; his face couldn¡¯t help but turn serious, and he sat up straight to listen to Bai Yi explain in detail. The rest of them were more or less the same; seemingly, seaborne evolved lifeforms were much more terrifying than they had imagined.


    ¡°We were riding in a heavy cargo ship back then, weighing 25,000 tons, and more than 180 meters long. That sea serpent took the cargo ship as its prey and wrapped around the ship itself a few times. Honestly speaking, at that time all of us thought that we were dead for sure. To be able to survive in the end, a large part of it was really due to luck.¡± Bai Yi slowly described their experiences back then.


    When they heard that Bai Yi had actually fought inside the mouth of the Sea Serpent Emperor, all of them swallowed their saliva. If his luck had been just a bit worse, wouldn¡¯t he have been crushed into meat paste?


    ¡°It¡¯s just like what I said before: their stage of evolution might be similar to ours, but when it comes to body size, these seaborne evolved lifeforms have an absolute advantage over us, especially in the sea itself. Many of you guys haven¡¯t been LV2 for long, so you probably aren¡¯t too familiar with the changes in the Metamorphose Stage. When you reach LV2, you can control matter through the use of the absolute life field. Rose, you can control water, right?¡± Bai Yi looked at a girl.


    The girl who got called was surprised for a moment before nodding. ¡°Oh, yeah!¡±


    ¡°Can you demonstrate it a bit?¡±


    ¡°OK.¡± Rose nodded and pointed her hand at the teacup in front of her. From more than ten centimeters away, the tea inside the teacup starting spinning and turned into a ball of water.


    ¡°You guys saw it as well: control of matter. What do you guys think, would there be a LV2 seaborne evolved lifeform that could control water? There don¡¯t have to be many of them; it would be very bad even if we met just one,¡± Bai Yi said. All those seated here were smart people; Bai Yi didn¡¯t have to elaborate more on what ¡®very bad¡¯ meant.


    ¡°To summarize, we need to find a suitable mode of transport¡ªheavy cargo ships, and definitely not just one, as that is too dangerous. New Zealand had a navy, right? Does anybody know where the fleet was based? Other than that, we can¡¯t recklessly jump into Australia like this; at the very least, we must understand the attitude of the outside world towards us evolved humans. Hence, going ahead to scout for information is very necessary¡­¡± Bai Yi slowly said. He minded what Augustine had said quite a lot¡ªthat the human world didn¡¯t have much goodwill toward evolved humans.


    ¡°Navy ships, right? I do have some knowledge.¡± Somebody raised his hand to express that he knew some information.


    With Bai Yi¡¯s explanation, all of them raised their level of caution and didn¡¯t have relaxed and carefree looks on their faces anymore. All of them started to seriously discuss how to return to the human world, and other related matters.


    ¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s been five years!¡± Bai Yi stood by the seaside, gazing at the vast ocean. In that direction was Australia.


    Behind Bai Yi were Momo and Sharpei, and even further behind them were more than 1,400 LV2 evolved humans gazing toward the direction of Australia. These evolved humans came in many strange shapes and appearances, and many of them were directly challenging the limits of human imagination. Who would know that these monsters had purely been humans before?


    Everyone looked across the sea, far into the distance, at the landmass that they couldn¡¯t see now. They were finally going to return to the normal human world; how would normal humans treat them?

 Chapter 201

    Chapter 201: On The Sea


    ¡°Not back yet!¡± Alodia said to Bai Yi.


    ¡°En!¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    Due to the information that Augustine had given him about humans in the outside world not bearing goodwill toward evolved humans, Bai Yi and the rest sent a few evolved humans over to check out the situation first. They could forget about getting an airplane; it was impossible to find something like that in New Zealand now, not even a broken one. Fortunately, there were still quite a few evolved humans that could fly like Bai Yi, and the distance of 2,000 plus kilometers wasn¡¯t really a problem for them.


    Of course, Bai Yi wouldn¡¯t go scout himself; no matter what, they couldn¡¯t let their leader go execute this kind of reconnaissance mission.


    They had already sent eight people out one after another on scouting missions, but not a single one had returned. It was impossible that it was because the elapsed time was too short, and the only possible reason was that they were unable to come back from that place. Over this period of time, Bai Yi and the rest had found two military naval vessels and three heavy cargo ships, and prepared them. At this time, heading to Australia had already become inevitable¡ªeven Bai Yi couldn¡¯t stop it now.


    Bai Yi and Alodia walked out. Outside were five huge ships and the rest of all the evolved humans, who had finished their preparations long ago. Looking at their eager eyes, full of anticipation and excitement, Bai Yi knew that it was impossible to stop them from heading to Australia now. Although he was their leader in name, he couldn¡¯t be like a military commander and really order the other evolved humans around.


    If he was hesitant when he had to make a decision, what awaited would only be a disaster!


    Bai Yi looked at everyone and said loudly, ¡°Set off!¡±


    ¡°OOHHHH!¡± The evolved humans below immediately cheered loudly and started to board the ships with great enthusiasm.


    Alodia looked at the excited faces of everyone boarding the ships and couldn¡¯t help but to crease her eyebrows. She had stayed by Bai Yi¡¯s side all the while and knew that he was actually very worried about this expedition to Australia, especially since none of the scouts had managed to return. However, Alodia also understood that probably not even Bai Yi could stop this bunch of people now. After metamorphosis, going back to the human world had become their drive and purpose.


    Two military ships and three heavy cargo ships, everyone boarded them accordingly and stared at the Devil Isles as the ships left. Various savage flying evolved lifeforms danced in the sky, feeling extremely curious about this group of evolved humans, and there was no lack of LV2s among them. However, these guys were still quite smart, they didn¡¯t dive down to attack the ships as they knew that doing so was equal to rushing to their deaths.


    The main warship started up, and the five ships started to slowly leave the Devil Isles. Even when they had travelled a long distance away, there were still many vicious sea birds circling in the sky, waiting for a chance. These flying birds or beasts were all of a huge size, and they normally preyed on sea creatures for food as well.


    Since they had already set off, it was too late to worry about the decision that had been made. Bai Yi stood silently at the head of the ship, waiting for the unknown future to arrive.


    At this time, this scene shocked all the countries, especially the Australian military. A fleet! There was actually a fleet of five ships leaving the Devil Isles. After comparing it with the data they had, they realized that two of the ships were actually warships that had originally belonged to New Zealand. Satellites managed to capture images of evolved humans on the warships, coming in all sorts of weird forms and shapes. The higher echelons of various countries immediately gathered to discuss how to deal with this fleet of evolved humans; a portion of them supported establishing contact with them first before doing anything else, while the other portion felt that they were all monsters and should be exterminated.


    In the end, the side that gained the advantage was still the one that supported establishing contact first, but very quickly these people were stumped by the new information reported by their subordinates.


    In the electronic conference room, various leaders appeared as holograms. ¡°Australia, where¡¯s the helicopter you guys sent out?¡±


    The wireless connections on Bai Yi¡¯s fleet of ships had all spoiled long ago; to establish contact with them, they first had to meet them face to face, and using helicopters was the best way. But¡­


    ¡°We aren¡¯t sending out a helicopter, it¡¯s completely meaningless to do so.¡± The Australian military representative rejected the idea without any emotion on his face.


    An old man immediately scolded loudly, ¡°Are you joking?! If we do not make contact with them directly now, it will be too late when they reach the coastline!¡±


    ¡°Mind your tone, Medun, you are not my superior,¡± the Australian military representative said coldly.


    ¡°Can I ask the reason behind Australia¡¯s refusal to send out a helicopter?¡± China¡¯s representative asked with a smile.


    ¡°Your country is very far from the Devil Isles, so you don¡¯t feel the pressure. But Australia is the closest continent to the Devil Isles, and we know just how dangerous they are. We haven¡¯t used any helicopters since over a year ago because doing so is just a completely meaningless sacrifice,¡± Australia¡¯s military representative said.


    One year ago was when the evolved lifeforms had started to enter LV2, and based on the Devil Isles¡¯ environment, helicopters wouldn¡¯t be able to fly near at all. Any random flying evolved lifeform that had a bit of strength could easily smash a helicopter with a swing of its claws. Precisely because of this reason, Australia had rejected using their helicopters.


    ¡°Just use them! It¡¯s just a few helicopters.¡±


    The Australian representative immediately became dissatisfied. ¡°¡¯Just a few helicopters; you really put it nicely.¡±


    The bunch of them started to wrangle with each other; everybody could tell that the Australian side really just wanted to use this incident to gain some benefit for themselves. Humans had always struggled and fought endlessly for the sake of benefits. It didn¡¯t matter that now everybody was split into individual countries; even if some world government was formed, there would probably still be infighting and power struggles between each department.


    In the end, the Australian military finally agreed to send two helicopters to make contact with the fleet. All of them closely monitored the helicopters through the satellite feed as they flew toward the fleet. Starting from Australia, there still weren¡¯t many flying evolved lifeforms at first, but the closer they approached the Devil Isles, the higher the chances were of meeting large-sized flying evolved lifeforms. Just when they watched the two helicopters almost approach Bai Yi¡¯s location, suddenly a gigantic, black-winged bird appeared and smashed the helicopters into pieces with a swipe of its claws.


    The group of world representatives stared at the scene shown on their screens. The giant black bird held the two helicopters in its mouth, but it seemed to despise the taste and spit them out.


    ¡°What a big black bird, it¡¯s really strong.¡± After a while, the people on the ships saw the giant black bird in the sky as well, and couldn¡¯t help but exclaim in shock. However, only a small portion of them could still remain relaxed; most of them were more on guard, in case this black bird wanted to turn them into its food too.


    ¡°A bunch of idiots.¡± Bai Yi smiled and walked two steps forward.


    Bai Yi immediately released the aura from his body, and said to the black bird circling in the sky, ¡°Please leave, we are only passing by.¡± Evolved lifeforms had assimilated with activated cells and had had their intelligence enhanced. After entering LV2, many evolved lifeforms could even learn human languages, such as Sharpei and Pupu. That was why Bai Yi would stand out and directly talk to the black bird.


    This black bird circled around two times in the sky before cawing twice and then dived into the sea with a flap of its wings. In the next moment, it surfaced again, clutching a strange fish a few meters in length.


    This black bird threw the strange fish from the sky and sent it flying toward Bai Yi. Bai Yi stretched out his right hand and used the Supporting Heaven Form of Tai Ji Fist to easily disperse the impact, then put the strange fish to one side.


    Bai Yi ignored the strange fish vigorously struggling by his side and said loudly, ¡°Thanks!¡±


    The black bird didn¡¯t continue to circle them, and after nodding at Bai Yi, it flapped its wings again and left this place rapidly, heading back toward the Devil Isles. This black bird didn¡¯t know human speech¡ªnot because its intelligence wasn¡¯t high enough, but because it hadn¡¯t managed to have much contact with human language. Seeing how Bai Yi casually resolved the impact from the strange fish, the black bird knew that it shouldn¡¯t try to continue to look for an opportunity anymore. Moreover, the auras of all these strange people weren¡¯t weak at all, and the black bird didn¡¯t dare to be careless either.


    ¡°Betsy, come and take a look! Is this fish edible?¡± Momo jogged over and said, pointing excitedly at the strange fish, which was more than four meters long.


    Bai Yi completely burst out laughing. Momo really had many sides to her personality now. When she was quiet, she would give off a reserved and serene air, noble and elegant like a princess; when battling, the air around her body would change to that of callous slaughter, just like a cold executioner; and when there was nothing to do normally, she would truly be a like a little kid, not liking to study but loving to play, and she was also a super huge glutton.


    Bai Yi knew that this was because the education and experiences that Momo had had were all quite extreme, causing her to have such a strange personality. Only after they managed to acquire a safe and secure life would Momo¡¯s personality finally settle down.


    Betsy observed for a while before confirming, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen this kind of fish before, but it should be edible. Let me think about how to cook this,¡± when Momo called her over.


    ¡°YAY!¡± Momo jumped up happily.


    Another guy jogged over and said loudly, ¡°Betsy, older sister Betsy, can we try as well?¡±


    Betsy clutched her forehead. ¡°This bunch of gluttons! If you want to eat fish, then go fish a few more up!¡± Perhaps it was a continuation of their habits from the Binging Stage, but Momo wasn¡¯t the only glutton here. If not for entering LV2 and the fact that her energy and stamina were both incomparable to before, she would probably die from exhaustion just from cooking.


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll go fishing now!¡± This guy immediately ran off somewhere else to fish with a few other gluttons after getting Betsy¡¯s approval. Momo followed them as well and looked at them curiously, while Sharpei still remained by her side as always. As for Chinchilla, he was even more excited than the rest and jumped about excitedly.


    Bai Yi looked at the bunch of them fooling around and an unconstrained and natural smile appeared at the corner of his lips.


    ¡­


    However, at this time, the bunch of people observing the situation from the satellite feed became very uneasy. Bai Yi could actually speak with the black bird, and moreover, it had given a strange fish to him!


    Could it be that this black bird was actually taking orders from them?

 Chapter 202

    Chapter 202: Accidentally Made History


    Although the five ships that Bai Yi and the rest were on could move, their movement really wasn¡¯t too fast or efficient. Being able to fix these few ships to such an extent was already very unexpected, and their initial estimates put the amount of time required to reach Australia at a few days. At the start, all of them were still quite worried that they would run into some unfortunate events along the way, but unexpectedly, the sailing was surprisingly smooth, and they didn¡¯t even encounter a powerful sea monster.


    This kind of good luck was inconceivable, even to Bai Yi; could it be that their luck was finally getting better?


    However, what he didn¡¯t know was that Australia had sent out helicopters four times; but every single time, the helicopters would be destroyed by various evolved lifeforms before they could make contact with Bai Yi¡¯s fleet. By now, the Australian military refused to send out any more helicopters because it was just like throwing meat buns at dogs; there would be no return once they sent any out. The highest commander of the Coastline Defense, Kerami, had even pushed the blame for these incidents onto Bai Yi and the others¡¯ heads.


    If not for them approaching with this fleet, how would they have lost so many helicopters?


    Of course, even though Kerami was angry, he still received the orders from his superiors and prepared to send more helicopters out to make contact with the fleet when they approached near enough. He was somebody in a high position, after all, so he still knew quite a lot of things.


    After sailing warily and on edge for a few days, Bai Yi and the rest finally approached the coastline of Australia in the early morning. None of them knew how to read a nautical map, so even though their general direction was correct, nobody actually knew where exactly along the coastline they would land. After finally seeing the coast in the distance, Bai Yi and everyone else became slightly emotional.


    That was Australia, the closest human region to the Devil Isles!


    ¡°There seem to be helicopters coming.¡± There were plenty of people with good eyesight on the five ships, and moreover, it was easy to get an unobstructed, panoramic view from the sea, so they could see the helicopters coming from a long distance away.


    ¡°Are they welcoming us, hahahaha!¡± Truman started laughing loudly.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go take a look.¡± A guy who could fly bravely volunteered, and started to fly over toward that direction.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go as well, I¡¯m not sure if we will scare them.¡± They were about to reach Australia¡¯s coast, and most of them were apparently quite excited. At this time, without Bai Yi¡¯s orders, the two guys who could fly immediately flew up and went to receive the helicopters. Everyone else stayed on deck and stared from a distance, hoping that they would bring back good news.


    However, the next scene immediately stunned everyone on board, and immense fury rose in all of them.


    The two evolved humans that flew over were immediately hit by something that flew in from the coast. These two guys practically turned into fireworks in midair in an instant without any ability to resist. Although the speed was too fast and none of them could see it clearly, they could more or less guess that it had to be something like a guided missile.


    Automatic Coastline Missile Guidance System!


    Australia was close to the Devil Isles; it could be said that this was the easiest place for evolved lifeforms to journey to. Land creatures couldn¡¯t go over the sea, and aquatic creatures couldn¡¯t come onto land, but it was different for flying creatures. Flying lifeforms had fast speeds and high mobility, and there had even been evolved humans who had turned into monsters coming to Australia to seek revenge before. All in all, because of various causes, the Australian coastline now had a very complete and thorough Automatic Coastline Missile Guidance System.


    This missile system¡¯s satellites automatically selected its targets and locked onto them, before controlling the weapon towers to fire missiles to intercept the targets. This system had already existed for a very long time, and the helicopters assigned to the coastline¡¯s defense all had their identification transponders, so there were never any problems. However, when those two guys rushed out toward the helicopters full of excitement and expectations, it became a huge problem.


    ¡°Hahaha¡­ BASTARDS!¡±


    ¡°Is this their attitude?!¡±


    After a moment of being stunned into silence, various furious voices cried out all over the place. Truman¡¯s laughter stuck in his throat, and anger immediately exploded after he registered what had happened. The eight scouts that they had sent out had all never returned; Truman knew what had probably happened as well, but he had tried to think positively in his heart. Perhaps they were received by the normal humans, or couldn¡¯t make it back for some other reason? However, the mishap of their two companions just now immediately let all of them confirm their guesses about what had happened to the previous scouts.


    Is this what he meant by saying normal humans did not bear much goodwill towards evolved lifeforms!?


    Bai Yi had initially thought that, at the very least, they would be able to communicate peacefully at first. However, he had never expected that something like this would happen the moment they approached by sea. Bai Yi raised his head slightly, hiding his own emotions, and suddenly opened his eyes.


    ¡°Go ashore!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t act first; maybe it was an accident, but be wary of anything that comes,¡± Bai Yi shouted loudly.


    They had to land on the shore first, otherwise, they would be stuck in a very passive position on the sea. As for whether it was war or peace, it really depended on the other side¡¯s attitude. Although everyone was quite agitated, Bai Yi¡¯s words still held a lot of sway; the situation so far could still be suppressed.


    At this time, in the command room, the highest commander of the Coastline Defense, Kerami, cursed loudly; who could tell him why the Automatic Coastline Missile Guidance System wasn¡¯t switched off?! Perhaps this wasn¡¯t anybody¡¯s intentional mistake; after all, nobody had thought of this issue. One could only say that this was just a slip up in their thought processes; it was just that this slip up had ignited irreversible consequences.


    Initially, the two helicopters that flew over were only supposed to make contact with Bai Yi¡¯s fleet, and the missiles that had blown up the two evolved humans gave them a fright as well.


    Was this¡­ did the higher-ups intend to exterminate this bunch of monsters?


    In the next instant, one of the helicopter pilots went wild with joy. ¡°Bastards, this is good, this is good. Megrez, watch me take revenge for you!¡±


    He and Megrez were both helicopter pilots, and belonged to the same section; many of the pilots were friends with each other. Tate and Megrez were just like best buddies, and Megrez had been one of the pilots that went out to make contact with Bai Yi previously but had unfortunately died along the way. At this time, Tate saw the missile being shot out from the shore and immediately thought that higher-ups had changed their attitudes. He didn¡¯t bother asking if that was really the case, and immediately and happily prepared to take revenge for his best friend.


    The five ships sailed toward the coast, and practically all the evolved humans had gone up onto their decks, carrying cold and solemn expressions on their faces.


    The Coastline Defense commander, Kerami, busily switched off the missile system in a hurry, in case any more accidents happened. At this time, he could only hope that the people on the ships wouldn¡¯t be too impulsive and give him a chance to explain. However, what he completely didn¡¯t expect was that one of the helicopter pilots that he had sent out would make a careless and reckless judgment, opening fire toward Bai Yi.


    The main ship that Bai Yi was on had always sailed in front, and at the time, Bai Yi stood at the head of the ship. Looking at the two helicopters flying over from the distance, his eyes squinted slightly.


    Suddenly, Bai Yi drew Red Kiss in a flash and rapidly waved it around. ¡®Ding¡¯s and ¡®dang¡¯s rang out endlessly, and countless bullets were deflected. At this time, the rapid gunfire of the machine gun also came from the helicopter; the speed of the bullets had seemingly already exceeded the speed of sound.


    This actually wasn¡¯t a big problem, but the most important thing was that Bai Yi made a crucial judgment from this¡ªjust like Augustine had said, normal humans harbored hostility toward all evolved lifeforms.


    Bai Yi sheathed Red Kiss in an instant. After that he twisted his body toward the back, his left hand holding onto the sheath, and his right hand making a pose of drawing the sword.


    They¡¯re dead!


    Behind Bai Yi, the members of his team all said this quietly in their hearts when they saw Bai Yi make the pose. One helicopter fired its high-speed machine gun from afar and flew at them, and at the same time, two armed missiles also left its weapon rack and shot toward them.


    Great Shockwave!


    The same skill with a different method of gathering power resulted in a completely different level of attack. Bai Yi¡¯s pose of drawing his sword from the back instantly turned into a forward diagonal slash. ¡®Weng!¡¯, the powerful sword qi wave instantly shot toward the helicopter; both guided missiles collided with the sword qi halfway and exploded in bursts of flames. In the next instant, the Great Shockwave reached the two helicopters. The people in the helicopters suddenly felt like something formless passed through them, then a sense of pain abruptly exploded from their bodies, and the next thing they knew, they had already descended into darkness.


    ¡°Charge!¡±


    Bai Yi¡¯s icy voice rang in everyone¡¯s ears. The rest of them already bore an intense fury from the incident just now, and Bai Yi¡¯s words only ignited their fuses. At this time, Bai Yi stared at the coastline, which was almost within reach¡­ Even if it was through force, they had to carve out a territory from the hands of the normal humans!


    ¡°Who did it? WHO FUCKING ORDERED THE HELICOPTER TO ATTACK?!¡± The face of the Coastline Defense commander looked like he was about to devour everybody there, and his angry roar frightened everyone else into silence.


    After a long while, a female officer finally said carefully, ¡°Nobody ordered it, he probably decided to do it himself¡­¡±


    ¡°A bunch of morons! Lay out the defense line, prepare for armed interception!¡± Kerami shouted loudly.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we going to contact them peacefully first?¡±


    ¡°Are you guys stupid?! You think the other side would peacefully communicate with us now?!¡± Kerami shouted again. They had already started fighting! Peaceful contact my ass! Bunch of retards.


    Kerami¡¯s gaze stopped on Bai Yi¡¯s face. One slash from the ship a few hundred meters away from the helicopters; all it took was one slash to destroy both helicopters. Although Bai Yi was the one who looked the most human on board, he was probably the one that was most like a monster.


    ¡­


    Sometimes, the truth of history wasn¡¯t like what the majority of people thought, that wars were fought for some great ideology or cause. In reality, a lot of the time, they were actually caused by some unassuming, trivial matters.

 Chapter 203

    Chapter 203: To Communicate With Death


    To begin with, the southeastern coast of Australia was the nexus of many important cities, such as the capital city of Canberra, Sydney, Newcastle, and various others. Unfortunately, Bai Yi and the rest happened to land close to Eden, which was just south of the capital. It could be considered a heavily defended place, and a military division happened to be stationed here.


    After Kerami gave the order for armed defense, he looked at the missile system that he had just switched off, and suddenly felt that he was really damn¡­ damn what? He didn¡¯t even know how to describe this feeling. If he had known that they had to fight beforehand, why did he go and switch off this thing? Now it was already too late to reactivate it again.


    ¡°Stop them, don¡¯t let them come onto land!¡± Kerami ordered loudly.


    Real soldiers wouldn¡¯t be like Bai Yi¡¯s group of people, and would truly follow their orders strictly. After he gave the order, more than 10,000 soldiers immediately started to move busily, going to the weapons rooms and aiming all their modern weapons at the five ships accelerating toward them.


    Due to the coastline being so long, Australia couldn¡¯t build a defensive line like the Great Wall of China all along the coast. There would normally be many bases spaced some distance apart along the coastline, and their garrisons had to make use of their mobility to patrol and defend the empty space in between each base. Hence, the tanks, armored vehicles, helicopters, and other military equipment could be found everywhere. After receiving their orders, 50 tanks immediately drove out from this base and turned their cannons at the sea. The other armored vehicles and helicopters also activated one after another, heading toward the ships and surrounding the area.


    The guy with the best eyesight within the fleet exclaimed, ¡°Fuck, so many tanks! There are even dozens of helicopters!¡±


    ¡°If just now was really an accident, I¡¯m afraid that with this formation, these people had planned to exterminate us long ago,¡± Lucretia said quietly, her expression hard to read.


    ¡°Huuuu!¡± Bai Yi exhaled a deep breath of air.


    ¡°Momo.¡± he looked at Momo.


    ¡°You have a very important mission today; don¡¯t recklessly charge into the fray, because the tree branches of the Soul Release Tree are all with you. Moreover, the only one who can see souls is you, so if any of us die accidentally, you must at least ensure that our souls are preserved, got it?¡± Bai Yi said to Momo.


    ¡°En.¡± Momo nodded.


    Bai Yi rubbed Momo¡¯s head and said, ¡°Good girl!¡± with a smile. However, the moment Bai Yi stood up again, his face immediately turned cold.


    ¡°Three outcomes!¡± Bai Yi suddenly projected his voice and immediately attracted everyone¡¯s attention.


    ¡°1. We all die here.¡±


    ¡°2. A portion of us die here; another small portion escape and live their lives hiding and in fear of death every day here, or return to the Devil Isles; another portion gets captured and become prisoners in the hands of our opponents. As for whether they become experimental subjects or biological weapons in the hands of our opponents, that depends on how the other side wants to handle us.¡±


    ¡°3. We display our strength to the entire world¡ªour mad and powerful strength! We let them know that to deal with us they have to pay an unimaginable price, and we make them put us on an equal level! Even if we have to snatch it from them, we have to fight for a safe place for ourselves, even if the price is death!!¡± When Bai Yi said the last sentence, his expression had already turned slightly malevolent, and that bitter air around him immediately agitated everyone else, causing a desperate and at-all-costs atmosphere to subconsciously rise in all of them.


    ¡°Those who can fly, fly close to the sea and open a path for everyone else first!¡± Bai Yi pulled out Red Kiss and pointed straight ahead. He didn¡¯t stop there, but spread his magnificent wings and shot across the ocean¡¯s surface in an instant. The high-speed flight immediately split the ocean¡¯s surface apart, raising white waves to his sides.


    Those who could fly had already been roused by Bai Yi¡¯s words just now, and with him taking the lead, a sense of excitement and agitation immediately rose in all of them. They immediately took off after Bai Yi.


    ¡°That man is the leader,¡± a warrant officer said in the command room.


    Kerami scolded him, ¡°You don¡¯t say? Even a pig would know that!¡±


    ¡°Get the defensive line to prepare for an attack¡­¡±


    The female warrant officer suddenly interrupted Kerami¡¯s words. ¡°Major General, a call from the higher-ups! They are telling you to stop the attack.¡±


    ¡°Hang up the call and ignore them.¡±


    ¡°But Major General!¡±


    Kerami grabbed the collar of this female warrant officer and shouted savagely, ¡°Even if there is military punishment, it will be in the fucking future! I will go to the military court by myself, understand!?¡± Since Kerami had already said so, the rest of them couldn¡¯t possibly say anything else. Instead, they immediately controlled all the high-tech weaponry to aim at Bai Yi and the rest of them charging over, as well as at the five ships.


    More than a hundred missiles and artillery shells instantly poured down from the defense towers, tanks, armored vehicles, and helicopters toward the sea. At this time, Bai Yi¡¯s group all opened their eyes wide and stared at those high-speed projectiles, dodging swiftly. Was it shocking, using the naked eye to judge the trajectory of the missiles and artillery, and dodging them afterwards? However, everyone here was a LV2, so this wasn¡¯t really difficult for them.


    Bai Yi flew close to the sea and charged toward the coast at a high speed. Seeing the row of tanks coming closer and closer to him, Bai Yi grabbed the hilt of his blade with both hands.


    Break: Great Shockwave!


    ¡®DANG DANG DANG!¡¯, sounds of collisions rang out continually. The three tanks in front were sliced apart instantly, and the soldiers inside stared wide in open disbelief even upon their deaths. Deep dents appeared in the other ten plus tanks as well, and they were forced backward a distance by the impact. The satellites captured this scene, and everyone watching this right now instantly became dumbstruck. In truth, at this time, Bai Yi was still lamenting that the tanks were too tough; his strongest attack only managed to destroy three tanks.


    Using the attack twice in rapid succession caused Bai Yi¡¯s body to become slightly tired; he couldn¡¯t use this kind of skill frequently in such a short period of time either. However, it wasn¡¯t just Bai Yi now; the rest of them also flew onto the shore and immediately charged towards the tanks and armored vehicles on land, engaging the soldiers in battle. On one side were normal humans operating various forms of high-tech modern weaponry, while on the other side were individually incredibly powerful evolved humans using cold weapons.


    On the sea, the five ships were continuously bombarded by missiles and intense explosions erupted all over them. With enough preparation, most of them could avoid the missiles, but the speed of the ships gradually decreased, and at the same time they started to sink. However, rather, fortunately, they weren¡¯t too far from the shore at this point in time and were only about three to four hundred meters away.


    ¡°Wooden boards!¡± Alodia said.


    ¡°En!¡± Woolf replied loudly and carried the wooden boards that Bai Yi made everyone prepare out from the storeroom. He then quickly threw the wooden boards out in front of them into the sea. In a moment, a few hundred wooden boards were thrown out with immense force from the five ships and floated on the sea.


    At this time, Momo grabbed onto her black blade and shouted ¡°Sharpei, Pupu!¡±


    The huge Sharpei immediately stopped by Momo¡¯s side, and she jumped onto his back with a flip of her body. Immediately after Momo sat securely on his back, Sharpei jumped forcefully off the deck of the ship onto the wooden boards on the sea. Sharpei didn¡¯t stop moving and continuously jumped from board to board, changing his landing point on the many unceasingly rocking platforms, and rapidly approached land. When Bai Yi had asked them to prepare these things before, Woolf still thought it was for them to hold onto in case the ships sank, but it was actually for this purpose.


    ¡°Hahahaha, even Bai Yi went up, we can¡¯t fall behind now!¡± Truman started laughing loudly again, immediately following what Sharpei did, and jumped across the wooden boards to head toward the shore.


    This kind of landing method!


    All people felt incomparably shocked watching this scene from the satellite feed. Furthermore, it wasn¡¯t just one person who had this kind of balance and charging ability¡ªevery single one of them could do it.


    ¡°Sharpei, go to the military defense base!¡± Momo said to Sharpei.


    This place was a military defense base, and all the tanks and other stuff came out from this place. Moreover, many of the missiles flew out from it as well. After hearing Momo¡¯s words, Sharpei immediately dashed forward, sprinting in that direction. As for Pupu following behind, he stopped there with Momo. Momo didn¡¯t forget Bai Yi¡¯s instructions before; her mission was to collect the souls of the dead.


    Sharpei had very high attack power, and it was too much of a waste to keep him here to protect her. However, Pupu had always had a very good defensive ability and good intuition, and most importantly, Pupu was definitely more than willing to slack off by Momo¡¯s side.


    Momo¡¯s eyes gradually changed, and she immediately discovered some confused souls roaming around the battlefield. In such a short period of battle, many people had already died. However, the majority of them were the soldiers, and the souls of these soldiers wandered around the battlefield in a daze, seemingly unable to maintain a clear mind.


    Suddenly, Momo saw the soul of one of her companions, and she recalled he seemed to be called Muar. Muar probably already knew that he was dead, but he was still roaring, tearing away at the soldiers¡¯ souls unceasingly. Their souls were different from the souls of normal people; even if the physical bodies of evolved humans died, their souls could contain their consciousness, and so this guy still remembered everything.


    Muar saw Momo walking over and said instinctively, ¡°Miss Momo!¡±


    However, in the next moment, this guy started to mock himself. He tried talking to a few of his companions just now, but they couldn¡¯t hear him or sense his presence at all. There was even a guy still holding onto his corpse and roaring loudly in anger.


    ¡°En!¡± Unexpectedly, Momo nodded to him, and there was nobody else in that direction.


    ¡°Me?¡± Muar looked around himself in confusion, and back at Momo afterward.


    ¡°If not you, then who? Muar, I have something that can store souls here. Although I don¡¯t know if you can be revived in the future, we can preserve your soul.¡± Momo brought out a section of the Soul Release Tree branch. ¡°Do you want to come in?¡± Momo asked.


    ¡°It can actually store souls? OK, I¡¯ll go in.¡± Muar nodded.


    Momo heard his words and held the tree branch close to Muar, and the branch immediately sucked his soul inside. Afterward, Momo looked at the few other sections of the Soul Release Tree¡¯s branches in her hands and took a new section, sucking in all the normal human soldiers¡¯ souls into a branch as well.


    Everybody very quickly noticed Momo¡¯s actions. In this desperate battlefield, Momo¡¯s actions were really too strange. Among the evolved humans, they immediately recalled that hidden rumor¡ªMomo was a spiritualist that could communicate with the dead!

 Chapter 204

    Chapter 204: The First Clash


    A spiritualist who can communicate with the dead!


    This might not actually have had a positive connotation to it; Momo¡¯s ability was very strange and mysterious to the outside world, and many people didn¡¯t really understand it either. People only knew that during the theft of the Tranquil Grass, it was Momo alone who had managed to stall four LV2s and close to 60 other people in that place. At this time, they didn¡¯t know whether Momo¡¯s actions were a good or bad thing; she couldn¡¯t be collecting everybody¡¯s souls at this time, right?


    These kinds of actions that went against common sense immediately attracted the attention of both sides, and the Australian side even specifically ordered attacks on Momo. Honestly speaking, Momo didn¡¯t really know much about these modern weapons since she was only nine years old, after all, and had grown up on the Devil Isles. She did watch television when she was young, but it had definitely not been some military programming.


    Despite all this, Momo still went about her mission methodically, and not only Pupu but also Alodia came to her side to protect her.


    Suddenly, Momo dashed forward and went up against a small-sized missile flying rapidly toward them. Alodia and Pupu immediately panicked; it was true that they followed Momo around to protect her, but her dashing forward so suddenly was still beyond their expectations. Seeing that Momo wanted to swing her sword to hack at the missile, Alodia instantly rushed forward and grabbed onto Momo¡¯s right hand¡­ What a joke, using a sword to hack at a missile?!


    They could only say that Momo really lacked a lot of experience.


    At this moment, Pupu moved even faster, running in front of them and turning his body horizontally. Instantaneously, Pupu¡¯s energy billowed from his body furiously and protected Alodia and Momo behind him. ¡®BOOM!¡¯, an intense explosion rang out, dirt sprayed everywhere, and only after a while did Pupu appear, staggering and shaking his head. Alodia hugged Momo behind him, quickly checking if Momo had sustained any injuries.


    At this time, the rest of them who saw this scene was completely dumbstruck. That was a missile! It was a miniature missile more than a meter long; could you guys be even more ridiculous?! A freaking pig could stop the missile, and it didn¡¯t even look like it sustained many injuries. Of course, Pupu just seemed to be lazy and gluttonous usually; probably only Bai Yi¡¯s team knew that the most outstanding thing about Pupu was his defense, and after entering LV2 his defense had become even more astounding.


    Alodia saw Momo looking carefully at a particular place. ¡°Are you OK, Momo?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Molly¡¯s soul. This place belongs to the normal world, and the soul will dissipate automatically in such an environment. Moreover, certain influences from the outside world will accelerate this process. If we didn¡¯t block that thing just now, I¡¯m afraid her soul would have disappeared completely,¡± Momo explained


    ¡°Momo, you really can see souls?¡± Lucretia, who happened to pass by, asked.


    ¡°En, daddy told me to collect and preserve everybody¡¯s souls,¡± Momo replied.


    ¡°Protect Momo well, she can preserve our souls! Even if the physical body dies, we still have a chance to revive in the future!¡± Lucretia shouted loudly. The evolved humans basically wouldn¡¯t advertise their own abilities to everyone else, and Momo¡¯s ability was actually also a secret. As for something like the Soul Release Tree, Bai Yi would definitely not spread that information around either, so Lucretia didn¡¯t have any intention of criticizing them.


    ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ revive them!¡± Momo wanted to say that she didn¡¯t have the ability to revive them, but Lucretia secretly shook her head at Momo.


    The evolved humans, who were initially extremely curious about Momo, immediately became stunned after hearing Lucretia¡¯s voice and were suddenly even more excited. Can be revived, didn¡¯t that mean that they didn¡¯t have to be afraid of death anymore? This bunch of evolved humans, who were already fighting very ferociously, seemed to get an adrenaline shot, and their combat power increased by another notch.


    At this time, the battle happening here was already being broadcast to various locations around the world, especially to the rest of the Australian military. As a specialized defense base, various unmanned cameras were located all over the place. Now, these unmanned cameras did their jobs and recorded a first-hand view of the battle going on, broadcasting it to various other places.


    Normal humans with high-tech weaponry versus evolved humans with primitive cold weapons equal¡­?


    Woolf roared loudly, grabbing hold of the main cannon of a tank, and savagely exerted his brute strength. ¡°AHHHH!¡± Woolf gave a deafening shout, his muscles and the energy inside his body rippling intensely. This middle-sized tank, weighing more than 30 tonnes, was pulled up by Woolf just like that, and he viciously swung it toward another tank. ¡®BOOM!¡¯, the two tanks impacted against each other and the ground instantly sunk inward, sparks flying everywhere.


    ¡°Idiot, are you bragging about your strength now?¡± Bai Yi criticized.


    ¡°Those whose body sizes aren¡¯t too big, go into the defense base and break it open from the inside for me!¡± Bai Yi shouted to the remaining evolved humans. It wasn¡¯t that Bai Yi didn¡¯t want to do it personally, but that he had to be the one taking command and overseeing the entire battlefield. He couldn¡¯t be the one mindlessly charging everywhere.


    ¡°What about me?¡± Woolf asked. With his size, he would only be an obstacle moving about in normal buildings, and would never fit inside.


    At this time, the cannon of a tank aimed at them. Bai Yi immediately lowered his body and dashed forward, grabbing hold of the cannon in an instant and sending special energy to his feet. ¡®DANG!¡¯, with an immense sound of impact, the cannon of this tank immediately bent slightly. Before the shell could be fired, it suddenly exploded inside the cannon itself. Bai Yi fell backward from the shockwave of the explosion and at that moment two bullets immediately fired toward him.


    However, a stream of air lifted and pushed him slightly, and Bai Yi¡¯s body gently shifted a distance to the side, the two bullets brushing past his face in the next moment.


    A sniper cursed from his firing position, ¡°Fuck, he can dodge like that?!¡±


    Ah, sniper!


    Anybody could tell that Bai Yi was the leader of this bunch of evolved humans, so it was obvious that he be the target of sniping. Bai Yi looked toward that direction, his Reverse Flower Eyes spinning. The sniper, who was still cursing, immediately went into a daze and fell flat onto the ground with a ¡®pat!¡¯.


    Bai Yi ignored the sniper and looked at the dozens of helicopters in the sky. The two guys who had flown from the ship earlier had gotten blasted by guided missiles, so all the evolved humans who could fly didn¡¯t dare to fly up into the sky to attack. There weren¡¯t many evolved humans with a long-range attack, so these helicopters rained bullets and missiles onto them without care or worry.


    Bai Yi quickly stepped backward and said to Woolf, ¡°Woolf, you have a lot of strength, right? Smash all the helicopters down for me.¡±


    ¡°Smash them down?¡± Woolf looked at the helicopters in the sky. Woolf was now already a bit far from Bai Yi, because Bai Yi was absolutely a firepower magnet. It wasn¡¯t just a small amount of firepower raining down on Bai Yi at all times.


    ¡°Right, smash them down,¡± Bai Yi said.


    Woolf looked at a ruined armored vehicle beside him, and with a jerk, he pulled off a heavy machine gun from it. Although the heavy machine gun weighed more than a hundred kilos, it was nothing at all to him. One must know that with Woolf¡¯s all-out effort now, he could even flip a tank weighing more than 30 tonnes.


    After that, Woolf stretched and threw the heavy machine gun at one of the helicopters. His unreasonable strength instantly forced the helicopter back by a few hundred meters, crashing into another helicopter. ¡®Kacha! Kuang! Dang!¡¯, sparks immediately burst out from the propeller of this helicopter and it fell toward the ground.


    Woolf clenched his fist and raised it up high. ¡°Yeah! Call me genius pitcher Woolf!¡±


    After that, Woolf just started throwing everything that he could see into the sky. His powerful strength instantly turned these normal items into lethal weapons. He didn¡¯t need to blow up the helicopters, but just destroy their balance and flying ability, and these seemingly powerful helicopters would fall to the ground by themselves.


    As for Bai Yi, he activated his Reverse Flower Eyes and rapidly stalked around the battlefield. His Reverse Flower Eyes captured all the attacks clearly; he only had to make the right movements at the right times and he would just barely slip through all the bullets and shells flying at him. The firepower aimed at Bai Yi was clearly the most intense, but his movements were neither too fast nor too slow, carrying a challenging yet leisurely feeling to them.


    Moreover, Bai Yi wasn¡¯t moving around randomly. He walked quietly across the battlefield just like that, and every light swing of Red Kiss would easily take away the lives of some of the soldiers. Unless it was something like a tank with good all-round defense, even armored vehicles couldn¡¯t escape him.


    This was the difference, the difference between normal humans and LV2 evolved humans. Even if the normal humans were well-trained soldiers, even if they carried or crewed various high-tech weapons, it was still the same. Unless they really used a weapon of mass destruction here, the normal soldiers wouldn¡¯t have much ability to resist them.


    If the normal humans still had some power to fight back at the start when the artillery barrage and firepower were still intense, then toward the end it was just a one-sided massacre. The evolved humans here had all entered LV2; they were people who had all their basic specs enhanced to unthinkable levels.


    Of all the evolved humans here, which one of them wasn¡¯t an elite who had managed to survive in the treacherous Devil Isles? It could be said that for a normal hot weapon to injure these people, it had to at least be at the level of a high-explosive shell, and that was if it could hit them in the first place.


    ¡­


    At this time, the various world leaders stared at the battlefield from their screens, subconsciously holding their breaths.


    ¡°Annihilated!¡± The American, General Loucks, said, with a trembling voice at the end.


    With this word, the Australian military representative practically passed out in his seat. Actually, the world hadn¡¯t had a war in a long time; there might not be much military merit needed to sit in this position. As for the level of resilience to various war scenarios, it was obviously incomparable to that of true World War I or World War II veterans.


    Just like the American General Loucks had said, the soldiers at this base were practically wiped out. This was the result of the first clash between evolved humans and normal soldiers. Although a few hundred of the evolved humans had died too, there were 10,000 soldiers guarding that base! Moreover, based on what the little girl wandering the battlefield had said, she could revive these people¡¯s¡­ souls!

 Chapter 205

    Chapter 205: Helpless Despair


    From the bitter and intense fighting at the start to the overwhelming victory at the end, this battle lasted for two hours. High-tech weapons were indeed powerful, but their greatest flaw was that they were inflexible. For example, the tank: the most powerful form of attack it had was its main cannon; as long as they paid attention to the cannon itself and avoided it, there wouldn¡¯t be any problems even if they tank opened fire right next to them. As for other things that were more mobile like machine guns, assault rifles, and grenades, they were honestly not much of a threat to evolved humans. Unless they got hit in their vital areas, these weapons wouldn¡¯t have much effect on them.


    Excepting the artillery barrage at the start that had killed a few dozen evolved humans, the battle afterward was just a one-sided massacre.


    Although the people watching the battle through the satellite feeds said that a few hundred evolved humans had died as well, in reality that was just them consoling themselves. This group of people weren¡¯t able to honestly face this utter defeat, and counted in the injured evolved humans as well. They would probably die, right, with these kinds of injuries¡­? But these people all understood evolved lifeforms quite well; for evolved lifeforms, to recover from these injuries only required a period of rest.


    Woolf had smashed more than ten helicopters by himself, and the rest of them had learned from him. In the end, more than half of the helicopters were shot down from the sky with rocks and various metal parts, leaving the normal humans staring with their mouths wide open.


    When the battle gradually came to a halt, Bai Yi stopped his high-speed movement and slowed to a stroll. Countless bullets impacted against him, but with the protection of the thread web and special energy inside his body, all the bullets lost their momentum and fell to the ground. Bai Yi came to a defense tower on the coast and stretched out his right hand. Two sniper bullets impacted against his palm and spun for a moment, before stopping completely. Bai Yi casually flicked one of the bullets in his hand and it gave off a ¡®ding!¡¯.


    The long and clear sound of that bullet seemed to ring in everybody¡¯s hearts. Without conscious effort, the firepower initially concentrated on Bai Yi slowly calmed down.


    It¡¯s useless, there¡¯s no chance of victory in a battle like this!


    They had initially thought that Bai Yi was the one who looked the most like a human among all the evolved humans; he didn¡¯t have a strange appearance, had no strange body parts, and had no tough exoskeleton. They initially thought that Bai Yi had dodged because these kinds of attacks could harm him. However, they never imagined that even if their bullets hit him, that they wouldn¡¯t even leave a scratch on him. All the soldiers despaired in their hearts, and subconsciously stopped squeezing the triggers in their hands.


    Beside Bai Yi, a soldier lay on the ground covered in blood, breathing faintly. Bai Yi didn¡¯t seem to notice him. This soldier instantly climbed up and drew a military knife from his waist, viciously stabbing toward the back of Bai Yi¡¯s head. However, even though this soldier thought that he moved very quickly and viciously, his speed wasn¡¯t even worth mentioning to evolved humans. It took more than four seconds for him to climb up and run at Bai Yi, and just when this soldier thought that he succeeded, his head was suddenly grabbed by Bai Yi¡¯s left hand.


    Fresh blood flowed down continuously between the gaps in Bai Yi¡¯s fingers, and Bai Yi could see the fear and struggle in the soldier¡¯s eyes.


    At this time, this soldier still slowly stabbed the military knife toward Bai Yi.


    However, Bai Yi just looked at the military knife slowly approaching him with contempt and apathy. Bai Yi¡¯s left hand closed slightly, and suddenly the head of this soldier exploded, just like a bomb. The soldier¡¯s head instantly burst into pieces, blood and brain matter continuously dripping to ground. The corpse, which hadn¡¯t died completely, still constantly spasmed and twitched, before finally ceasing all movement.


    ¡°Surrender unconditionally, any form of resistance will result in¡­ death!¡± Bai Yi¡¯s Reverse Flower Eyes suddenly spun, unleashing the greatest extent of his intimidation!


    Just so, everyone suddenly felt like they were transported into a sea of fire in that instant. The entire battlefield seemed to be covered in flames, and Bai Yi was the man standing at the peak of this place. Not just the normal soldiers, but even the evolved humans got a fright. In just a short moment, the flames disappeared, and they suddenly realized that they were still on the battlefield they were on before. What happened, did they hallucinate just now?


    Only the people on Bai Yi¡¯s team realized what had happened¡­ an illusion!


    The flames just now were merely a scene recorded by Bai Yi¡¯s visual imaging ability. He had recorded an area in flames previously and used his own energy to simulate that entire field of flames, transmitting this image to everyone else when they heard his voice. Bai Yi¡¯s team members understood the theory behind it and weren¡¯t very surprised; after all, it was just something like an electronic signal forming images on a computer screen. However, the others didn¡¯t understand the theory behind it at all, and even if they saw it for just a short moment, it was sufficient to shock everyone.


    At this time, one of the other evolved humans instantly clutched at his eyes, seemingly in great pain, and the energy in his body circulated rapidly. If not for the battle having come to an end, this kind of accident would very likely have resulted in his death.


    After a long while, this guy looked at Bai Yi through his eyes, which were still in pain, and something vague grew in his mind. Somehow, he seemed to understand both the illusion and the pain that had suddenly appeared just now. Due to Bai Yi¡¯s stimulation of his body, something seemed to awaken in him, but this thing was still just a vague idea, and couldn¡¯t be expressed in words in so short a time.


    At this moment, nobody noticed this guy¡¯s changes; they all stared at Bai Yi, standing in the center of the battlefield.


    Immense intimidation was conjured in everyone¡¯s hearts through his voice, and in an instant, everyone seemed to see Bai Yi¡¯s bewitching eyes and apathetic expression in their minds. There was no mercy or pity there; just like with the headless corpse in Bai Yi¡¯s hands, and just as he said, anybody who resisted would die!


    Seeing their comrade dying so terribly, the soldiers should have been furious; they should have continued to fight back; but all of them couldn¡¯t help but stop whatever they were doing, and raised their hands.


    Brutal actions would cause people to fight back, but brutality to the point of causing despair would completely shatter even the hope of resisting.


    Bai Yi threw the headless corpse to the ground. ¡°Clean up the battlefield, treat the injured, and capture all the soldiers. Kill anybody who resists; there¡¯s no need to ask about this. Bring any signaller among the soldiers to me, I need to make a call to the United Nations,¡± Bai Yi said coldly.


    Everyone subconsciously nodded after hearing his words and started moving.


    At this time, Bai Yi looked at his left hand in puzzlement. When he had grabbed onto the head of that soldier just now, he realized that he seemed to be able to control the air in his brain, mouth, and airways. Subconsciously, Bai Yi had compressed the air inside the soldier¡¯s head and set off a miniature explosion.


    Strange, Bai Yi thought in his heart. He had never had this feeling back on the Devil Isles¡ªthe feeling of being able to control other people¡¯s bodies.


    Bai Yi walked toward the closest soldier to him and placed his hand on top of this soldier¡¯s head. When Bai Yi¡¯s hand landed on the soldier¡¯s head, the soldier¡¯s body trembled uncontrollably, and he couldn¡¯t even stand properly anymore.


    A female warrant officer immediately scolded loudly, ¡°What are you doing?! We already surrendered!¡± but most of the other soldiers just hung their heads low.


    ¡°Nothing much, it¡¯s not like I killed him,¡± Bai Yi said, and he grabbed the female warrant officer¡¯s head, before slowly sliding his hand downward, brushing past her chest and abdomen. The female soldier, who was still scolding him, immediately started to tremble as Bai Yi¡¯s blood-soaked left hand slowly brushed past her cheek, and she couldn¡¯t help but to fear as she smelled the pungent stench of blood on it¡­ This devil!


    Had Bai Yi taken a fancy to this female soldier?


    The other evolved humans were slightly taken aback, but it was hard to blame him since there wasn¡¯t a single normal-looking woman on the Devil Isles at all. Although the female soldier wouldn¡¯t be considered pretty, she still had quite the attitude about her. After being ¡®thirsty¡¯ for five years, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if Bai Yi really wanted her. However, nobody knew that Bai Yi was actually testing some things. After experimenting on the two normal humans, Bai Yi could confirm that he could control the air within their bodies, their airways, internal organs, and even the oxygen inside their muscles.


    ¡°Aphra, come over.¡± Bai Yi looked at Lucretia¡¯s student nearby and gestured for her to approach.


    ¡°Orh!¡± Aphra immediately jogged over. Because of Lucretia, Aphra had managed to interact with Bai Yi a few more times, and she wasn¡¯t as scared as she had been the first few times she had met him.


    After Aphra came over, Bai Yi placed his hand on her body and slowly slid it down again. At this time, even an idiot would know that Bai Yi had definitely not taken a fancy to the female soldier, but was instead sensing something. What was he sensing? A few other evolved humans tried copying him, but they couldn¡¯t sense anything. Only Rose by the side tried to feel for a moment and suddenly stood on the spot in shock.


    ¡°Did you feel it?¡± Bai Yi looked at Rose.


    ¡°En.¡± Rose nodded. ¡°I can control the water inside their bodies,¡± she said. As she closed her hand around the air, countless transparent water droplets slowly gathered from the guy¡¯s body on her hand. The guy¡¯s chest immediately started to dry up, and his skin started to wrinkle.


    The female officer now started shouting again, ¡°Stop, you bunch of devils, what are you thinking of doing?!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, you can stop now. Don¡¯t spread this matter for now. Come and find me later, Rose,¡± Bai Yi said, and then he looked at the female officer. ¡°Relax, he won¡¯t die. The body is made up of as much as 65% of water, it¡¯s just that you can¡¯t see it with the naked eye,¡± he said plainly.


    Controlling the components of a normal human, but not having the same effect on an evolved human¡¯s body, was this¡­ the absolute life field?

 Chapter 206

    Chapter 206: Sharing


    Cleaning up the battlefield was more time-consuming than the actual battle, and in the meantime, Rose very quickly went to Bai Yi. He had prepared a set of simple information about LV2s and passed it to Rose. In comparison to the others, who had only managed to succeed in metamorphosis with the help of Tranquil Medicament in the later stages, Bai Yi and his team could be said to be the earliest batch of evolved humans to enter LV2. Hence, the information that Bai Yi had was still quite advanced.


    ¡°This is¡­?¡± Rose asked curiously.


    ¡°Some information about the LV2 Metamorphose Stage. I believe that you have made some discoveries yourself too. I¡¯m quite curious regarding how we can control the matter inside a normal human being, so I¡¯ll entrust you to study this issue. You can freely pick whoever you want to assist you with this, just pass the information back to me after you manage to figure it out and I¡¯ll release everything together later on,¡± Bai Yi said.


    Release everything together¡ªhe was planning to tell everybody?


    ¡°Why did you choose me?¡± Rose asked curiously, her turquoise eyes carrying some doubt.


    ¡°Why not you?¡± Bai Yi answered with another question.


    Rose stared at Bai Yi¡¯s eyes for a while, before finally nodding. ¡°I got it.¡± Although the evolved humans had all banded together now, they didn¡¯t strictly belong to some group, but rather just worked together toward a common goal. The structural norm of individual teams was still deeply rooted among them, so why did Bai Yi choose somebody like her from outside of his team to do this job?


    After Rose left, Bai Yi headed to the temporary command post that they had just set up. Close to the command post was an actual command center room that could communicate with various parts of the Australian military, but their brute-force attack just now had basically ruined the place.


    ¡°Repair this place,¡± Bai Yi said to the military engineers and signallers gathered there.


    The group of military engineers and signallers subconsciously stood at attention and replied, ¡°Yes!¡± Whether this was because they had been frightened by Bai Yi¡¯s aura or some other reason, it wasn¡¯t important to say. Actually, there were still many methods of making contact with the outside world, but Bai Yi didn¡¯t want to speak to them through such things as phone calls; this kind of restrictive communication method wouldn¡¯t allow them to discuss much.


    After leaving two guys to guard this place, Bai Yi headed elsewhere. The number of matters to settle after the battle were very numerous and diverse, but luckily there was Alodia around to help him manage everything. Taking after her teacher, Alodia was very suited for the role of a secretary and organized everything in a meticulous and orderly way.


    ¡°Uncle Bai, you¡¯ll need to explain the matter of the Soul Release Tree to everyone and reassure them,¡± Alodia reminded him.


    ¡°En.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    The matter of Momo collecting souls previously weighed on everyone¡¯s minds. They had confirmed now that there had been a total of 133 deaths in the battle, but Momo had collected all of their souls. Lucretia had also told everyone that Momo could revive these souls, and Bai Yi had to clarify all of these matters, or there might be trouble in the future.


    All the corpses had been collected, and all the injured were gathered together for treatment as well. There were also many people standing guard close by, and this area could be said to the most populated place now. Momo was here as well, and everyone looked at her with incomparable curiosity in their eyes; it was just that nobody dared to approach her to ask her anything.


    When Bai Yi arrived, he naturally attracted the attention of everyone gathered here.


    Bai Yi waved his hand and got Momo to come over, the clamor around them gradually calming down. After that, Bai Yi finally started to speak. ¡°Regarding Lucretia saying that Momo can revive people, that isn¡¯t true.¡± After Bai Yi finished speaking, a slight commotion immediately started in the crowd below. Fortunately, many of them there were already more or less familiar with Bai Yi and knew that he would definitely have an explanation for them.


    Lucretia also immediately stood out now to testify. ¡°That¡¯s right, saying that earlier was my idea. The people close to me then probably heard Momo¡¯s words too; she wanted to say that she couldn¡¯t revive people, but I decided to say such things to motivate everyone.¡±


    ¡°I know that all of you are very concerned about this matter, so I¡¯ll give an explanation now.¡± After Bai Yi said this, the people below gradually quieted.


    Bai Yi gently stroked the top of Momo¡¯s head and said to the people below, ¡°At LV2, our special energy will show some inclination toward a particular characteristic. Perhaps some of you already know this, but for example, some of the common characteristics are things like high-heat, low-heat, electricity, air control, water control¡­ of course, there are also some more mysterious characteristics that we can¡¯t classify even now. Normally speaking, all of us wouldn¡¯t breathe a word of our abilities to anyone else if there was no need to. Momo¡¯s ability is one of the more rarely seen abilities. Her energy is inclined toward¡­ the soul!¡±


    ¡°The existence of the soul is no longer a secret, but as for what exactly it is, there¡¯s only a bit of information that we have managed to figure out so far. Due to her energy characteristic, Momo can see and interact with souls. What I let Momo do just now on the battlefield was to collect all the loose souls, but it doesn¡¯t mean that she can revive them. Moreover, this ability to collect souls doesn¡¯t originate from Momo either, but arises through the use of a special container,¡± Bai Yi continued explaining and took a tree branch from Momo.


    Bai Yi held the branch and said to everyone, ¡°This is a branch of the Soul Release Tree, a special tree that grows in Ghost City Wellington. It can suck in any soul that is close to it. Don¡¯t underestimate this ability; in point of fact, anybody¡¯s soul will continuously dissipate in this world, and only through the branch of this Soul Release Tree can the soul be preserved. As for whether these souls could be revived in the future, that really depends on how far we can walk on this path of evolution.¡±


    An energy characteristic inclination toward the soul, and the branch of the Soul Release Tree!


    Everybody felt incredibly shocked, but none of them blamed him. After all, just like Bai Yi said, everybody kept their own abilities a tightly-guarded secret, and only told their closest companions. Something like that concerned their very survival in the next battle they faced.


    ¡°That¡¯s the truth of things; there¡¯s no way to revive them now, but their souls were all preserved. As for whether there will be a way in the future, nobody can be sure of this,¡± Bai Yi said.


    Suddenly one of them raised his hand. ¡°Team leader Bai Yi, can I ask: what do you mean when you say the soul will dissipate in the outside world?¡±


    Bai Yi paused for a moment but still answered the question. ¡°Regarding this, based on our deductions, Earth is mainly a physical world, and the stable forms of life for all living things are physical forms. Purely spiritual bodies like souls or ghosts can¡¯t be seen under normal circumstances and would be eroded by this kind environment, eventually disappearing. To describe it objectively, it¡¯s just like a corpse gradually rotting away.¡±


    ¡°Then why are there so many ghosts in Ghost City Wellington?¡±


    ¡°What I mean is that the general environment of Earth is only suited for the manifestation of mainly physical lifeforms. However, under some special circumstances, this kind of environment can change and result in the manifestation of spiritual bodies. For example, in environments like Ghost City Wellington, or mythical haunted ancient battlefields. We refer to these environments as the underworld. Normally speaking, the overall environment of Earth has the ability to repair itself, and these special environments will eventually disappear as well¡­¡±


    ¡°Then, what is this ¡®change in energy characteristic¡¯?¡± A guy who had just undergone metamorphosis asked the most basic question.


    ¡°Energy characteristic change refers to the special energy inside our bodies undergoing some specific changes due to the differences between each individual, and ending up possessing different characteristics and properties¡­¡± Unintentionally, this actually became a giant question and answer session. Many of those who had entered LV2 recently took the opportunity to ask many questions regarding the Metamorphose Stage.


    Even Bai Yi didn¡¯t expect that things would turn out like this. Looking at the crowd becoming more and more enthusiastic, he couldn¡¯t help but stretch out both his hands, gesturing for them to quiet down.


    ¡°Everyone stop for a moment. The available Information about LV2 will be consolidated soon and released to everyone afterward. Of course, these are also just things that we have figured out and concluded so far; they might not be accurate. I believe that so far everyone here has also achieved their own understandings and discoveries, and I welcome anybody to make up for any deficiencies there might be,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°I hope that everyone won¡¯t be miserly, and instead shares everything that they have discovered. After all, the activated cells are something very unfamiliar to all of us. Studying this together is a lot faster than trying to figure things out alone, and will also prevent a lot of unnecessary detours and dangers on our path. You guys don¡¯t have to be afraid that your discoveries are wrong either, just tell us whatever you might have found. It is only through constantly testing our hypotheses that we can glean the truth and achieve progress,¡± Bai Yi said to everyone below.


    The bunch of people below all echoed and endorsed Bai Yi¡¯s words, but it was hard to say how many of them would actually be willing to share their own discoveries. Who didn¡¯t have any selfishness in them at all? Moreover, his team had entered LV2 far earlier than the rest of them; the things they discovered might long since have been discovered by Bai Yi¡¯s team.


    Really¡­ Bai Yi smiled and shook his head.


    Actually, this wasn¡¯t an impromptu idea by Bai Yi, but the result of much thought and consideration over this period. As for why he hadn¡¯t released all the information immediately after everyone had entered LV2, it was to let each person have a period of time to sense and figure out their own changes.


    One must know that although Bai Yi¡¯s team had consolidated a set of their findings, these were just their personal discoveries, and they didn¡¯t know if they were accurate or not. Everyone had their own way of thinking, and people who had just entered LV2 were like a blank sheet of paper; immediately telling them their findings would undoubtedly prime them to follow Bai Yi and his team¡¯s track of thought. Perhaps these people would familiarize themselves with LV2 more quickly if they did so, but these kinds of ¡®good intentions¡¯ limited the diversity of discoveries by different individuals.


    Precisely because he had this intention long ago, Bai Yi gave that set of information to Rose and entrusted her to research why they could control the components of the body of a normal human.


    Completely impartial and selfless?


    Some of the more intelligent people looked at Bai Yi; he didn¡¯t seem like that kind of truly impartial and selfless idiot. Rather, it was just that Bai Yi¡¯s eyes were always looking very far ahead, and he wouldn¡¯t fuss over minor matters like this.

 Chapter 207

    Chapter 207: Slaughter


    ¡°Can you people really be at ease accepting a bunch of powerful, uncontrolled creatures?!¡±


    ¡­


    The number of things to handle after the battle was diverse and complex, but with so many people, there were bound to be some who were good at organizing these kinds of things. Thus, everything was still managed methodically. In the end, Bai Yi didn¡¯t seem to have anything else to do, so he couldn¡¯t help but think about the upcoming call with the United Nations, and how to get them to accede to their requests.


    Finding the main culprit behind everything? When the activated cells had first erupted, Bai Yi did have this thought¡ªtelling the public everything that had happened in New Zealand and finding the true instigator of everything. However, Bai Yi didn¡¯t have that intention now. Pursuing that matter when the roots of the evolved humans weren¡¯t even stable yet were just seeking their own destruction.


    Scenes of all the things that happened over the past five years flashed through Bai Yi¡¯s mind. His face, which looked like it had been carved, carried a heaviness developed during the years of trials and hardships. He carried many, many things on his shoulders, along with the hopes of many people. Bai Yi clenched his fists and affirmed that his choice was the correct one; what the evolved humans needed now were quiet rest and to integrate with the normal humans, not a continuing struggle.


    Many people saw Bai Yi sitting by himself on a shoal in the sea and quietly avoided him, none of them wanting to disturb him.


    However, there were bound to be people who couldn¡¯t stand being bored. Chinchilla ran around in front of Bai Yi, stretching out a claw from time to time to fish out crabs from the beach. Chinchilla circled around a palm-sized crab, continually testing the waters, seemingly very curious as to why the crab was so small. Chinchilla had battled with the crab in the mountain valley for a very long period of time; in its mind, it wondered: shouldn¡¯t crabs be very big?


    Bai Yi chuckled slightly; that thing was just a normal sea crab.


    Chinchilla was now over a meter long, just like a small tiger, but it was a female tiger. Chinchilla didn¡¯t look fierce at all, and it seemed to have its own understanding of the etiquette lessons that it had learned with Momo when it was still young. From those etiquette lessons, it had actually developed a kind of grace and liveliness that only belonged to itself.


    Suddenly, Bai Yi saw Pupu rush over anxiously. Chinchilla immediately abandoned the crab and went to receive Pupu; however, Pupu immediately knocked Chinchilla aside.


    ¡°What is it, Pupu?¡± Bai Yi asked in puzzlement.


    Pupu¡¯s huge body stopped, and he completely ignored the angry Chinchilla, who had been knocked aside. ¡°I feel uneasy.¡±


    Bai Yi right hand pressed down and pacified Chinchilla, who was still angry over being knocked away. At this time, Bai Yi looked at Pupu¡¯s round and fat face. ¡°Uneasy, huh?¡± Bai Yi repeated and looked at the sea. The gleaming sunlight reflected off the clear and crystalline seawater, causing people to subconsciously feel relaxed and calm. However, why did he come to this place? Did he sense something in his heart?


    ¡°Tell the others¡­!¡± Bai Yi and Pupu suddenly turned their heads and looked toward the mainland.


    Bai Yi stopped his words and mumbled, ¡°You guys can¡¯t tolerate it, huh?¡± under his breath in the end, walking toward the center area. The afternoon sun shone on his body, giving him a gentle afterglow.


    At this time, not just Bai Yi but the other evolved humans also sensed danger rapidly approaching, and it was doing so very ferociously. Finally, they seemed to see something coming¡ªit was actually all evolved lifeforms! As for whether they were evolved humans or evolved animals, nobody could know that. The eyes of these evolved lifeforms were somewhat dazed, but they carried auras that weren¡¯t inferior to theirs at all. More and more people discovered the presence of these unwelcome guests, and all of them quietly felt a sense of unease rising inside, looking at the 2,000 plus evolved lifeforms swarming here from god knows where.


    ¡®Shua!¡¯, Bai Yi suddenly landed from the sky and his wings retracted into his body in an instant.


    A man who looked no different from a normal human walked forward a few steps and a threw a black phone toward Bai Yi. Bai Yi caught the phone and placed it beside his ear. After a while, Bai Yi immediately smashed it, ¡°I refuse. We only need a quiet place to live, and I can guarantee that we won¡¯t create any trouble, but I definitely won¡¯t allow restrictions to be placed inside our bodies!¡±


    The rest of them didn¡¯t know what the person on the other end of the phone had said to Bai Yi, but they could guess just from looking at his face.


    Planting restrictions inside them!


    All of them instinctively looked at the approaching evolved lifeforms; although their auras were all not any weaker than their own, they didn¡¯t seem to have their own freedom. So, it was like this! Was this the power wielded by the 200 plus countries in the world? As a new power, they had to be grasped completely in the hands of others; otherwise, to the normal humans, they were a disruptive force¡ªeven disruptive to the political power of all the countries!


    Individual power would override the power granted by the masses!


    But, what if restrictions were planted in them from the start?


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t bother to ask what kind of restrictions these were because Bai Yi would never accept any kind of restriction. Bai Yi wouldn¡¯t think of whether he would have the chance to remove the restriction in the future¡ªto lie on firewood and taste gall1¡ªbecause it wasn¡¯t every time that they would be able to turn defeat into victory. Once they accepted such conditions, Bai Yi and the rest of them might live even more worthless lives than if they continued to struggle on the Devil Isles.


    ¡°I refuse!¡± Bai Yi¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t loud, but it was as if it was a declaration.


    ¡°Foolish; do you think you can persist on that pitiful, so-called ¡®pride¡¯ like this?¡± the man opposite him asked.


    ¡°I am only doing what I feel is right.¡± Bai Yi placed his right hand on the hilt of Red Kiss. The two of them stared each other in the eyes; everybody¡¯s bodies tensed, this situation was on the verge of erupting.


    Suddenly, an unnatural tremor came from the man¡¯s body, and he instantly pounced at Bai Yi. Bai Yi immediately shot out at him as well. From the looks of it, Bai Yi¡¯s movement was slightly slower, but a mocking smile appeared at the corner of his lips. The man opposite knew what Bai Yi was laughing about, and his initially unwilling actions immediately became vicious as he ferociously began his attack.


    That moment of trembling was obviously not his autonomous action; he was a puppet controlled by somebody else.


    Bai Yi was mocking his pitifulness!


    The two groups instantly clashed together, and each and every one of them chose their own opponent. There were more than 2,000 creatures on the opposing side, while Bai Yi¡¯s side only had slightly more than 1,200 people, and a portion of them was even injured. However, the eyes of these 1,200 people bore an unimaginable intensity to them. These were eyes looking toward freedom, they definitely did not leave Devil Isles to become puppets in the hands of others!


    ¡®Dang!¡¯, Bai Yi¡¯s Red Kiss collided with one of the pale white gauntlets on the man¡¯s hands, and Bai Yi instantly felt a powerful impact coming from Red Kiss in his hands. Something seemed to tear, and Bai Yi was instantly sent flying backwards. At that moment, Bai Yi even worried if Red Kiss would break. It was a strange sensation, but Bai Yi still flew forward again, clashing with the unknown man.


    Reverse Flower Eyes!


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t bother to clash weapons repeatedly with his opponent; this wasn¡¯t presently a one-on-one fight. The most crucial thing now was to kill off the combat forces the opposing side had. Hence, in their second clash, Bai Yi immediately used his Reverse Flower Eyes.


    Red Kiss coldly and swiftly stabbed toward the head of this man.


    A soft ¡®ding!¡¯ rang out, and Bai Yi discovered with a shock that a big mouth appeared on what used to be the man¡¯s right cheek, looking very similar to Sharpei¡¯s appearance. At this time, the big mouth viciously bit the tip of Red Kiss, revealing a hair-raising smile. This wasn¡¯t the only thing to happen; the left side of the man¡¯s face started to transform as well, revealing another huge mouth and opening two other eyes at the same time. Taking advantage of Bai Yi¡¯s moment of shock, both of the man¡¯s fists shot out parallel to each other and landed on Bai Yi¡¯s abdomen.


    Mountain Shaking Strike!


    ¡®Boom!¡¯, an intense impact instantly spread from Bai Yi¡¯s abdomen and he shot backward like a cannonball, immediately smashing into the defense base in the distance.


    Woolf was not far away, and immediately shouted loudly, ¡°Bai Yi!¡± but he couldn¡¯t spare any effort to help him. His opponent this time couldn¡¯t be compared to the 10,000 normal soldiers before. It was the same for the other evolved humans as well; their opponents already had an advantage over them in numbers, and all of them were desperately fighting with their lives on the line.


    After a while, a hand stretched out from the collapsed building. Bai Yi slowly climbed out and touched the blood flowing down his mouth.


    ¡°Name?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°Long Jia Tuo2!¡±


    The man opposite seriously answered Bai Yi¡¯s question and looked at him at the same time. In that instant just now, Bai Yi¡¯s body had done countless small and fine movements, dispersing a portion of the force. However, the most crucial thing wasn¡¯t that, but rather that Long Jia Tuo knew his own energy characteristic. Even steel would have broken under his Mountain Shaking Strike just now, but Bai Yi only vomited a bit of blood.


    ¡°Bai Yi!¡± Bai Yi pointed at himself with his thumb and charged toward him in the next instant.


    As if he glided through the air horizontally, Bai Yi instantly appeared in front of Long Jia Tuo. His body dragged along Red Kiss as if carrying a weight of a thousand pounds, and the initially light and nimble Red Kiss seemed incomparably heavy on Bai Yi¡¯s body. ¡®KENG!¡¯, Red Kiss impacted against the bone-white gauntlets, and red and white dust mixed together, immediately erupting in a circle around them. A few of the evolved lifeforms battling close to them were instantly torn apart by the powerful force and split apart at their waists.


    At this time, Bai Yi¡¯s right leg took another half step forward, and just like a cascading wave, a second burst of heavy force was immediately emitted by Red Kiss.


    Long Jia Tuo instantly shot backwards, and on the outside of his gauntlets, a blood-red mark stretched across his body¡ªbut it was just a blood-red mark. Long Jia Tuo¡¯s three mouths all opened at the same time and revealed a terrifying smile, just like a three-faced demon. What powerful sword techniques! If not for his metal-type energy, he would probably have been split in half with that strike just now.


    The battle this time was completely incomparable to the battle earlier on. The battle with high-tech weaponry just now seemed to be very intense, but it also seemed to be lacking something. However, the people battling now immediately understood what had been missing: the ferocity of the clash of similar-level beings, and the cruel atmosphere of slaughter filling the air around everyone.


    ***


    Translator¡¯s Notes:

 Chapter 208

    Chapter 208: Visual Illusion


    Long Jia Tuo shot backward from the impact, but in mid-air he suddenly roared in a frenzy, and all the muscles in his body bulged, instantly bursting his clothes and even his own skin apart. Blood vessels ran all over his firm muscles, making him appear disgusting yet terrifying; most notably, the muscles in his body had three distinct colors, as if they had been put together from different bodies.


    ¡°ROAR!¡±


    After bellowing at Bai Yi, Long Jia Tuo pounced forward at him again, his gigantic body giving off an oppressive pressure. Just a simple pair of gauntlets enabled him to fight on par with Bai Yi¡¯s Red Kiss, and if not for Bai Yi intentionally avoiding a head-on clash, he even felt that Red Kiss might have broken.


    ¡°Will you become like this as well? Hahahaha!¡±


    Long Jia Tuo laughed boisterously as he battled, three different voices overlapping with each other. Combining this with how Long Jia Tuo looked right now, Bai Yi could basically guess his current state. This guy couldn¡¯t be a single person, but rather three people. As for whether he devoured the other two of his own accord or was controlled into fusing with the other people, Bai Yi wouldn¡¯t know that. This wasn¡¯t just a fusion of their physical bodies, but it even seemed like their minds were fused together as well. Long Jia Tuo couldn¡¯t calm down no matter what and seemed just like a hysterical maniac. It was precisely because of this that Bai Yi¡¯s Reverse Flower Eyes hadn¡¯t been effective at the start of the fight.


    Bai Yi retreated a distance in the air and said quietly, ¡°Stop laughing, you will only make people feel pity for you.¡±


    That¡¯s right, pity. The laughter sounded very crude and brash, but in his bones was contained a deep sorrow.


    Long Jia Tuo paused for a moment before suddenly becoming even more hysterical. ¡°What do you know?! Pity? Who do you think you are, a God that can arrogantly judge others?!¡± Long Jia Tuo roared loudly while incessantly raining attacks on Bai Yi. From the looks of it, he seemed very ferocious, but the subtle abandonment of himself to despair inside made Bai Yi¡¯s eyes become even heavier. Bai Yi wouldn¡¯t self-righteously make any judgments; these were just the emotions he felt from Long Jia Tuo while the two of them battled.


    The two of them clashed together, and Long Jia Tuo roared savagely at Bai Yi, ¡°Are you taking pity on me!?¡±


    ¡°No!¡±


    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes were calm but apathetic. ¡°I¡¯m just taking your mistake as a lesson.¡±


    ¡°Hmph!¡± Long Jia Tuo looked at Bai Yi¡¯s expression and couldn¡¯t help but grunt, sending Bai Yi flying backward again with brute force.


    ¡°I will be responsible for myself!¡± Bai Yi said calmly after landing, looking at Red Kiss in his hands.


    ¡°Then come!¡±


    Nobody else knew what the two of them were thinking inside, but everybody could sense the two of them turning solemn. If the clashes now were about them sounding each other out, then the following battles would be real life and death fights.


    Bai Yi wiped Red Kiss. Domineering strength, overwhelming defense, strong yet chaotic consciousness; Long Jia Tuo was practically intentionally chosen to counter him. It was very apparent that Bai Yi had gained the attention of the United Nations long ago. Most probably, Long Jia Tuo had other orders as well, such as to capture Bai Yi alive if at all possible. When Bai Yi said that he would be responsible for himself, Long Jia Tuo understood that Bai Yi meant that he would give it his all to kill him, both for the sake of survival and to make a stand and fight.


    Reverse Flower Eyes!


    Bai Yi raised his head and his eyes spun rapidly. Long Jia Tuo opposite him squinted his eyes slightly but didn¡¯t feel any changes. The racket caused by three chaotic consciousness couldn¡¯t be said to make him completely immune to the hypnosis of the Reverse Flower Eyes, but it was just very easy for him to wake up from it. At this time, Bai Yi had already closed in on him. Long Jia Tuo immediately focused his attention and carefully faced Bai Yi. However, he still didn¡¯t feel even the slightest changes inside, just that the fight had become even more dangerous.


    Wasp¡¯s Sting!


    Shattering Fist!


    Seeing Bai Yi¡¯s determined sword stabbing toward him, Long Jia Tuo prepared to trade injury for injury. From what he had sensed just now, Bai Yi¡¯s body was extremely durable, completely unlike what he looked like on the outside. However, the stronger the opponent, the more excited he felt when he ripped them apart into pieces.


    Just like a sting from a poisonous wasp, Red Kiss pierced forward, and their attacks landed on each other at practically the same time. ¡®Puchi!¡¯, Bai Yi¡¯s Red Kiss instantly left a deep, bloody hole in Long Jia Tuo¡¯s body, while Bai Yi¡¯s body shook and the sound of bones breaking could be heard coming from his waist. This guy definitely didn¡¯t have just a single type of energy; this destructive force was completely different from the defensive power he had. So he was a fusion product after all?


    ¡°Your body is really durable, there seems to be something dispersing the force inside.¡±


    Bai Yi wiped the blood from his mouth and said, ¡°Your body is very tough as well, just like a tortoise shell.¡±


    ¡°HAHAHAHA!¡± Long Jia Tuo laughed loudly and charged toward Bai Yi again.


    This was a completely different level of battle from before; even though they were only using cold weapons, the level of danger and intensity contained within their combat was hard to describe. Even with metal-type energy protecting his body, Long Jia Tuo still suffered countless injuries. Bai Yi¡¯s longsword was even sharper than he imagined, especially the layer of air twisting around the edge of the blade. Bai Yi also suffered quite a few punches to his body; a normal evolved human would have had all his bones broken long ago, but Bai Yi was still stubbornly standing upright on the ground.


    Wasp¡¯s Sting!


    Seeing Bai Yi going through the exact same motions as before, Long Jia Tuo started to wonder if Bai Yi only had this bit of power. Indeed, facing the defense of his metal-type energy, only the Wasp¡¯s Sting seemed to be able to effectively deal damage to him, so it wasn¡¯t hard to understand if Bai Yi used this attack again.


    Bai Yi pushed Red Kiss with his right hand, the dark red blade shooting forward at a shockingly fast speed like the sting of a poisonous wasp. At this time, his Reverse Flower Eyes were still spinning rapidly, but Long Jia Tuo had stopped minding this long ago. Bai Yi¡¯s Reverse Flower Eyes had never stopped spinning so far, it was just that they had never had any effect.


    Seeing the Wasp¡¯s Sting stabbing toward him again, Long Jia Tuo instantly dodged finely and rapidly. The piercing power of this attack was extremely sharp and acute, and he didn¡¯t want to experience it again. Fortunately, the attack of the Wasp¡¯s Sting was only focused at a single point, so he could still dodge it. Seeing Bai Yi¡¯s Red Kiss stabbing a few centimeters past his cheek, a contemptuous smile rose on his face.


    Defense: other than Wasp¡¯s Sting, Bai Yi didn¡¯t have any other effective way of dealing damage to him.


    Speed: Bai Yi didn¡¯t have an advantage in that area either.


    Attack: although he didn¡¯t know how Bai Yi¡¯s body resist could so many destructive-natured attacks, he was already in an infallible position with just the previous two attributes.


    ¡®Puchi!¡¯, an abnormal pain came from the center of Long Jia Tuo¡¯s brows!


    At this time, Bai Yi¡¯s Reverse Flower Eyes happened to slowly stop spinning. Long Jia Tuo only realized at this moment that the longsword that he thought he had dodged had somehow managed to pierce through the center of his brows, and it had already stabbed through his brain. Right before death, a sense of puzzlement flashed through Long Jia Tuo¡¯s mind: why? When did Red Kiss pierce into his head? He had clearly dodged the attack! As his vision gradually turned dark, he looked at Bai Yi¡¯s eyes and Long Jia Tuo seemed to understand why.


    Bai Yi pulled Red Kiss out and panted heavily. This guy really was specifically chosen to deal with him. If not for the new ability of his Reverse Flower Eyes not being widespread knowledge yet, the ending might not have been like this.


    After confirming Long Jia Tuo¡¯s defense, Bai Yi had always been looking for a sure-kill opportunity. The two Wasp¡¯s Sting strikes having the exact same motion was just Long Jia Tuo¡¯s vision getting tricked. Bai Yi had recorded the motions of the first Wasp¡¯s Sting and covered the trajectory of the second Wasp¡¯s Sting with it. When Long Jia Tuo thought that he had managed to dodge the second Wasp¡¯s Sting, he didn¡¯t know that Bai Yi¡¯s Red Kiss was actually already aimed straight at the center of his brows.


    Before Bai Yi¡¯s panting stopped, three new opponents automatically came from one side of the battlefield.


    ¡°Come!¡± Bai Yi tilted his head and bent his fingers at the three new experimental subjects to his side.


    The three strangely-shaped experimental subjects immediately charged at him, and at this time he didn¡¯t seem to have managed to recover his breath yet. However, the moment their attacks were about to land on Bai Yi¡¯s body, he moved instantly. His Reverse Flower Eyes started spinning again; his body flashed past the gaps in between their bodies and Red Kiss sliced through them.


    ¡®Pa pa pa!¡¯, three corpses collapsed onto the ground; not everyone could resist Reverse Flower Eyes.


    Bai Yi raised his head and looked at the sky, his gaze seemingly able to pierce through the vast distance and see a satellite high up beyond the atmosphere. In this pose, the satellite happened to perfectly capture his eyes and the expression on his face at that moment. Bai Yi was smiling, and in this smile was contained a sense of stubbornness and a refusal to submit. All who saw that smile suddenly felt stuffy in their hearts, as if they were the subject of some soundless ridicule, making them feel extraordinarily uncomfortable.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Although they couldn¡¯t hear his voice, all of them could guess the simple word that Bai Yi said from the shape of his mouth.


    Bai Yi lowered his head, returning to the battlefield again, a calm yet agitated killing intent flashing in his eyes. They were evenly matched. Although they were at a disadvantage in numbers, who among Bai Yi¡¯s group wasn¡¯t somebody who had managed to struggle and survive in the treacherous environment of the Devil Isles? All of them had their own trump card; it was just that if things continued like this then there wouldn¡¯t be many of them still alive after everything was over.


    Bai Yi meticulously gazed across the battlefield, and charged out in the next instant, swiftly dashing through it. Bai Yi didn¡¯t stop at any one place for long but flashed through the battlefield like a shadow. After just a short distance, there were already eight corpses lying in the wake of his path. All the original opponents of these experimental subjects stared at Bai Yi in amazement.


    ¡°Go help the others,¡± Bai Yi said, and his figure disappeared again.


    Bai Yi carefully looked for Momo; everybody had gradually lost each other after the battle had started. Suddenly, Bai Yi saw Betsy and Bellamy battling up in front. Just when Bai Yi wanted to go over, an experimental subject came out and blocked him from the front.


    This guy stuck out his long tongue and said, ¡°You actually managed to come here; did that Long Jia Tuo fellow die?¡±

 Chapter 209

    Chapter 209: Slowly Losing It


    ¡°Scram!¡± Bai Yi saw another guy coming to stop him, and he subconsciously activated his Reverse Flower Eyes and swung Red Kiss, but this time he seemed to hit a wall again. The moment Bai Yi raised his right hand, this guy instantly stepped back a distance and escaped Bai Yi¡¯s blade by a hair¡¯s breadth. At this time, Bai Yi finally realized that this guy didn¡¯t have eyes.


    ¡°Long Jia Tuo died! Really? En, hehehehe, is that so?!¡± This guy seemed to be quite deranged; his tongue was sticking out and his saliva dripped onto the ground.


    ¡°Ah~, dead! You will die very soon as well!¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, I¡¯ve already died many times, but I always couldn¡¯t die! Let me die then, quick, faster!¡± this guy said manically, and revealed a disturbed smile at Bai Yi. ¡°Heh, hehehehe, but you can¡¯t kill me, because I¡¯m not afraid of your eyes,¡± this guy whispered to Bai Yi at the end, as if he was telling him a secret.


    A bunch of lunatics!


    Bai Yi thought of the few guys he had killed just now; they all seemed to be quite similar to this guy. It wasn¡¯t right to say that they were crazy because they weren¡¯t completely deranged yet; it also wasn¡¯t right to say that they didn¡¯t have their own consciousnesses because they still retained a bit of clarity. If he really had to describe them, then they would be among the so-called mentally ill. Among this group of people, Long Jia Tuo could be considered one of the better ones.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t have the time to waste on this lunatic. ¡°Right, you aren¡¯t afraid of my eyes, but¡­¡±


    Bind: Moving Shadow!


    As if a gentle breeze had blown by, Bai Yi walked past this guy just like that, a few afterimages dragging behind him. Just as Bai Yi walked behind this lunatic, Red Kiss also dragged a line of afterimages behind it and returned to its sheath. With a soft ¡®ding!¡¯, disbelief appeared in the eyes of the madman who was hooting just a moment ago. His body struggled vigorously because of the immense pain, but his upper and lower body slowly separated from each other, fresh blood flowing outward uncontrollably along with his intestines.


    ¡°But very sadly, I¡¯m afraid you are going to die this time,¡± Bai Yi said softly.


    Behind Bai Yi, a few thin, dark, crystal-like threads slowly fell from this guy¡¯s neck, arms, waist, and various other areas. The upper half of the corpse, which was initially fixed in the air, fell onto the ground with a ¡®pat!¡¯, his still-contracting muscles causing his body to continuously spasm.


    Bai Yi continued moving and entered Betsy¡¯s battle, passing right through the center of it. The few guys who were initially battling fiercely with Betsy and Bellamy immediately collapsed onto the ground. These people were clearly prepared to counterattack, but they always seemed to be restricted by something at crucial moments and became stuck in mid-air. In that instant of vulnerability, that was enough for Bai Yi to take away all of their lives. Five experimental subjects; when the last one prepared to pounce at Bai Yi, his body paused momentarily as well, a line of depression forming on his neck.


    Bellamy immediately took a step forward. Advancing Heavy Hammer!


    Her petite body seemed like a giant and dense, heavy mountain, and weightily smashed into the back of this guy. The sounds of bones fracturing instantly came from the body of this experimental subject, who couldn¡¯t move at all, and he was immediately forced forward. At the same time, his neck seemed to pass through a metal wire and his head abruptly flew into the sky.


    Betsy and Bellamy looked at the few thin, dark colored threads connected to the rocks and vegetation in the surroundings being rapidly retracted into Bai Yi¡¯s body. They only managed to notice these thin threads because they had learned of this attack method of Bai Yi¡¯s long ago. For somebody who didn¡¯t know about this, they would have been impossible to discover unless that person had shockingly extraordinary eyesight.


    Bai Yi looked at Betsy and Bellamy and asked, ¡°Any problems with you guys?¡±


    Betsy shook her head. ¡°Nothing wrong, just a bit tired.¡±


    Bellamy rubbed her own claws and asked, ¡°Uncle Bai, what¡¯s up with these guys? Are there so many evolved lifeforms even in the outside world? Also, what exactly is the ¡®bind¡¯ you mentioned just now?¡±


    ¡°Help the others first, we¡¯ll talk on the way,¡± Bai Yi said. All the evolved humans had very high mobility, and without any intentionality, the battlefield had spread out very far. The two of them immediately followed Bai Yi, prepared to help other people and looking for battles close by.


    ¡°What do you guys think about their strength?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°LV2 Metamorphose Stage¡­ but they seem to be somewhat weaker,¡± Betsy said.


    ¡°If we can split LV2 Metamorphose Stage into four different grades¡­ First grade: Perfect Metamorphosis; regardless of the total capacity of special energy or level of control, they have achieved the best possible state at the current stage. Second grade: Imperfect Metamorphosis; special energy and level of control are both slightly weaker¡ªroughly 20¨C30% weaker than a Perfect Metamorphosis. Third grade: defective products which failed at metamorphosis; unclear consciousness, but special energy and level of control are similar to the second grade¡ªroughly 20¨C40% weaker as compared to Perfect Metamorphosis,¡± Bai Yi explained to Betsy and Bellamy as they ran about.


    ¡°We can label these guys as fourth grade. The outside world probably found the tipping point for metamorphosis failure and continued to weaken the degree of metamorphosis. Energy and control continue to fall again and are about 30¨C60% weaker compared to Perfect Metamorphosis. Although the difference is very big, at least they haven¡¯t lost their sense of self. Furthermore, even if they are a lot weaker in comparison, they are all still LV2 Metamorphose Stage, after all.¡±


    ¡°However, we can¡¯t completely relax either. Although these guys are usually quite weak, there will also be some of them who are more powerful. With the huge numbers of experimental subjects, there are bound to be a minority who are exceptions.¡± Bai Yi thought of that Long Jia Tuo he had met just now.


    ¡°Do you guys realize that this bunch of people seem like they are mentally ill?¡± Bai Yi said mockingly.


    Bellamy giggled happily when she heard his words. ¡°Mentally ill? Now that you say it, it really does seem to be true.¡±


    ¡°But how is it that the research of the outside world is even faster than ours?¡± Betsy asked with puzzlement.


    Bai Yi paused for a moment after hearing her words and shook his head. ¡°I think you fell into an incorrect way of thinking.¡± After that, he started explaining without waiting for them to ask why.


    ¡°The activated cells did indeed erupt in New Zealand, and changes happened to our bodies as well. However, that does not imply that we are the ones that understand the activated cells the most. It¡¯s true that the center of research back then was in New Zealand, but would you believe it if somebody said that other countries didn¡¯t have their own research facilities? Furthermore, you can think about it yourselves: how much time did we truly spend on research on the Devil Isles, and how many of us there could have been considered to be researchers?¡± Bai Yi looked at Betsy and Bellamy.


    ¡°About¡­¡± Betsy and Bellamy immediately started to recall how things had been back on the Devil Isles. How much time did they use on research? At the start, all of them were too busy with the problem of survival; after things stabilized, they indeed cared a lot about the changes in their bodies, but could that be considered research? Just like Bai Yi said, none of them could truly have been considered to be researchers.


    ¡°10%?¡± Bellamy said uncertainly.


    ¡°Probably; nobody can be sure of this. Most importantly, I think our so-called ¡®research¡¯ and the research of the outside world have very fundamental differences. Our so-called research is just organizing and consolidating information regarding the conditions and patterns behind our evolution; after all, none of us would play around with our own lives. However, the research in the outside world wouldn¡¯t just stop at this stage.¡± Bai Yi¡¯s voice became slightly lower.


    Betsy and Bellamy weren¡¯t dumb, and knew what Bai Yi meant by saying the outside world wouldn¡¯t stop at that stage.


    ¡°So, that¡¯s how it is. The research of the outside world is more in-depth than ours; but actually, our main emphasis is different.¡± Bai Yi smiled at Bellamy.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Our main emphasis is to consolidate understanding the conditions behind our evolution, studying how to control our changes and how to walk on this path correctly. But the main emphasis of the outside world¡­ probably tended toward controlling evolved lifeforms,¡± Bai Yi said, as his eyes turned incomparably cold.


    At this time, a miniature battlefield with close to a hundred people chaotically fighting appeared in front of them. After Bai Yi finished speaking, he opened his wings slightly and glided over, close to the ground.


    Behind him, Betsy and Bellamy were still in shock over his previous words. Tended toward controlling evolved lifeforms, Bai Yi meant¡­!


    While Betsy and Bellamy were still in shock, Bai Yi had already entered the battle. His eyes were abnormally cold; from the start, Bai Yi¡¯s abilities were already suited for combat, and at this time his presence instantly decided the outcome of this battle. Bai Yi had a perfect metamorphosis; perhaps his special energy capacity and control were only roughly twice that of the experiments, but it didn¡¯t mean that two of the experiments were sufficient to deal with him. In a battle, things could never be calculated this way.


    With his Reverse Flower Eyes combined with his sword skills, Bai Yi pierced through the battlefield and finally stopped on top of a broken wall more than ten meters high. At this moment on this battlefield with roughly a hundred participants, all of them subconsciously looked at the view of his back.


    There was a lot of blood on Bai Yi¡¯s body; most of the time he didn¡¯t bother to dodge the blood, and it slowly dripped along Red Kiss and fell onto the ground. Behind him was a gory path with more than ten fallen corpses. Bai Yi slowly turned his head around, and that pair of bewitching Reverse Flower Eyes made all of their hearts skip a beat.


    ¡°Kill, leave none alive!¡±


    These icy words filled with killing intent caused all the evolved humans to explode with ferocity. As for Bai Yi, he pushed off the broken wall and charged right into battle again.


    Bellamy looked at Bai Yi from afar and said secretly ¡°Uncle Bai is really¡­!¡±


    ¡°Cruel and decisive!¡± A voice behind Bellamy suddenly filled in the words that she hadn¡¯t dared to say. Woolf¡¯s huge figure walked over from the other direction. His body was also stained with a lot of blood, but he didn¡¯t seem to have suffered many injuries. At this time, Woolf only looked at Bai Yi from afar and revealed a look of reminiscence.


    Woolf was the one most familiar with Bai Yi from the start, and so only Woolf knew about the changes in Bai Yi. The man who brought Momo¡ªwho was still a baby back then¡ªaround to show off, the man who was always smiling, gentle, and kind; just what kind of experiences did he go through to become like this now?


    While he became more severe and decisive, seeming more like a qualified leader now, he also seemed to be slowly losing something else in him.

 Chapter 210

    Chapter 210: Cry


    In reality, there were too many things to handle after taking down the coastline defense base, so not everyone was gathered together.


    At that time, Bai Yi had been sitting on a shoal by the seaside, and Momo had been taking an afternoon nap. Momo would take a nap for half an hour every day; this was a habit that Vala had inculcated in her. Suddenly, a noisy commotion came from outside, and Momo creased her eyebrows unhappily and sat up. Grabbing her black sword, Momo went out from this temporarily set up room. Sharpei was also lying outside and taking a nap at this time, but he stood up as well and looked at his surroundings.


    Momo walked outside and Sharpei immediately followed behind her.


    When Momo came outside, she immediately discovered the chaotic battlefield. If the evolved humans already looked strange, then the experimental subjects opposite only surpassed them. As Momo had been taking a nap just now, she didn¡¯t even know where all these guys had come from. However, even though she didn¡¯t know where they had come from, she still slowly walked ahead.


    Just when Momo prepared to enter the fray, five experimental subjects took the initiative to surround her.


    Sharpei instantly took two steps forward, standing beside Momo. The second head on his left side extended, rapidly growing out and revealing its sharp fangs. Momo didn¡¯t seem to be affected by all the ongoing fighting now, still maintaining a look of serenity on her face. However, the moment she placed her hand on the hilt of her blade, the aura around her changed instantly, and a sharp pressure erupted from her.


    ¡­


    Melvin was processing a new weapon in his own room, the hard material gradually softening as he injected his special energy into it. After a while, Melvin put down the weapon, which he had ground to a preliminary stage, and looked at the material immersed in the solution. After forging Black Underworld, Melvin hadn¡¯t been able to create a second weapon that could compare to it.


    When it came to creating weapons, it wasn¡¯t sufficient to just have skill; having high-quality materials was also necessary.


    Previously, Bai Yi had passed him this piece of material, and its quality wasn¡¯t inferior to Black Underworld¡¯s component fang at all. However, the characteristics of this material were different from that fang, and it wasn¡¯t suitable for forging into a longsword.


    What should he forge it into then? Melvin quietly pondered upon this question in his mind, and slowly revealed a smile. However, a commotion suddenly came from outside. Melvin then closed the materials box shut and walked out of the room.


    ¡­


    Aphra looked at Nancy with a face full of admiration. ¡°So awesome! Older sister Nancy is so good at treating external injuries as well!¡± In the outside world, Nancy should just be a Medicinal Maker; she had never expected that Nancy would be so skilled with external injuries as well.


    Nancy smiled. ¡°Hahaha, this is all thanks to Teacher Lucretia instructing me!¡± In the period of time in New Christchurch back then, she had studied all this under Lucretia.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s true, it¡¯s just that you haven¡¯t followed Teacher for long,¡± Nancy said with some tiredness. There were quite a lot of injured from the previous battle and even she felt tired now; only Aphra could still maintain her energy and liveliness.


    Suddenly, a voice came inside and left just as abruptly, ¡°There are new enemies outside, everyone make your preparations!¡±


    Everybody inside the medical room, regardless of whether they were doctors or patients, all tensed up instantly. Nancy immediately walked out of the medical ward and looked at the battlefield in the distance. This is really¡­After Nancy came back, she immediately looked at everybody in the room, including the ten plus injured laying inside.


    ¡­


    Alodia was preparing their plans and discussing some things with a few people, such as their future negotiations with the United Nations, and what kind of conditions and status they needed to acquire for themselves. Only after preparing all of this would she pass it to Bai Yi to look over.


    Alodia¡¯s status among these people was still quite high due to Bai Yi, but she didn¡¯t put on airs at all, and on the contrary treated everyone with a lot of respect. Of course, the rest of them quite admired Alodia as well. Based on her age¡ªfive years ago she had only been fourteen years old¡ªshe was still just a young and inexperienced girl. Furthermore, there shouldn¡¯t have been any way for her to be educated during the five years following New Zealand¡¯s change; but unexpectedly, Alodia didn¡¯t seem inexperienced at all, and even seemed to be very proficient regarding these matters. They could only say that this was the mark of a genius.


    However, only Alodia herself knew that Teacher Vala was the true genius. Although Teacher Vala was just a noble etiquette teacher, that was just because she enjoyed doing it.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll pass all these things to Sir Bai Yi now,¡± Alodia said to everyone. In front of other people, Alodia would always address Bai Yi respectfully as Sir. Alodia herself wasn¡¯t sure when she had started doing this, but it was probably after getting rejected the previous time.


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll have to trouble Miss Alodia,¡± the few others said amiably as well.


    Alodia smiled and walked out of this relatively intact building, carrying the completed plans with her. However, before she could walk too far, she discovered the commotion coming from the distance. Alodia immediately stared in that direction, and with a few quick steps ran on top of the building and stopped on the roof.


    Seeing the rapidly approaching swarm of experimental subjects, Alodia immediately got a shock and hurriedly prepared to go inform Bai Yi.


    However, just when Alodia prepared to move, Bai Yi flew over rapidly from some distance away and landed in front of everyone else. Alodia stared at Bai Yi¡¯s back from the rooftop, and without knowing why, her anxious feeling from just a while ago immediately calmed down. Just¡­ just looking at Uncle Bai¡¯s back was good enough.


    I want to take one more look at Uncle Bai¡¯s back¡­ Alodia¡¯s vision gradually started to become blurred.


    Her eyes, which had slackened, suddenly came into focus again; Alodia immediately pulled herself together and waved her longsword. However, she herself wasn¡¯t too skilled in battle, and she couldn¡¯t really summon her strength now due to losing too much blood.


    ¡­


    After Woolf finished speaking, he immediately entered battle again with Betsy and Bellamy. With the few of them taking the lead, this battle with less than a hundred people in it very quickly calmed down. When the battle ended, Bai Yi¡¯s body staggered, and Bellamy immediately supported him.


    ¡°Bai Yi, what happened? Can¡¯t do this anymore?¡± Woolf laughed and asked, but he himself was panting heavily.


    Bai Yi smiled as well. ¡°There was a guy who was slightly strong just now; I got some light injuries.¡±


    ¡°HAHAHA, seriously!? Becoming like this just because of a small injury?!¡± Woolf laughed loudly. In truth, Woolf knew that Bai Yi definitely hadn¡¯t received just a light injury. As his teammate, Woolf understood Bai Yi¡¯s combat power the best.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, let¡¯s go find the others,¡± Bai Yi said.


    Very quickly, Bai Yi discovered Pupu bringing Chinchilla along with him, protecting this excited little fellow from going too far. Not long after, Bai Yi found Romain and Ulisses, the two of them mixed together with the other evolved humans in a chaotic battle. As everybody searched for each other, the various battles gradually gathered together, but there were still quite a few people in the team that they didn¡¯t know the whereabouts of.


    Suddenly, through his Reverse Flower Eyes, Bai Yi saw a figure gradually falling down in the distance.


    Alodia!


    Bai Yi instantly dashed over, fighting against time to catch Alodia¡¯s petite figure before she fell to the ground.


    Alodia saw Bai Yi¡¯s face suddenly appear, and smilingly said, ¡°Uncle¡­ Bai!¡±


    ¡°Idiot, stop talking, your injuries are very serious!¡± Bai Yi scolded her anxiously, his eyes focusing on the gigantic wound on her waist. However, there wasn¡¯t a single doctor or Medicinal Maker around right now.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother, Uncle Bai,¡± Alodia said gently, holding onto Bai Yi¡¯s right hand.


    ¡°Uncle Bai, can you kiss me once?¡±


    Bai Yi¡¯s body trembled and he looked at Alodia in shock, before gently giving her a kiss. The metallic taste of blood immediately came to him from his lips, while Alodia revealed a look of bliss; I¡¯ve waited a long time!


    ¡°Actually, I only wanted to keep on watching Uncle Bai¡¯s back,¡± Alodia said softly, as she slowly closed her eyes.


    Bai Yi gradually put Alodia down and stared at the sky. After a while, Bai Yi turned around and his Reverse Flower Eyes opened, seemingly even more bewitching than before. In the next instant, Bai Yi shot into the chaotic mix that was the battlefield. Reverse Flower Eyes, sword techniques, dark threads, Tai Ji Fist; they weren¡¯t many abilities, but every one of them were the top skills of this era, and Bai Yi now completely unleashed all of them onto the world.


    Every cut and every fist displayed a kind of sharp poignance, and unconsciously, the rest of the people on the entire battlefield all retreated to the side, leaving Bai Yi to face off again over a hundred experimental subjects by himself. The battle carried on, with fresh blood splattering and miserable screams cutting through the air, while the rest of them looked at the shadow dancing through the battlefield in silence.


    Reverse Wheel!


    Bai Yi¡¯s right hand held Red Kiss in reverse while his legs tensed in the shape of a bow. At this time, a sharp poisonous stinger hovered right in front of Bai Yi¡¯s eyes, with a few centimeters to spare. However, just these few centimeters seemed like the gap from heaven to earth. Behind Bai Yi, countless thin, dark threads stretched out, just like a strange blossoming flower, binding and connecting all the experimental subjects together, and the entire battlefield seemed to freeze at this moment.


    In the next instant, the dark threads abruptly tightened behind Bai Yi.


    ¡®Whoosh!¡¯, the dozens of experimental subjects instantly split apart from different areas, as if being sliced by these dark threads, their dismembered limbs and fresh blood blossoming in the air. Bai Yi stood right below and didn¡¯t dodge at all, letting the rain of blood splatter onto his body, a slight smile forming at the corner of his lips. Although this made it seem like he was smiling, it actually gave people a feeling of sorrow that was even denser than tears.


    A single teardrop fell from Bai Yi¡¯s eyes!


    The crystal-clear teardrop appeared so incredibly eye-catching among the mass of red.


    The people in the surrounding area stared at the figure in the center in a daze. Looking at that smile that seemed even sadder than crying, all of them suddenly felt a constriction in their chests, like they couldn¡¯t breathe anymore, and their eyes started to become wet.


    Why should we feel such sorrow, why?!


    What wrong did we do!?


    They were completely the victims of New Zealand¡¯s sudden change! Struggling so desperately until now, they just wanted the normal humans to accept them, but what laid in wait for them were countless bullets and shells. After defeating the first group of normal soldiers, they had to battle again with a group of experimental subjects and face the possibility of having restrictions placed on them. Don¡¯t say that this was really the attitude of the outside world toward them?! Not only refusing to accept them but also wanting to completely control them like puppets?


    Bai Yi¡­ cried!

 Chapter 211

    Chapter 211: Holding Your Hand


    At that moment, Bai Yi¡¯s teardrop resonated with countless others. Why did they feel so sorrowful, why? Was it just because of the pain from seeing their friends and companions fall? No, it wasn¡¯t just because of that! It was also the circumstances they were in right now; all of them understood what the outcome would be facing off against the entire world with just 1,000 plus people. Even if they killed off this group of experiments, there would definitely be more, many more¡­ All of them, including Bai Yi, only hoped to have a quiet place to rest and live in.


    ¡°AHHHHHHH!¡±


    Bai Yi suddenly started roaring again, his Reverse Wheel stirring once again and slicing the enemies in front of him into multiple pieces. However, the sadness and fury in his voice only made them feel an even greater heartache. Everyone instantly seemed to feel the same thing at that moment, and a bloody aura rose from all of them. The bitter and desperate aura coming from their bodies in that instant caused everyone else to avert their gazes.


    Bai Yi gradually walked forward; there was still a battle raging on in that direction.


    His movements were very slow; anybody could tell that he was already close to his limit. Bai Yi had suffered a lot of injuries in this desperate fighting as well, especially when he pulled the dark threads out of his body to use as a form of attack; his body lost that layer of durable defense then. The long period of intense battle also exhausted all of Bai Yi¡¯s special energy, causing every single one of his cells to frenziedly try to devour something.


    However, Bai Yi¡¯s movements never stopped¡ªhe kept firmly walking forward to the next battlefield.


    Woolf was the first to start running. Kill, kill everything! No matter how many enemies there were in front of them, no matter how powerful the groups obstructing them ahead were, they must continue to persevere and walk on, all the way until they couldn¡¯t walk anymore! The rest of them immediately followed after Woolf, very quickly charging to the next battlefield and overtaking Bai Yi.


    It¡¯s already enough, Bai Yi already did a lot; ever since the activated cells had erupted in New Zealand, Bai Yi had already done more than enough! They had already received a great amount of kindness from Bai Yi, now was the time for all of them to fight for their futures; they couldn¡¯t continue to let Bai Yi bear this heavy burden by himself!


    Fight!


    Fight till the very end!


    The evolved humans who had bloody-mindedness aroused in them exploded with unimaginable strength and the battle, which was initially at a stalemate, very quickly moved in an irresistible direction. A savagery grew in them as they fought and slaughtered, an overwhelming potential erupting from all of them.


    The battle gradually calmed down, and all the surviving evolved humans quietly sat on the ground, looking in the direction of the sun. When the last ray of sunlight disappeared, the entire world seemed to be abandoned by all the light in existence. The quiet sea breeze blew over them, giving them a slight chill, seeping all the way through them and joining the cold in their bones.


    Red Kiss was stabbed diagonally into a rock as Bai Yi sat on the ground, leaning against a huge rock and looking at the serene sea in the distance.


    ¡°Daddy!¡± Momo slowly walked over.


    Bai Yi stretched out his right hand and Momo placed a hand on top of his, and slowly sat down. Night gradually descended, and in this world where the light had seemingly abandoned them, it was enough as long as they held each other¡¯s hands. Bai Yi quietly held Momo¡¯s hands and engulfed her in a hug.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be sad,¡± Bai Yi said softly.


    ¡°En!¡±


    Who was the one bearing the pain? Momo leaned against Bai Yi¡¯s chest, feeling drops of liquid falling on her head.


    ¡­


    ¡°Where¡¯s Bai Yi?¡± Betsy asked, and very quickly looked for that place. Many people saw Bai Yi and Momo sitting at that spot, but nobody went to disturb them. However, Betsy completely ignored the sorrowful atmosphere and ran toward them directly. She had to look for Bai Yi no matter what because this matter was very important.


    ¡°Bai Yi, the United Nations is asking for you.¡± Betsy broke the serenity between Bai Yi and Momo.


    Bai Yi turned his head, and at that moment, Betsy almost felt like her heart had been stabbed with a knife. That pair of eyes was incomparably dangerous and sharp, and Betsy felt as if she couldn¡¯t control her body in that instant. However, very quickly, Bai Yi¡¯s emotions calmed down; yet he only seemed to become more dangerous.


    Bai Yi stood up, leveraging off of Red Kiss, and said to Betsy, ¡°Lead the way!¡±


    ¡°OK, it¡¯s at the command center that you asked to be fixed previously,¡± Betsy said, bringing Bai Yi and Momo to the command center.


    Outside the command center, more than ten signallers stood quietly, not daring to move in the slightest. They had thought about whether to escape or not when the experimental subjects had attacked, but in the end, they had given up on that idea. The bunch of people fighting outside were all non-human; it would only result in death for them no matter who they encountered. Unexpectedly, they had managed to save their lives this way and didn¡¯t delay the mission that Bai Yi had given them.


    When Bai Yi sat down, his emotions had already completely calmed down. ¡°I am Bai Yi!¡±


    ¡°I am the Chief Officer of the United Nations, Hodgson, in charge of peaceful contact with evolved humans. I feel extremely apologetic about the incident this time; actually, this is all due to the Australian military¡­¡± After seeing Bai Yi, Hodgson immediately gave a deeply pained face and apologized to him, while he also very quickly pushed all the blame for this incident on Australia. However, even after the guy talked for a long while, Bai Yi had never said a single word.


    ¡°Normal humans are willing to coexist with evolved humans peacefully!¡± In the end, Hodgson said this seriously.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t even want to find out about the political clash that had happened within the United Nations, and only knew one thing¡ªa lot of evolved humans had died this time, and there weren¡¯t even 800 survivors now. So many dead companions and they just wanted to use the word ¡®mistake¡¯ to make up for everything? Only talking about peaceful coexistence now¡ªjust how far were they going to bully them?!


    Agitation ignited in Bai Yi¡¯s heart, his Reverse Flower Eyes suddenly activated, and blood instantly started to flow from his eyes.


    Hodgson immediately got a fright through the screen; Bai Yi¡¯s eyes were no longer a secret to the outside world now. Looking at the changes in Bai Yi¡¯s eyes, Hodgson was almost frightened to death, but after a while, he realized that there was nothing happening to him. So it was like this! They were many kilometers apart now, and the images were just something transmitted by the satellites. If Bai Yi¡¯s eyes could have an effect on him from such a long distance away, then that would really be too demonic.


    Bai Yi suppressed the killing intent in his heart, his body trembling slightly.


    He clearly knew that the most rational thing to do now was to compromise. If they continued to battle, the only possible outcome would be that all of them would die. However, Bai Yi just couldn¡¯t calm his heart down thinking of all their fallen comrades and the death of Alodia. He wanted to kill them, wanted to murder all the masterminds behind this incident! Bai Yi¡¯s Reverse Flower Eyes slowly spun, his blood flowing unceasingly.


    After a while, Betsy came in from outside and whispered, ¡°Bai Yi, Alodia is still alive.¡±


    Bai Yi immediately raised his head in shock and instantly disappeared from the spot, completely ignoring Hodgson still waiting on the screen. After half an hour, Bai Yi finally returned, and Hodgson didn¡¯t show a single trace of impatience, only somewhat curious toward this person called Alodia.


    ¡°Tell me then, the United Nations¡¯ decision, and your lowest bottom line!¡± Bai Yi¡¯s eyes were like a flower blooming in reverse.


    ¡°The best policy that the United Nations can give the evolved humans is that you form your own autonomous region, and we wouldn¡¯t place many restrictions on you all either. There are only a few simple conditions¡­ you all are not to enter the normal human world, and you can¡¯t take up any official position in the autonomous region.¡± Hodgson looked at Bai Yi. With his history in the Devil Isles, it would be too threatening if he became the leader of the evolved humans.


    ¡°Agreed!¡± Exceeding their expectations, Bai Yi easily acquiesced.


    __________________________________________________________


    While the battle was still ongoing, Nancy very quickly heard of what happened to Alodia and immediately rushed over in that direction. When she reached the place and saw Alodia¡¯s serene expression, Nancy suddenly felt that Alodia must have been very happy before she died. En, very very happy¡ªshe looked like she was smiling in her dreams.


    Smiling even in her dreams!


    Tch! Who freaking said that Alodia was dead? Would the dead lick their lips and give an expression of lingering bliss?! Nancy got a shock and cursed inelegantly in her heart, then immediately started to give emergency treatment to Alodia right after.


    Nancy poked Alodia¡¯s wound. ¡°Hey, wake up! You are still smiling so goofily!¡±


    ¡°Pain, pain, pain, pain!¡± Alodia immediately woke up with a start from the pain, and the first thing she saw was Nancy bearing a strange smile on her face.


    ¡°Nancy, you died as well?¡±


    Nancy immediately knocked Alodia on her head. ¡°Died your head! Do you like to die so much? You only went unconscious from losing too much blood just now!¡±


    ¡°You are an idiot, and Bai Yi is an even greater idiot! Evolved humans aren¡¯t so fragile, and you aren¡¯t injured in any vital areas either! Crying so miserably over some loss of blood; which of them didn¡¯t suffer even more grievous injuries before, but weren¡¯t they all saved in the end? Seriously, that idiot, getting tricked by you so easily; he thought that you were dead just because of you bleeding and closing your eyes,¡± Nancy grumbled to Alodia.


    ¡°It¡¯s like that?¡± Alodia said dumbly.


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s like that! Can¡¯t you tell how much Bai Yi values you now? This is the classic ¡®becoming stupid from caring too much¡¯.¡± Nancy¡¯s words contained a bit of sourness in them.


    ¡°Uncle Bai is very concerned for everyone.¡±


    ¡°Fine, fine, stop denying it,¡± Nancy said and started to help Alodia treat her wounds. After a while, Nancy really couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore and finally asked, ¡°What did that kiss taste like?¡±


    Alodia heard and her face, which had lost too much blood, actually became red again. What taste was it? A metallic taste of blood and a sweet gentleness? Alodia had felt that there was blood in Bai Yi¡¯s mouth as well, so apparently, he had been injured too. It was clearly blood all the same, but it actually had a different taste; that warm and pure sensation¡­ Alodia suddenly felt her face being drawn very tight and realized that Nancy was pulling both of her cheeks.


    ¡°You¡¯re back to Earth!¡±


    Nancy pinched Alodia¡¯s face and asked teasingly, ¡°I¡¯m very curious, what kind of expression will Bai Yi show when he comes back later and realizes that you are still alive?¡±


    ¡°Aish jaz wan to cantino lukin at Uncal Bai¡¯s vac!¡± Alodia said in a strange voice, as her cheeks were still in Nancy¡¯s hands.


    After escaping from Nancy¡¯s hands, Alodia repeated her words again. ¡°I just want to continue looking at Uncle Bai¡¯s back!¡± Nancy heard Alodia talking like this and couldn¡¯t help but quiet down as well, looking at Alodia gently. Just want to look at his back, huh? Alodia, your love is really the pure and innocent love of a young girl, such purity! Hopefully, when love becomes selfish, you can still persist with your feelings now.

 Chapter 212

    Chapter 212: Tasmania


    After learning that Alodia was still alive, Bai Yi was able to abandon the fetters in his heart and started to negotiate seriously with the United Nations. This wasn¡¯t something that could be finished in just one session, and moreover, Bai Yi was the leader in name only, and couldn¡¯t represent everybody like a normal head of state. So many of their companions had just died, and so the attitudes of all the evolved humans were very important.


    Although Hodgson said that everything was selfishly done by Australia, nobody knew how much of that was true.


    As for the negotiations, Bai Yi informed everybody else and got a few of them who had higher reputations to undertake them. Lucretia, Truman, Housman, Rose, and Bright¡ªthese people all had relatively greater strength among the evolved humans, and also possessed great reputations.


    ¡°Bai Yi, you aren¡¯t participating in the negotiations?¡± the few of them asked in puzzlement.


    ¡°No need; one of the requests by the other side is that I can¡¯t take up any position.¡± Bai Yi waved his hand and walked away.


    The five of them looked at each other in surprise when they heard this. Bai Yi had told them previously that the evolved humans could form an autonomous region, and all of them had initially thought that with his prestige now, Bai Yi would undoubtedly become the highest leader of this autonomous region. They didn¡¯t think that the United Nations would come up with such a condition; the United Nations was probably afraid that Bai Yi would unite all the evolved humans and form a new power. After all, Bai Yi had absolute prestige among the evolved humans now.


    Division!


    A word instantly appeared in their heads; with his prestige, who other than Bai Yi who could take on that position without any reservations? The rest of them found themselves a bit lacking to take up the role of leadership. Additionally, they only had so few people left now; was there a need to use such a tactic?


    ¡°Suddenly coming up with such a scheme; they haven¡¯t even accounted for the reason behind the attack to us!¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the United Nations looking down on us too much by doing this?! We are comrades-in-arms who went through life and death together!¡± the few of them said angrily after Bai Yi informed them about the matters regarding the negotiations and left. However, whether their words and what they thought in their hearts were the same thing was something nobody would know.


    After Bai Yi left, he immediately went back to his own team. Everybody had suffered some injuries, and Alodia was the most severely injured out of all of them, but luckily nobody had died. No matter what, Bai Yi¡¯s team had always been the strongest. After he returned to the gathering point for his team, everyone else immediately looked at him.


    ¡°I handed the matter of the negotiations over to them,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°You agreed to the United Nations¡¯s conditions just like that?¡±


    ¡°En, it¡¯s fine,¡± Bai Yi smiled and said, naturally putting his hand on top of Momo¡¯s head as she embraced him. They walked into the encampment together. ¡°If I keep a lower profile, the United Nations will probably be more at ease. You don¡¯t need to feel indignant for me; what we need now is a peaceful life. Other things aren¡¯t very important as long as the United Nations is genuinely willing to accept us,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°How can they be genuine!? Otherwise, how can the two battles be explained?¡±


    ¡°Ha¡­¡± Bai Yi sighed.


    ¡°I know, everybody knows, but we don¡¯t have a choice; otherwise, there will only be one outcome for us.¡± Bai Yi waved his hand and stopped discussing this problem. The rest of them shivered in their hearts when they heard him¡ªno choice, huh? They clearly knew that the reason behind the two battles was definitely not an accident as the United Nations said, but they could only bear with it for now. Without sufficient strength, a moment of impulsiveness might vent their anger, but the outcome would be very hard to guess.


    ¡°We can stop worrying about the negotiations; just rest and recover for now,¡± Bai Yi said. He glanced at Alodia, and the two of them subconsciously broke eye contact the moment they looked at each other.


    The rest of them saw Bai Yi and Alodia¡¯s behavior and couldn¡¯t help but to reveal teasing smiles.


    ¡­


    During this period of recuperation, the negotiations were handled by the five of them Bai Yi had sought out. These were long-distance negotiations to begin with, but two days later, Hodgson brought a group of five people to meet them directly. These five were all normal humans, and they would have been lying if they said they weren¡¯t worried; any single person here had the strength to easily kill them.


    Although Bai Yi wasn¡¯t supposed to take up any position, he was the first person Hodgson went to meet.


    ¡°Team Leader Bai Yi!¡±


    ¡°Officer Hodgson!¡± Bai Yi and Hodgson nodded and walked past each other. Hodgson looked at Bai Yi leave with a smile on his face, but his body was actually trembling slightly uncontrollably. Seriously, taking this mission was just too thrilling; if not for his heart being resilient enough, his knees would have gone weak long ago.


    The negotiations weren¡¯t something that could be settled easily, and a lot of things had to be discussed clearly. Being able to stand out in the Devil Isles, Lucretia and the four others all had their own strengths and weren¡¯t to be looked down on either.


    After a whole week, an announcement was finally made.


    Tasmania would be carved out to become an autonomous region for the evolved humans. Tasmania was located on the southeastern side of Australia¡ªan island separated from the Australian mainland by around 200 kilometers of sea. Other than that, this island wasn¡¯t too small, with an area of 90,758 square kilometers1, and it was similar in size to a small country.


    There were some other evolved humans and lifeforms on this island that had been segregated there as well, forming a settlement. The organization of the place was quite chaotic, and they had to manage it themselves now that it had become an autonomous region. As for the other conditions and requests like participating in research and sending other people to manage the region with them, these weren¡¯t described in much detail to the rest of them.


    After the negotiations successfully concluded, all they had to do was to wait for the United Nations to send people to transport them to Tasmania. Due to both sides being wary of each other, there were many conflicts during the journey itself, but they were all small matters; at least nobody lost their lives this time.


    After Bai Yi and the evolved humans left, a bunch of people wearing hazmat suits came to the original battlefield and meticulously cleaned up and collected things from it. The bloodstains left from the battle, the bandages randomly thrown around, things like this were collected and labelled, if they could figure out who they belonged to. Of course, out of everything, the bloodstains and items belonging to Bai Yi and Momo were the most valued of all.


    At this time, Bai Yi and the rest had already arrived in Tasmania.


    Upon arriving in Tasmania, Bai Yi and the rest suddenly felt a sense of familiarity. How should they describe this¡­ Tasmania seemed to have a trace of the Devil Isles¡¯s shadow?


    ¡°This place is also the Devil Isles?¡± Truman asked. After a few days of negotiation in Bai Yi¡¯s absence, a new leader had already unknowingly emerged, even though it wasn¡¯t yet obvious.


    Hodgson shook his head. ¡°No, this place is Tasmania.¡±


    ¡°Although there¡¯s the sea to separate the two locations, and also the efforts of humans, the activated cells still continue to spread outwards. Tasmania is one of the locations closer to New Zealand, so it was similarly quite affected by them. It¡¯s just that, compared to the Devil Isles, the changes here are a lot milder. Although there are still some evolved lifeforms here, due to the de-escalating infection of the activated cells, I believe that they wouldn¡¯t be any trouble to you guys at all,¡± Hodgson explained.


    Everybody looked around and indeed, the changes in the lifeforms here weren¡¯t very notable; to these people who had survived in the Devil Isles, it wasn¡¯t a problem at all.


    But what was a de-escalating infection?


    There were a few idiots among the evolved humans who didn¡¯t understand this.


    Activated cells had levels to them as well; the highest were those of the Progenitor, and following that was the first batch of lifeforms infected by the Progenitor. The activated cells in their bodies usually had a level of around six to nine, and the number of gene fusion slots would differ as well with the difference in the levels.


    De-escalating infection: this referred to how when a lifeform that had assimilated with activated cells reinfected a normal lifeform, the activated cells of the newly infected lifeform would drop to a lower level. As for how much they fell by, there wasn¡¯t a clear pattern so far.


    Tasmania was also a place that had been infected by the activated cells, but with de-escalating infection, the levels of the activated cells here weren¡¯t too high; probably only around one to four. The lower the level of the activated cells, the lower the production of special energy, and the lower the number of genes able to be fused, so the lifeforms here still generally retained their original appearance.


    ¡°There are some evolved humans in Tasmania as well, but they are all re-infected humans, so their changes aren¡¯t too great. Of course, even if their changes weren¡¯t too notable, they are already completely different from normal humans, so they had all gathered here. With the arrival of your group, the United Nations decided to turn this island into an autonomous region managed by you people. We just require you guys to cooperate in some research, that¡¯s all,¡± Hodgson slowly explained on the way.


    ¡°Research, you want us to be your experimental subjects?!¡± somebody immediately questioned furiously.


    ¡°No. I believe that everybody doesn¡¯t want to continue being in this state, right? Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t want to turn back into a human? The main focus of the research here is to study the rules and direction behind an evolved lifeform¡¯s changes, to find a way to turn everyone back into the form of normal humans. You guys don¡¯t have to worry; all the research can be left completely up to you guys. What do you have to be afraid of?¡± Hodgson wasn¡¯t afraid at all and explained things straightforwardly.


    Researching by ourselves? A bunch of idiots immediately let out a sigh of relief.


    Bai Yi glanced at Hodgson. Regaining the appearance of a normal human? The outside world should indeed be researching such a thing, but there were probably other things as well¡­ Bai Yi had never forgotten the original goal of the activated cells research: longevity! Everything else was just a spinoff from this original objective.


    Hodgson looked at Bai Yi¡¯s group and said, ¡°This is the urban district of Tasmania now.¡±


    In front of them was a strange district. A bunch of people who still retained 60¨C80% of their human appearance, yet still possessed some non-human characteristics, were working busily. After seeing Bai Yi¡¯s group, the few guys working immediately became dumbstruck. Compared to them, who among Bai Yi¡¯s group didn¡¯t fuse with at least six to nine different genes? They only retained 10¨C50% of their human appearance, and looked completely like¡­ monsters!


    ***


    Editor¡¯s Notes:

 Chapter 213

    Chapter 213: Seven Or Eight Dead


    One month had passed in Tasmania, and everyone¡¯s lives seemed to have gotten on track as well. There were more than 40,000 evolved humans already staying in Tasmania¡ªmore than a sufficient number to form a small autonomous city. In this place, other than everyone bearing some strange non-human characteristics, everything seemed to be going very well.


    The autonomous region had only begun very recently, so Lucretia, Truman, and a few others were assigned important roles in stabilizing it. There wasn¡¯t any danger, resources were very sufficient, and everybody who entered this place was assigned a job as well. Everything developed just as they imagined, and things turned for the better.


    But, did things really settle down?


    Bai Yi questioned this inside his heart and walked into his house. Although Bai Yi did not take up any position in this new society, the arrangements made for him were still quite good. After all, his status was quite extraordinary. This specially-built mansion was Bai Yi and the rest¡¯s new home. The main building was completely suited to the size of a normal human being¡ªthat is, suitable for Bai Yi and Momo. However, in other places, even people like Woolf, who was more than four meters tall, could easily enter.


    ¡°Momo, are you ready?¡±


    ¡°Ready!¡± Momo walked out from another room in neat and tidy clothing, with Alodia following behind her just like a butler.


    Bai Yi looked at her and thought, En, very adorable! Even if there was some soft, colored fur on Momo¡¯s face, it still couldn¡¯t hide this fact. Bai Yi stroked Momo¡¯s little head and the three of them then left the house. In the courtyard, Sharpei saw the three of them coming out and immediately went up to them, following right behind. Three humans and one dog walked toward the school like a family.


    Tasmania, as an autonomous region with more than 40,000 evolved humans, also had a corresponding economic and education system. After a month of familiarization and basically settling down, Bai Yi decided to send Momo to school; that is, to the only school reestablished in Tasmania so far¡ªTasmania Public School.


    ¡°Will the school be like Waikato University?¡± Momo asked curiously on the way.


    Bai Yi shook his head. ¡°Not possible, a primary school and university would definitely have a lot of differences.¡± Momo had grown up in Waikato University since she was young and had actually never seen a primary school before. However, Bai Yi himself hadn¡¯t actually seen the school here either. A bunch of non-humans sitting together? Immediately, a scene of a bunch of little brats fighting appeared in his head; but in the end, a sharp, black blade suddenly appeared, unstoppable. Fresh blood splattered everywhere, and in the middle of a pile of corpses, a petite figure stood at the peak like a devil.


    No, it won¡¯t happen!


    Bai Yi shivered. Looking at Momo¡¯s quiet appearance, he immediately abandoned those thoughts. However, looking at the black sword behind Momo¡¯s back, he suddenly felt that it was really quite unsafe. Momo¡¯s experiences were completely different from those of a normal child; only heaven knew what she would do if she really got angry.


    ¡°Momo, you¡¯re going to school now; you don¡¯t have to bring the black sword with you,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because it¡¯s school; there¡¯s only a bunch of kids in school, and there¡¯s nothing much dangerous in this place,¡± Bai Yi explained. There shouldn¡¯t be any danger; even if the United Nations wanted to do something, they wouldn¡¯t mess around at a time like this. ¡°Remember back in Waikato University? None of the older brothers and sisters there carried any weapons with them, right?¡± Bai Yi continued to persuade her.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Really, really; the black sword is too eye-catching.¡±


    Momo nodded. ¡°Then I¡¯ll just bring a shortsword.¡±


    Bai Yi looked at Momo¡¯s serious appearance and suddenly felt like crying. Had Momo already been twisted to this extent? Alodia followed by their side and almost couldn¡¯t hold in her laughter. However, a shortsword was still better than the black sword; at least it would look like an accessory. As long as she didn¡¯t pull it out, the little kids in school wouldn¡¯t get scared.


    Very quickly, they arrived at the school, and the principal received them very respectfully. This principal more or less knew some things, and knew that Bai Yi¡¯s group were evolved humans that came from the Devil Isles; they were different from the re-infected like them.


    ¡°Just treat her normally, no need for any special treatment,¡± Bai Yi said.


    The principal nodded immediately. ¡°Of course, of course!¡±


    ¡°Alodia, I¡¯ll leave it to you,¡± Bai Yi said to Alodia.


    ¡°En!¡± Alodia nodded and brought Momo out of the room.


    The autonomous region had only been formed not too long ago, so of course the school wouldn¡¯t be as developed as a normal school system¡¯s, and it only had somewhat more than 40 people inside. These 40 plus students were not split up by age but were instead all gathered into a single class. After Alodia brought Momo to class, Bai Yi continued sitting there and chatted with the principal.


    Bai Yi drank a sip of tea and said, ¡°There are so few students.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, there are very few students.¡± After interacting for a period of time, Principal Liam realized that even though this Bai Yi came from the Devil Isles, he didn¡¯t seem to be hard to talk to, and he gradually relaxed.


    ¡°Although the activated cells erupted in New Zealand first, and there¡¯s a vast stretch of sea separating Tasmania and New Zealand, many people were still afraid, and gradually left. The population here became smaller and smaller, and after a period of time, the worries finally became reality. Changes appeared in Tasmania as well¡­¡±


    ¡°Why is there only a primary school? What about secondary school?¡±


    ¡°Secondary school¡­ who would be willing to study at a time like this? You know it too: people nowadays basically all mature quite early, and would essentially have their own way of thinking starting from secondary school. You don¡¯t know how excited people at this age were after assimilating with the activated cells; there were those who wanted to become Superman, Spiderman, wizards, or swordsmen¡­ can you imagine a bunch of brats like that sitting down and studying?¡± Liam grumbled to Bai Yi, and Bai Yi couldn¡¯t help but find it funny looking at his expression.


    Bai Yi laughed. ¡°Hahahaha, so that¡¯s what happened.¡±


    No wonder Tasmania only had one school, and it was just a primary school. Probably only primary school kids who hadn¡¯t completely formed their personalities yet would listen obediently and remain here. While Bai Yi chatted with Liam, Momo also finally arrived at the only class in the only school.


    The teacher of the class came to the front of the room and said to the bunch of noisy kids below, ¡°Quieten down! There¡¯s a new student joining our class today.¡± After this teacher finished speaking, he waved to Momo standing outside the door, and Momo slowly walked in and stood at the front of the class.


    ¡­


    ¡­


    Silence, Momo didn¡¯t speak a single word after standing there and only quietly looked at the bunch of kids below. Momo had never gone to school before and didn¡¯t know what to do at all. The teacher initially wanted to let Momo come up and introduce herself before assigning her a seat and continuing with class. Who knew that Momo would just stand there quietly without saying a single word?


    ¡°Introduce yourself,¡± the teacher finally whispered to Momo.


    ¡°Bai1 Momo¡­!¡± Momo immediately introduced herself quietly after hearing the teacher¡¯s words, her bearing natural and elegant. The other students and even the teacher beside her were all shocked. Even if they didn¡¯t understand much, they could still tell that Momo¡¯s actions were very pleasing to the eye. The teacher immediately suspected in his heart, Don¡¯t tell me that this Momo was a little miss from some aristocratic family?


    ¡°Then Momo, you can take a seat over there.¡± The teacher pointed to a seat after Momo finished introducing herself.


    ¡°En, thank you.¡± Momo nodded and headed toward that seat.


    Halfway through walking there, Momo abruptly stopped and looked at the right foot that suddenly stuck out in front of her. What is this guy thinking of doing? A question flashed through Momo¡¯s brain, but she realized that she couldn¡¯t find an answer, and decided to just step over his foot. This was Momo¡¯s first time going to school, so how could she understand teasing from little brats? Momo just stood there quietly at the start, then suddenly gave a graceful and noble greeting, so this little boy wanted to make her embarrass herself.


    In the end, Momo completely ignored him!


    Subconsciously, this little boy became unhappy, and immediately flashed his own claws and wanted to grab Momo. However, this little boy was completely unaware that this was precisely what people meant by stirring up a hornet¡¯s nest. Momo had grown up on the Devil Isles¡ªthe things she were most deeply familiar with were the various dangerous attacking methods of the evolved lifeforms there.


    The moment the boy¡¯s claws started to reach for Momo, she immediately broke one with a ¡®kacha!¡¯, and a flash of light stabbed at a vital area of this little boy.


    ¡°Momo!¡± Alodia¡¯s voice made Momo stop her shortsword right at the neck of the little boy. Even so, blood still flowed continuously from his neck, and he was completely scared dumb. Not only did this little boy become dumb from fear, the entire class was the same as well.


    Although they knew that Peter loved to tease new students, who would have imagined that the reaction would be so intense this time?


    Momo¡¯s cold face had not a single expression, and the killing intent in her eyes made the little kids and teacher, who hadn¡¯t experienced any real battles, go silent with fear.


    Alodia walked over and said to Momo, ¡°Momo, it¡¯s fine, he didn¡¯t intend to attack you! He was just teasing you!¡±


    Teasing?


    Momo showed some hesitation on her face, but still slowly withdrew the shortsword. After she sheathed her shortsword, the little boy opposite her finally felt the intense pain coming from his neck and right claw. He had been too nervous and terrified just now, and even forgot the pain, but everything finally came back after he felt safe again.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, teacher; Momo¡¯s reaction was too extreme!¡±


    Momo¡¯s voice suddenly sounded. ¡°Alodia, why are you apologizing? Am I wrong?¡± Alodia immediately sighed in her heart. Young Miss Momo, it¡¯s not that you are wrong, but your reaction is too extreme! If not for her tagging along, at least seven or eight kids were going to die today!


    ***


    Translator¡¯s Notes:

 Chapter 214

    Chapter 214: Chess and Prison


    The little boy Peter got injured, and although he forgot about it for a moment due to shock and fear, the pain came flooding back again now and he immediately started to cry. Some of the other kids tried to run away, shaking in fear, while some others looked at Momo with faces full of excitement. In just an instant, the entire classroom became as noisy as a marketplace.


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Momo immediately said.


    Her voice wasn¡¯t too loud, but everybody could feel the faint intimidating pressure coming from her body. In the next moment, everybody¡ªincluding the teacher¡ªall really closed their mouths and kept them shut. Sticking by Bai Yi¡¯s side for a long period of time, Momo had also developed her own unique aura. This wasn¡¯t a so-called disposition, but an aura¡ªa kind of oppressive feeling that only evolved humans would give off.


    At this time, the teacher finally reacted. ¡°Peter¡¯s injuries aren¡¯t serious; quickly, send him to the medical bay.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Miss Momo knows how to hold back,¡± Alodia said. This teacher looked at the bright red blood flowing down little Peter¡¯s neck and couldn¡¯t believe, no matter what was said, that Momo knew how to hold back. Of course, he didn¡¯t expect that what Alodia meant by Momo knowing how to hold back was actually¡­ he won¡¯t die.


    The school wasn¡¯t big, and Bai Yi very quickly came to know of this incident. Bai Yi didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry; his daughter had created trouble before he could even leave the school. Fortunately, Bai Yi¡¯s status wasn¡¯t ordinary, and this place couldn¡¯t be considered part of the peaceful world either, so this wouldn¡¯t become a big issue after just some injuries. Everything was settled in a short while; little Peter was sent back to rest and the other kids continued with their lessons.


    During the first few days, all the other kids kept a respectful distance from Momo. No, it wasn¡¯t really out of respect, but more like fear. Momo seemed just like a ferocious carnivore to them, suddenly barging into a world of herbivores. Moreover, she didn¡¯t know how to suppress her own aura, causing all the other students to tremble in fear.


    Even the teacher was on his toes conducting their lessons.


    Until¡­!


    ¡°Momo, you seem to be in a good mood today, why don¡¯t you try to answer this question?¡± Over this period of time, this teacher had seemed to be quite afraid of Momo as well. Seeing her staring into blank space and seemingly thinking of something happy, he tried to make use of this opportunity to soothe the atmosphere in this classroom.


    Momo heard his words and immediately stood up, walking toward the blackboard. The other students all looked at her from their seats, not daring to say a single word. On the blackboard was a math question that wasn¡¯t too difficult¡ªprobably around the lower primary level in complexity. Momo went up and took a piece of chalk before starting to answer the question, and before long she wrote her answer down. However, her answer was wrong!


    The teacher corrected her on the spot. ¡°Actually, you should do it like this; use multiplication.¡±


    ¡°No, no, it should be like this.¡±


    ¡°En, you must do this step first.¡±


    ¡°Not right¡­!¡± The teacher continually taught her a few times, but Momo would answer the question wrong every time. By now, all of them could see that something was off. This incomparably cold and cool little girl, could it be that she was an idiot? A series of crows calling ¡®idiot¡¯ flew across all of their minds.


    Finally, somebody couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore and started to laugh, while Momo could only stand at the blackboard with her face red from embarrassment. After this incident, their attitudes toward Momo became more relaxed, and they finally didn¡¯t feel that she was hard to approach anymore.


    When she came back in the late afternoon and told Bai Yi what had happened, he immediately started laughing at her.


    ¡°See, who asked you to dislike studying? You really embarrassed yourself now. So, Momo is actually a little idiot, hahaha!¡± Bai Yi said laughingly.


    ¡°Daddy!¡± Momo hugged Bai Yi and started to whine. Actually, she really wasn¡¯t a little idiot; it was just that she really disliked studying. Furthermore, she hadn¡¯t had much time to study either in the Devil Isles.


    ¡°Sharpei and Pupu are probably smarter than Momo,¡± Bai Yi teased Momo.


    ¡°Daddy!¡± Momo really felt embarrassed now. Bai Yi didn¡¯t continue to intentionally tease his daughter and ended the incident there. In reality, he was actually very worried about the problem of her interacting with the other kids her age. If Momo continued to be isolated by the other kids, Bai Yi would have let Momo give up on school after another few days. A long period of isolation coupled with an abnormal environment could very likely have made Momo become reclusive. Unexpectedly, idiocy had these kinds of benefits and actually let the others accept her easily.


    The problem of Momo¡¯s education was also put on track, and everything seemed to be developing in a good fashion. Bai Yi had nothing to do all day and just spent his time strolling around the urban district, observing this so-called autonomous region. Since Bai Yi did not have any official duties, he had a lot of free time and could spare the time to really understand this autonomous region.


    It was really quiet; all the evolved humans seemed to be living a good life here, but Bai Yi still felt that something was wrong in the end.


    Bai Yi walked to more and more remote places, and suddenly he saw a simple courtyard, with a few old men playing something like chess there. Feeling somewhat curious, he naturally walked into the place. Although these old men had assimilated with the activated cells, their changes weren¡¯t too great, and they were all already very old. Even the youngest among them had a face full of wrinkles.


    Two old men were playing an abstract strategy game called Go, while the other three watched quietly.


    Go!


    Bai Yi was slightly surprised and started to watch quietly himself after seeing it. Bai Yi didn¡¯t really understand Go too much; he only knew the rules of the game and couldn¡¯t even be considered to be an amateur. Seeing Bai Yi walk over, the five old men didn¡¯t say hi to him, and Bai Yi didn¡¯t say anything either, just silently standing by the side and watching the two old men play Go.


    Suddenly, the old man on one side said, ¡°Black loses!¡± At this time, the old man playing black also admitted defeat.


    ¡°Old Qin, you are really merciless!¡±


    The two of them didn¡¯t restore the Go pieces, and the old Asian man known as Old Qin only smiled and didn¡¯t reply. At this time, everybody else finally turned their attention to Bai Yi. The few old men were all very curious; presently, there weren¡¯t many people who could quiet down and play a game like this. The activated cells didn¡¯t just bring about a change in strength, but also a change in thinking. As long as a person wasn¡¯t too dumb, anybody would want to do something with this powerful strength. They could only live a quiet life because they were already old; even if they had assimilated with the activated cells, they were already in their elderly years.


    But they could tell with a look that Bai Yi was still very young.


    ¡°First time seeing this youngster here,¡± the old man known as Old Qin said to Bai Yi in Chinese.


    Bai Yi nodded. ¡°En, first time coming to this place.¡±


    ¡°This place is very remote, it must have been hard for you to find this place.¡±


    ¡°Just a coincidence,¡± Bai Yi smiled and replied.


    ¡°You seem to have something on your mind?¡±


    ¡°Oh? Why do you say so?¡±


    ¡°I can tell; you seem very peaceful, but there¡¯s a sense of frustration in your heart. The environment of Go is very serene, so it¡¯s very easy to sense,¡± Old Qin said. Bai Yi looked at Old Qin opposite him in shock. It couldn¡¯t be¡ªdon¡¯t say that these few old men he met by chance were actually some peak experts?


    ¡°You know how to play Go?¡±


    ¡°I know, but I¡¯m not skilled at it. I only learned it out of interest in high school, and only know the basic rules. Things such as joseki1, tesuji, trend of the board, I¡¯ve only heard of them before, and don¡¯t understand them¡± Bai Yi answered seriously. Bai Yi¡¯s answer was very genuine and like he said, he had only learned Go in high school, and just stopped after a while due to a lack of interest.


    ¡°Want to play a game?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m really just a beginner; I only learned it for like two months more than ten years ago and never touched it again,¡± Bai Yi reminded him again, trying to tell them that he was really just a beginner.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, all of us here are all beginners other than Old Qin; we can¡¯t even be considered to be a smelly chess basket2,¡± said the old Caucasian man who had played the game just now. Go had been the cultural essence of China from the start. In recent years, Japan had improved at it, but it had mostly just been circulating between China, Japan, and Korea after that, so these few old Caucasian men really wouldn¡¯t be too good at it.


    Bai Yi smiled. Wasn¡¯t it just a game of strategy? It wasn¡¯t like he couldn¡¯t handle losing.


    ¡°Sure!¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°Do you need a handicap?¡± Old Qin said.


    ¡°No need; anyway, I¡¯m really bad at this, so it doesn¡¯t make a difference even if you give me one,¡± Bai Yi said honestly.


    ¡°OK!¡± Old Qin said and started to reach for a Go piece.


    Bai Yi took white, and the two of them started to play a game of Go while the rest of them watched. They could tell that just like he had said, Bai Yi was purely a beginner. He hadn¡¯t learned it for a long period of time in the first place, and after more than ten years of not playing it, it was already very good for him to even still remember the rules. Other than that, what made the other old men quite surprised was that Old Qin¡¯s tactics were different from his usual way of playing, and he didn¡¯t try to kill Bai Yi from the start.


    Guiding Go3?


    At the start, Bai Yi also thought that Old Qin was playing Guiding Go, but gradually, Bai Yi felt that that wasn¡¯t right either. He started to seriously think about the state of play on the chessboard, his mind gradually becoming absorbed. Bai Yi really was a beginner, but at this time, his special energy started to circulate, letting him both enter a state of 100% focus and start to rapidly calculate the possible moves.


    Slowly, Bai Yi¡¯s mind became more and more absorbed into the game, and in the end, he even felt like he started to see an illusion. The chessboard seemed to become a world, the black pieces acting like a wide web trapping Bai Yi¡¯s white pieces firmly inside a cage. This cage was somewhat vague, and if he didn¡¯t look at it carefully he wouldn¡¯t realize it existed at all. However, with Bai Yi being so absorbed into this game, he could sense the cage, and sense it extremely deeply at that.


    Did they really settle down?


    Bai Yi asked this in his heart, but the answer he got in the end was: no!


    Tasmania became an autonomous region with plentiful resources and little danger. Although the United Nations had already made very good arrangements for them, Bai Yi still felt that life here was very stifled¡ªeven more stifling than living in the Devil Isles. They were an autonomous region on the surface, but living in this place just seemed like living in a bigger cage; they were still restricted here. It wasn¡¯t a cage like a prison, but a cage as big as a small country, like Tasmania.


    ¡®Pa!¡¯


    Bai Yi¡¯s white piece landed, and due to the special energy in his body being too agitated, he instantly broke the stone chessboard beneath it into pieces.


    ***


    Translator¡¯s Notes:

 Chapter 215

    Chapter 215: True Freedom


    ¡®Pa!¡¯


    Bai Yi¡¯s white piece landed, and due to the special energy in his body being too agitated, the stone chessboard beneath it instantly broke into pieces.


    Everyone else looked at Bai Yi in shock, not knowing what the hell he was doing. He couldn¡¯t take the loss and just decided to ruin the chessboard? That was going a bit too far; a person wouldn¡¯t be of such low standard no matter what, right? However, at this time, Bai Yi calmed his breathing down and looked at Old Qin.


    ¡°Expert?¡± Bai Yi was really quite curious.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I saw an illusion; it was not done by you?¡±


    ¡°Illusion?¡± Old Qin seemed to be very stunned as well. He shook his head and explained seriously, ¡°I did want to tell you something through a game of Go, but I didn¡¯t create any illusion.¡±


    ¡°Tell me what?¡±


    ¡°I know you are Bai Yi, it¡¯s just that I have never truly met you before. Since we had the fate to meet this time, I wanted to tell you about the circumstances surrounding the evolved humans and this autonomous region. In reality, this place is just a bigger cage, so I wanted to use the game of Go to simulate the circumstances of this vague prison,¡± Old Qin said.


    ¡°Why are you telling me this?¡±


    ¡°Because only you can break the situation we are in now.¡±


    ¡°You are really overestimating me.¡± Bai Yi smiled faintly, shaking his head as he stood up and left the place. ¡°I will think about this seriously.¡± He continued walking as his expression became serious. Was it really just a coincidence? He happened to be thinking about this issue himself, then he suddenly met this Old Qin who wanted to tell him something regarding the same issue, and happened to see an illusion after that? However, it probably was; anyway, Bai Yi didn¡¯t really believe that this old man really had the ability to induce and bring out the emotions of others.


    Bai Yi left just like that, leaving the rest of them staring at each other in dismay. Bai Yi had said that he had seen an illusion; wasn¡¯t that too ridiculous?


    ¡­


    Bai Yi started to ponder over this issue on his way. In the period of time before, he had always felt that life in Tasmania was a bit strange, it was just that he couldn¡¯t put a finger on exactly what about it was off. However, after the strange game of Go today, he finally understood what it was¡ªa cage, huh!


    The evolved humans seemed to be living well here, but in reality, they were still segregated from the outside world. This kind of segregation wasn¡¯t obvious; after all, Tasmania was just like a small country now. Many people in the world only lived in a single city for all their lives and never left the area, so they didn¡¯t feel this kind of segregation deeply. However, this invisible cage did indeed exist. They were just like pets being reared in an enclosure by the United Nations, and they were all none the wiser to it.


    When Bai Yi came back, Momo and Alodia had already returned from school. Bai Yi waved to Alodia and asked her to gather the rest to hold a small banquet. Not many people were invited, just those few in Bai Yi¡¯s team. Other than Bai Yi, the rest of them all had their own jobs nearby. Tasmania was very safe, and they couldn¡¯t possibly stay together as a team all the time now.


    Very quickly, Betsy was the first to arrive. How could they lack the head chef to prepare for the banquet?


    Not long after, the banquet was prepared and the ten plus people in the team sat together in the courtyard. Only one and a half months had passed in reality, but everybody felt like a long time had passed, and they were all chatting very happily.


    ¡°There was a small test in school today,¡± Alodia said to Bai Yi.


    ¡°Oh?¡±


    ¡°Momo, really?¡± Bai Yi heard Alodia¡¯s words and immediately looked at Momo. Momo, who was initially launching her attack on the red-braised pork, immediately stiffened and revealed a shy smile. Bai Yi knew with just a look that this little idiot had definitely screwed up on the test.


    ¡°How many marks did you get?¡±


    ¡°57 marks, daddy!¡± Momo immediately jumped toward Bai Yi, preparing to whine and act cute to him. The rest of them to the side immediately started to laugh; they all knew about Momo¡¯s dislike for studying, but to think that she only got 57 marks on the test¡­ Chinchilla even seemed to be overjoyed, as if it was celebrating some joyous occasion.


    ¡°Only 57 marks? You are really pitifully dumb; Sharpei and Pupu are definitely smarter than you now,¡± Bai Yi said.


    Sharpei and Pupu heard Bai Yi¡¯s words and immediately shivered, quietly hiding themselves to the side afterward. Sure enough, Momo immediately glared at Sharpei and Pupu after hearing her daddy¡¯s words, and the two of them immediately felt the threat in her eyes. The two of you are good, huh? You actually dare to be smarter than me.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t really blame Momo but just laughed; she was really quite dumb. Actually, Bai Yi wasn¡¯t too strict about her grades; this wasn¡¯t a kind of exam-oriented education like that of China¡¯s education system. Momo had already done very well in other areas, it was just that when it came to studying, she simply couldn¡¯t do it.


    ¡°Daddy!¡± Momo was slightly unhappy now.


    Woolf raised a big thumb to Momo. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯m also an idiot!¡± Momo immediately rolled her eyes at him; who wanted to be an idiot like Uncle Woolf?


    ¡°But actually, the intelligence of Sharpei and Pupu is already comparable to a normal human; why aren¡¯t there any changes in us?¡± Romain asked.


    ¡°Ah, this; it¡¯s human-like intelligence!¡± Bai Yi heard and explained.


    ¡°Human-like intelligence?¡±


    ¡°Undoubtedly, the increased intelligence of Sharpei, Pupu, and other evolved lifeforms is due to the influence of activated cells. Activated cells came from the Progenitor, and the Progenitor was a human. This kind of increase in intelligence brings the intelligence of other lifeforms to the level of a normal human; that is human-like intelligence,¡± Bai Yi explained in detail.


    ¡°Hence, even though there are a lot of evolved humans, the direction of our evolution is just in our physical bodies, and there isn¡¯t anybody who became ridiculously intelligent,¡± Betsy added.


    Bai Yi nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, that¡¯s how it is!¡±


    ¡°Actually, the purpose of gathering everybody again is not just for a simple dinner.¡± Bai Yi delved into the main topic after he finished speaking. The rest of them immediately focused their attention as well when they heard Bai Yi saying all this.


    ¡°How do you guys feel about this period of time living in Tasmania?¡±


    ¡°How do we feel about living in Tasmania?¡± Everybody felt quite puzzled.


    Betsy shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s OK; our jobs here are all quite easy and safe, it¡¯s just that the resources available here are lacking a lot in comparison to the Devil Isles. I don¡¯t have much interest toward normal ingredients now, and always feel very lazy recently. I don¡¯t even feel like cooking nowadays.¡±


    Nancy said, ¡°The research facility I¡¯m at now is the same, there¡¯s nothing new. They keep wasting time on some plants or animals that we had understood long ago. The good thing is that there¡¯s nothing we lack here; everything is prepared nicely for us, but there¡¯s always a lack of motivation to do things.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel much either; that so-called job is actually completely unnecessary. I get wages if I work, but I can get food to eat even if I don¡¯t work too. It feels like, feels like¡­¡± Woolf scratched his head, not knowing how to describe this.


    ¡°Pets getting reared in an enclosure!¡± Bai Yi helped Woolf to complete his sentence.


    ¡°Right! Just like being somebody¡¯s pet!¡± Woolf immediately said loudly. The rest of them immediately got a shock when they heard his words, and they all fell into deep thought. After a long while, all of them looked at Bai Yi seriously again.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t the freedom we wanted!¡± Bai Yi added on, following Woolf¡¯s words.


    That¡¯s right, this wasn¡¯t the freedom they wanted. On the surface, this was an autonomous region that was as big as a small country; the place was really huge, but in reality, it was just a bigger prison. There wasn¡¯t much danger here; all of them had come from the Devil Isles so the plants and animals that had just started evolving here were completely trivial to them. They weren¡¯t lacking in resources either; anything that they needed, the United Nations would provide to them, but what was the difference between this and being reared like pets? Communications were sealed, so Tasmania still couldn¡¯t communicate with the outside world. Even though it was an autonomous region, this wasn¡¯t the kind of freedom they wanted.


    ¡°Bai Yi, what are you thinking of doing?¡±


    ¡°True freedom¡ªintegrating into the human world without any obstructions,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°How do we do that?¡±


    ¡°Regain our human form and appearances!¡±


    ¡°Regaining our human form and appearances¡­ that¡¯s very difficult. Lucretia and the others established a research facility to study this, but nobody knows when the research will bear fruit. Don¡¯t tell me you want us to set up a research facility as well? But that will definitely attract the attention of the United Nations.¡±


    ¡°Doctor Wang!¡± Bai Yi said a name.


    A jolt immediately went through their minds. They had heard this name for the first time from Yeye; he had been the highest researcher in charge of Tongariro National Park Research Facility. At that time, they had also found the Prototy original form drug in that research facility. If they had this person, then it was indeed very likely that he would be able to develop a drug that could help everybody regain their human form.


    ¡°How do we do this? We must definitely inform the United Nations if we want to leave; what if they don¡¯t agree to it?¡±


    ¡°They will; there shouldn¡¯t be much influence if just a few people leave. Furthermore, we aren¡¯t going to other countries, but to the Devil Isles. If we find Doctor Wang, it would be beneficial to everybody.¡±


    ¡°Alodia, go and inform Lucretia and the rest about this matter; say that I want to discuss some things with them. Romain, you are proficient with electronics, right? Help Yeye design an independent electrical system that can be moved around, or else she would probably throw a fit again,¡± Bai Yi instructed.


    ¡°What about us?¡± Woolf and a few others asked.


    ¡°You guys don¡¯t have much to do now; just wait,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡­


    Everybody immediately started moving, and Lucretia and the others immediately got a shock when they heard that Bai Yi¡¯s team wanted to go back to the Devil Isles. Bai Yi, this guy, did he have a stroke or something? It was so difficult to leave the Devil Isles in the first place, now he wanted to go back again? However, after hearing Bai Yi¡¯s explanation, all of them immediately understood¡ªtrue freedom, huh

 Chapter 216

    Chapter 216: Returning to the Devil Isles Again


    Bai Yi faced off against Hodgson again with an incomparably forceful attitude. ¡°Don¡¯t be mistaken: I¡¯m just informing you and not asking for your permission.¡±


    ¡°Looking for a way to regain human form is a good thing for both normal humans and evolved humans now. The original goal of activated cells research was for the sake of longevity; if the technology matured, I believe that many of your higher-ups would want to assimilate with activated cells, right? It¡¯s something obviously beneficial for both sides, but because I was the one who brought it up first, you guys want to intentionally make this hard for me so as to gain more benefits.¡±


    ¡°Team Leader Bai Yi, your attitude is really¡­!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a politician, so don¡¯t beat around the bush with me and get to the point!¡±


    ¡­


    Finally back again!


    Everyone looked at the evolved lifeforms flying in the sky and a strange sense of familiarity rose in all of them. It was as if the Devil Isles, which were incomparably dangerous to outsiders, actually gave them a sense of home. Nobody knew exactly what Bai Yi and the United Nations had discussed, but they did indeed return to the Devil Isles smoothly.


    A few helicopters flew toward the Devil Isles, but their speed wasn¡¯t considered too fast.


    It was extremely dangerous for something like a helicopter to enter the Devil Isles now because something mechanical like that could easily be seen as a prey for some flying evolved lifeform. As long as some part of it was damaged, these helicopters would lose the ability to fly anymore. However, this wasn¡¯t a problem for Bai Yi¡¯s team right now, because Bai Yi wasn¡¯t inside a helicopter, but rather flying outside. Even though they met many flying evolved lifeforms along the way, it didn¡¯t affect their journey at all with Bai Yi outside guarding the helicopters.


    To be able to return to the Devil Isles smoothly, Bai Yi had also agreed to some things.


    The first condition: circulate information regarding the Tasmania autonomous region in the Devil Isles and inform other evolved humans of it. If there were any evolved humans that wanted to head to the autonomous region, they could wait for the United Nations aircraft supercarrier Wagram to fetch them. However, this aircraft supercarrier was still in the middle of construction and couldn¡¯t be used yet. One must know, a normal aircraft carrier was only 300 plus meters long with a water displacement weight of around 90,000 tons1; they couldn¡¯t be considered to be absolutely safe in the seas now.


    The second condition: return to Ghost City Wellington and collect branches from the Soul Release Tree.


    The United Nations ascribed extraordinary importance to the Soul Release Tree and conducted thorough tests with Bai Yi¡¯s approval. A normal human had a soul as well, but it would dissipate within three to seven days in the absence of a special environment.


    Regardless of whether a human died through an accident or through natural causes, their soul would be sucked into Soul Release Wood as long as they were carrying it upon their death.


    In the short period of observation they had, they concluded a soul wouldn¡¯t dissipate after getting sucked into Soul Release Wood. Seemingly, the space inside of it was a special environment.


    It was hard to say whether revival was possible now, but it was at least a hope for everybody else. What if they really managed to develop a way to revive souls in the future?


    Hence, the second condition was to collect the branches of the Soul Release Tree and send them to the other countries. As for how the leaders would divide these things, that wasn¡¯t something that Bai Yi cared about.


    The third condition: this probably couldn¡¯t be said to be a condition, but rather a common goal.


    The United Nations provided a detailed map of the 121 research facilities located all over the Devil Isles. In reality, the United Nations had wanted to collect the things inside the research facilities long ago, but sending normal soldiers into the Devil Isles was just like delivering food. Those experimental subjects seen in the battle before hadn¡¯t been successfully developed then either, so their progress hadn¡¯t been smooth.


    Based on Doctor Wang¡¯s personality, after leaving from Tongariro National Park Research Facility, that guy would definitely continue with his research. However, to be able to continue to conduct his research he would need a well-equipped place, and that would probably be one of those 121 research facilities. Their goal was to follow this detailed map to search for Doctor Wang, otherwise, they would just be blindly looking around. They wouldn¡¯t realize it even if there was a secret research facility right below their feet.


    The helicopters stopped at Wellington itself, and there was not only Bai Yi¡¯s team inside them but also people from the United Nations. Coming directly to this place, it was easy to tell just how much the United Nations valued the Soul Release Wood. The helicopters landed at the edge of Wellington, on an unloading pier. Although the place was already completely different from when it was still in use, it wasn¡¯t a problem for helicopters to land there.


    ¡°Team Leader Bai Yi¡¯s strength is really amazing,¡± Sarelli said after landing. This guy was the in charge of the team sent by the United Nations. After they finished collecting the Soul Release Wood, his team would be in charge of sending it back.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much, but what are you guys going to do when going back?¡± Bai Yi asked. On the way here, all the flying evolved lifeforms were repelled by Bai Yi, and they hadn¡¯t even engaged in a real battle yet. If not for Bai Yi, the hundreds and thousands of strange flying evolved lifeforms wouldn¡¯t be easy to drive away.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about this; we have a way,¡± Sarelli smiled and said.


    ¡°Orh.¡± Since that guy already said so, Bai Yi couldn¡¯t be bothered to ask anymore.


    Two teams, more than 20 people in total. Half of them stayed to guard the helicopters while the rest headed toward Wellington. The moment Bai Yi¡¯s team entered the range of the Devil Isles, their entire bodies immediately went into a high-alert state, ready to react instantly to anything that might happen. This was a natural instinct developed over their years living on the Devil Isles. However, Sarelli and his team were much worse. These guys were LV2 as well and were the trump cards of the United Nations, but they probably didn¡¯t understand just how dangerous the Devil Isles could be.


    ¡°You guys better put up your guard.¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t want these guys to die so carelessly.


    ¡°Orh,¡± Sarelli replied, but he didn¡¯t really take it in mind. Bai Yi wouldn¡¯t continue to remind him; he wasn¡¯t a nanny.


    The city had long lost its original appearance, and they could see fewer and fewer signs of human activity around. The group of people carefully made their way to the heart of the city. Although Bai Yi looked relaxed, he had already activated his Reverse Flower Eyes, and the other people on his team also had their bodies slightly tensed.


    This place was the home of the Giant Devil Mosquitoes.


    However, before they could see any Giant Devil Mosquitoes, the group encountered something else. While walking past a bracken, a very small shadow suddenly shot out from beneath one of the leaves. When the leaf was moved, the small bug hiding beneath it got startled and shot out instantly. It was too fast; a normal human would never be able to see the shadow.


    Bai Yi¡¯s team instantly dodged to the side, but Sarelli¡¯s team was different, and one of the guys actually tried to grab the bug.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Bai Yi immediately shouted.


    However, this guy completely ignored Bai Yi¡¯s words and grabbed toward it full of confidence, sparks of electricity appearing on his fingers. However, in the next moment, this guy issued a pained cry; the small shadow had instantly pierced through this guy¡¯s palm and rapidly disappeared in the underbrush.


    Nancy and the doctor in Sarelli¡¯s team immediately ran over and carefully checked him. A small hole the size of a chopstick head had been bored through his palm, a small trickle of blood flowing outward from the wound. Nancy saw the thin fur by the sides of the wound and immediately took out her scalpel, wanting to cut it off. However, the other doctor immediately stopped her.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m saving him, get out of the way,¡± Nancy said, her scalpel moving toward the wound again.


    ¡°Are you crazy? Why are you using a scalpel for such a wound?!¡±


    ¡°Idiot, acting smart when you don¡¯t know anything!¡± Nancy said as she looked at the wound and kept her scalpel. Since they didn¡¯t appreciate her good intentions, then forget about it. Sarelli¡¯s team seemed to be a bit hostile toward Bai Yi¡¯s team, seemingly somewhat unsatisfied regarding them. As somebody with a similar occupation, the doctor also had some hostility toward Nancy.


    ¡°I¡¯m acting smart?! I¡¯ve gotten¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t show off whatever accolades or medals you got in the outside world, all your so-called ¡®knowledge¡¯ learned outside has no use here!¡± Nancy said, before turning around and leaving, angering the other doctor to the point of speechlessness.


    Sarelli tried to ease the atmosphere and asked Bai Yi, ¡°Don¡¯t be like this. Team Leader Bai Yi, can you explain this a bit? Don¡¯t tell me this injury is very serious?¡±


    ¡°Not really serious.¡± Bai Yi smiled and said.


    ¡°That kind of bug isn¡¯t poisonous and isn¡¯t fatal either. It¡¯s just that when this bug bored through his hand, it left some of its tiny fur on the wound, and these furs have already entered his body,¡± Bai Yi said with a nonchalant expression. ¡°Don¡¯t be so reckless next time. There are many different varieties of lifeforms in the Devil Isles now, but normally speaking, the lifeforms here wouldn¡¯t attack you if they didn¡¯t sense any danger. The fur bug just now only got startled and tried to fly away, you guys didn¡¯t have to attack it at all.¡±


    ¡°No, not this; would there be any effects if the fur enters his body?¡± Sarelli asked.


    ¡°Of course there would be effects, but they wouldn¡¯t be so quickly fatal. This kind of fur is able to grow by itself inside the body; the fur would slowly grow longer, gradually restricting the muscles and nerve activity.¡± Bai Yi maintained his nonchalant expression all the way through.


    ¡°Then what would he become?¡±


    ¡°I remember in the earlier days that after somebody got injured by this bug, his movements gradually became slower and slower as if his body was being restricted. He practically lost all ability to move after one month and managed to live for another half a year through the help of his teammates, but still died in the end. After dissecting him, they realized that his body was filled with this kind of fur connected together, forming a dense web inside his body,¡± Bai Yi said. Actually, this was quite similar to Bai Yi¡¯s body now, but unfortunately, that guy couldn¡¯t control the fur inside his body.


    ¡°Is there any way to save him?¡±


    ¡°Those furs should still be in his right hand, just chop it off.¡±


    ¡°Chop it off!¡± Sarelli said in shock.


    ¡°I¡¯m kidding, there¡¯s a kind of dissolving drug that¡¯s effective, but it would cause great damage to his body. Nancy, concoct one portion of it,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have enough ingredients now, I need the juice of the Aqua Regia Flower,¡± Nancy said.


    ¡°Then that would be troublesome.¡± Bai Yi smiled bitterly. The two of them echoed each other, scaring Sarelli¡¯s team dumb. However, Bai Yi didn¡¯t lie either; that little fur bug was just that dangerous, and this was just an insignificantly small part of the Devil Isles.


    ***


    Editor¡¯s Notes:

 Chapter 217

    Chapter 217: The Ghost City¡¯s Changes


    Sarelli creased his eyebrows. ¡°Team Leader Bai Yi, please don¡¯t try to scare us intentionally.¡± Indeed, his team did feel somewhat indignant toward Bai Yi¡¯s team. They broke through LV2 in the outside world, but somehow they were significantly weaker than Bai Yi¡¯s team even though they were all LV2s. However, that did not imply that Bai Yi could fool around with them as he wished.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not trying to scare you guys. Everything that I said was true.¡±


    ¡°We really have to chop off his right hand or get that dissolving potion?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then what¡¯s an Aqua Regia Flower?¡±


    ¡°You know what aqua regia is, right? The juice of an Aqua Regia Flower is not too different from aqua regia itself; it grows in areas where there¡¯s more sulfur, such as at the mouth of volcanoes and other similar places. The dissolving potion is administered through injection and can dissolve the fur inside the body, but of course, it¡¯s also very damaging to the body itself,¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°Then¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t have the time to accompany you to look for some Aqua Regia Flowers; however, I can tell you their location.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­ thanks.¡± Sarelli was actually very pissed, but he still had to thank Bai Yi.


    ¡°You bunch of idiots better be on full alert! Don¡¯t be so fucking free as to randomly touch those little things!¡± Sarelli cursed at the members of his team, his mood extremely terrible. Actually, Rodney had just wanted to show off a bit since it was just a small bug¡ªBai Yi¡¯s team avoided it, but I can kill this bug just like swatting a fly, and then I can give Bai Yi¡¯s team a look of disdain after that. However, who would have known that such a small bug would be so dangerous?


    With the lesson learnt from Rodney, everybody started to become very careful. They encountered many different lifeforms along the way, but nobody was injured these times, and they carefully moved toward the heart of the city.


    Rodney was the most dejected one here; the injury on his right hand wasn¡¯t serious, it was just a little hole the size of a chopstick head. However, after hearing Bai Yi¡¯s words just now, he couldn¡¯t help but subconsciously pay attention to the feeling in his right hand. He started to really have the sense that his hand was becoming numb and stiff.


    Bai Yi came to the edge of Wellington and said, ¡°Strange!¡± looking at the scenery in front of them.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°It receded, the range of the Ghost City,¡± Bai Yi said, looking at the few collapsed buildings by the side before he suddenly accelerated. He moved very quickly because he was very worried; Mavis¡¯s soul was still in this place!


    Bai Yi¡¯s team had lived in Wellington before for a period of time, so they were still quite familiar with the city and very quickly arrived at its center. They could finally feel the atmosphere of the Ghost City at this place, dark and oppressive, completely different from the normal world. Bai Yi didn¡¯t hesitate at all and ran directly ahead toward the Soul Release Tree at the centermost area. Along the way, they discovered that most of this place had already been covered with a layer of soil. Other than some ruined walls and skeletons exposed on the outside, they already couldn¡¯t see the scene of corpses lying around everywhere that they had at the start.


    Suddenly, Bai Yi came to a halt and made a silencing gesture. This time, everybody was very alert and they immediately went quiet. Very quickly, all of them discovered a half meter long mosquito flying around, one hundred meters ahead of them. Sarelli and his team didn¡¯t know what this creature was, but Bai Yi¡¯s team couldn¡¯t be more familiar with it¡ªit was a Giant Devil Mosquito! This place had been the territory of the vengeful spirits previously; the Giant Devil Mosquitoes shouldn¡¯t have been able to enter this place.


    ¡°What a big mosquito!¡±


    ¡°Giant Devil Mosquitoes; the most dangerous group of lifeforms in Wellington now,¡± Bai Yi said, looking ahead carefully.


    ¡°You guys¡­ fuck, don¡¯t drag us down if you want to die!¡± Bai Yi turned around and wanted to say something, but suddenly realized that one of Sarelli¡¯s teammates had gone to a corner and started to pee. Bai Yi looked at that guy¡¯s actions and didn¡¯t know how to scold him. They should have known bringing along a bunch of people who have never lived in the Devil Isles before would be damn troublesome; they would bring about their deaths sooner or later!


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Our urine and sweat contain pheromones, and these can spread very far in the air.¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t need to continue to explain because a group of more than 100 Giant Devil Mosquitoes had already started flying over from afar, and there seemed to be even more coming behind them.


    ¡°Mosquitoes seem to like sucking the blood of those who sweat the most.¡±


    ¡°Now you tell us, fuck!¡± Sarelli was also badly tormented by his own subordinates. After swearing, they immediately followed Bai Yi and ran far away. Bai Yi¡¯s team could be considered to be veterans in the Devil Isles now; if even they were so afraid, then it was easy to infer just how terrifying those Giant Devil Mosquitoes were.


    Honestly speaking, a single Giant Devil Mosquito wasn¡¯t really powerful, but the crux of the matter was that the Giant Devil Mosquitoes were a colony-type lifeform! Once they came, they would come in a sky-covering swarm.


    The group of them ran away miserably and finally managed to escape from the pursuit of the Giant Devil Mosquitoes after great effort. All of their expressions were apparently quite sour now, and Sarelli immediately gave the guy who had been peeing a kick. A bunch of useless trash; could they let him be less worried!? Rupert didn¡¯t resist, but just had a very aggrieved expression on his face; since when was peeing something wrong?


    Sarelli looked at Bai Yi. ¡°What do we do now?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Will insect repellent work?¡± Rupert took out a can of repellent specially prepared by the United Nations. As the team backed by them, their equipment was still very well-prepared. However, in the Devil Isles, common sense from the outside world didn¡¯t have much use.


    Bai Yi looked at the can of insect repellent. ¡°We can try!¡±


    In the end, the result of the test was that the group of them were chased very miserably by the Giant Devil Mosquitoes again. The insect repellent had some effect, but it wasn¡¯t consequential to the Giant Devil Mosquitoes. If they couldn¡¯t make all the Giant Devil Mosquitoes scatter, then the only result would still be death. Actually, things hadn¡¯t been so complicated before; the Giant Devil Mosquitoes weren¡¯t able to enter the central area then. However, for some unknown reason, the area of Ghost City Wellington had shrunk, and the central area seemed to be occupied by the Giant Devil Mosquitoes now, so it became much more troublesome to reach the Soul Release Tree.


    ¡°Maybe I have a way,¡± Nancy said.


    ¡°En?¡± Bai Yi looked at her.


    ¡°This!¡± Nancy took out a sealed box.


    When Nancy took out this box, Bai Yi, Momo, Sharpei, Pupu, and Ulisses instantly and rapidly retreated far away. Even if Sarelli¡¯s team were very stupid, their hairs all stood on end now. What did Nancy bring out that was so dangerous?


    Dangerous, it was indeed very dangerous, because it was a Great Stink Bomb Fruit!


    Bai YI nodded. ¡°This will probably work, give it a go then.¡± After everyone had entered LV2, they had gone to harvest the remaining Great Stink Bomb Fruits. Because Lucretia knew about these, she had gone along with them once as well, but it was only once, and she had immediately fainted.


    Nancy opened the air-tight box, exposing the perfectly preserved Great Stink Bomb Fruit to the air.


    Sarelli¡¯s team were extremely curious, but their faces changed greatly the moment the box opened. This powerful impact¡­ the few of them instantly vomited all over the place. The group of them almost fainted there from the smell first, and only after a long while did they barely get used to this kind of stench and continue to make their way to the center of Wellington. At the start, they were still on guard, fearing that the Giant Devil Mosquitoes would appear again. However, unexpectedly, things went extremely smoothly, and there wasn¡¯t even a single mosquito to be seen; they had all run away from the overwhelming smell long before.


    At this time, they finally entered the heart of Wellington.


    Momo followed closely behind Bai Yi, her eyes changing, and she started to seriously look for signs of souls. However, she didn¡¯t manage to find even a single one. They started to speed up, rushing toward the Soul Release Tree at the very center.


    The initial corpse hill had already been buried under the soil, and countless tufts of withered grass were randomly growing all about. At the top of the corpse hill, was a huge, withered tree. Bai Yi and the rest of them immediately felt their hearts tense; the Soul Release Tree had actually wilted! Not a single vengeful spirit or soul could be seen.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the Soul Release Tree?¡± Sarelli asked.


    However, nobody answered his question. Bai Yi and Momo slowly walked toward the top of the corpse hill, their breathing gradually becoming heavier. Where¡¯s Mavis? Did she dissipate? Bai Yi didn¡¯t know how to describe his own emotions now and only felt incredibly heavy. Bai Yi arrived in front of the Soul Release Tree, his right hand gently caressing it. At this time, the rest of them also understood that the wilted tree in front of them was the Soul Release Tree.


    ¡°Aunt Mavis!¡± Momo hugged the Soul Release Tree and started to cry sorrowfully.


    Suddenly a voice came from nowhere. ¡°Momo is already so big, yet you still like to cry so much.¡± Dozens of balls of light flew out from the withered Soul Release Tree, appearing magnificently beautiful. One of the balls of light was undoubtedly Mavis¡¯s soul.


    ¡°Aunt Mavis!¡± Momo looked at Mavis in shock.


    ¡°You guys really came back at the right time, I had thought I wouldn¡¯t be able to see you guys again.¡± Mavis looked at Bai Yi and smiled. At this time, Sarelli and a few others were stunned; souls, those were really souls! Even if the outside world had learned about the existence of the soul long ago, people who saw souls for the first time would always look like this.


    ¡°Just what happened in Wellington?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s a long story; I¡¯ll tell you later, but you guys should pick that fruit first,¡± Mavis said, pointing at the top of the tree. Everyone looked in the direction of Mavis¡¯s right hand. However, the tree didn¡¯t have any fruits on it at all?


    ¡°Inside the crack!¡±


    Everyone immediately looked over, suddenly discovering a huge crack in the middle of the tree at a height of about seven or eight meters. Inside the crack grew a fruit that looked like a heart. This fruit was incomparably strange, and there was even some black mist vaguely surrounding the fruit itself. When they saw the fruit, all of them immediately felt their hearts stop for a beat, as if they¡¯d received some invisible impact.


    Although they didn¡¯t know what this thing was, they instinctively knew that it was precious¡ªextremely precious!


    Sarelli instantly jumped toward the crack in the tree!

 Chapter 218

    Chapter 218: Eaten!


    ¡®Pa!¡¯, a shockwave exploded as Bai Yi and Sarelli clashed with each other in mid-air. Bai Yi pushed with the Tai Ji Fist, and Sarelli instantly felt a gigantic force on his body making him fly backward. The group of people then split into two sides, with Bai Yi and Sarelli landing in the center.


    ¡°Bai Yi, what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°I should be the one asking what you are doing,¡± Bai Yi said with a calm expression.


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to harvest this fruit, of course. This kind of fruit with unknown effects must definitely be handed over to the higher-ups,¡± Sarelli said as if it was a given.


    At this time, Mavis finally noticed that the more than ten people here didn¡¯t belong to a single team. She had still thought that Bai Yi had found new teammates over this period of time. Also, ¡¯handed over to the higher-ups¡¯? It couldn¡¯t be that Bai Yi had joined a powerful faction? No, that wasn¡¯t right; Bai Yi didn¡¯t seem like that kind of person?


    Bai Yi glanced at the fruit inside the crack; it looked just like a heart, with seven withered vines stretching out from it to other parts of the tree. Bai Yi pondered if he should create animosity with the United Nations over this thing, but suddenly, Momo started to slowly walk over to the fruit. How should one describe this? If other people instinctively felt that this strange fruit was very precious, then to Momo, this fruit would be completely indispensable to herself.


    Momo lightly jumped over, reaching toward the crack for the fruit.


    Momo¡¯s actions alarmed everybody and all of them instantly tensed, but this time nobody tried to stop each other. In the eyes of Sarelli¡¯s team, Bai Yi would definitely hand this fruit over to them to take away.


    Momo gently grabbed one side of the crack with her left hand, while stretching her right hand toward the fruit. The moment Momo¡¯s hand grabbed hold of the fruit, it automatically detached itself from the seven vines connected to it. No wonder Mavis told them to harvest this fruit first¡ªit was obviously completely ripe. If some more time had passed, it would have probably fallen to the ground by itself.


    ¡°Give us this fruit, and also this Soul Release Tree; even though it has withered, we will still take it away,¡± Sarelli said.


    However, exceeding everyone¡¯s expectations, Momo held this fruit, which looked just like a heart, and took a big bite out of it. Black smoke instantly emitted from the spot where Momo bit into this heart-like fruit. However, even though it looked like smoke, it didn¡¯t dissipate in the air and remained, surrounding the fruit like dense smoke. Even more so, the place where the fruit flesh should have been just seemed like a gloomy, dark void, almost as if it was going to suck all the light inside of it.


    Everyone looked at Momo in shock; don¡¯t say that she knew what kind of fruit this was? Impossible! Bai Yi knew that they had never seen such a fruit before! However, Sarelli and the few others thought that Bai Yi knew what this thing was and that he had let Momo eat it because he knew that it was extremely precious.


    ¡°What are you doing!?¡± Sarelli immediately pounced at Momo.


    This time not only Sarelli acted, but the rest of his team acted as well. However, unfortunately for them, the few of them were repelled instantaneously in a brief clash. Bai Yi, Sharpei, Pupu, Nancy, and Ulisses immediately stopped Sarelli¡¯s people.


    Momo still continued to eat the fruit at a moderate pace, one bite at a time.


    ¡°Bai Yi!¡± Sarelli roared in anger.


    However, Bai Yi completely ignored him and only quietly observed Momo. Indeed, most of the plants and animals in the Devil Isles now were completely unknown to them. However, they had gained a mysterious sense after entering LV2. For example, the fruit that Woolf had found previously, or the Great Stink Bomb Fruit that Pupu had found; when the body intensely desired a thing, there would naturally be a feeling toward such a kind of thing.


    Momo¡¯s energy inclination was toward the soul, and this fruit grew on the Soul Release Tree; Bai Yi wouldn¡¯t believe it if somebody said that there was no connection.


    However, he really didn¡¯t imagine that Momo would directly eat this strange food now. That only reinforced Bai Yi¡¯s belief that this fruit was extremely important to Momo.


    Sarelli and his team were very strong; after all, they had to bring the Soul Release Wood back¡ªthis was their most important mission, and also their only mission. However, facing off against Bai Yi¡¯s team, Sarelli suddenly felt that they didn¡¯t have the slightest chance of winning. Even more so, he felt that they couldn¡¯t win even with just Bai Yi himself here. In the recent battle between the evolved humans and experimental subjects, Bai Yi¡¯s combat power had given many people an immense sense of pressure.


    ¡°Bai Yi, think clearly about what you are doing right now,¡± Sarelli said.


    ¡°Of course I know what I¡¯m doing. The United Nations wants the Soul Release Wood, and the condition I agreed to was to help you guys acquire the Soul Release Wood; other things weren¡¯t included in the agreement.¡± Bai Yi bore a gentle smile on his face, seemingly not minding Sarelli¡¯s threat at all.


    ¡°You¡­!¡±


    Sarelli wanted to say something but still pushed the matter aside in the end. The fruit was already eaten, they couldn¡¯t win even if they fought, and just like Bai Yi said, their mission was just to bring the Soul Release Wood back and not anything else. ¡°Fine then, let¡¯s leave it at this. I will report this incident as it is to the higher-ups.¡±


    Bai YI nodded plainly. ¡°En.¡±


    The state of mutual hostility between the two sides gradually calmed down. Mavis also generally knew what was going on from their conversation; so they were actually cooperating with the United Nations. After things cooled down, both sides looked at Momo, wondering what effects this mysterious fruit would have after being eaten.


    Momo swallowed the last bit of the fruit and even licked her lips after that.


    ¡°How is it?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know; it feels very important, but I don¡¯t feel anything now after eating it,¡± Momo answered.


    This reply made everyone very surprised; there was actually no feeling at all? All of them still thought that¡­ thought that what? That she would gain an elemental body, or become a rubber-man, or become a specter? Bai Yi couldn¡¯t help but hold his head, and suddenly started laughing. Really, why did he think about the anime that he watched long ago? This wasn¡¯t a devil fruit1 from anime!


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, the effects probably won¡¯t appear so quickly,¡± Bai Yi said and looked at Mavis after that.


    Mavis saw Bai Yi turning to look at her and said, ¡°Seems like you guys went through a lot of things.¡±


    ¡°En, we really did experience a lot of things.¡± Bai Yi nodded. ¡°What happened here, how did it become like this?¡±


    ¡°Not long after you guys left, a battle happened on the outskirts of Wellington and destroyed a few of the buildings there. From then on, a hole seemed to have appeared in the city; the range of the Ghost City gradually shrank, and it returned to being a normal environment. We aren¡¯t able to survive for long in a normal environment, and to prevent ourselves from dissipating, all the souls¡ªincluding both normal ghosts and vengeful spirits¡ªstarted to move toward the center,¡± Mavis started explaining when Bai Yi asked.


    Everybody listened very seriously, even Sarelli¡¯s team. This was a rare opportunity to understand something that they had never had a chance to interact with before.


    ¡°The closer we moved to the heart of the city, the closer we got the Soul Release Tree. You guys know as well that the Soul Release Tree has a very strong attractive pull on souls. Continuously, both the vengeful spirits and the normal ghosts were gradually sucked into the Soul Release Tree and disappeared completely. After consuming a large number of souls, the Soul Release Tree grew to become more and more lush; but in the end, there was a storm one day, and the tree was struck by a bolt of lightning, forming that huge crack.¡±


    ¡°Ever since then, the Soul Release Tree started to wilt, and we even thought that it was really dying from the lightning strike. However, after a period of time, we realized that a strange fruit had started to grow in the place where the lightning had struck. After that, the range of the Ghost City continued to slowly shrink, more and more souls were sucked into the Soul Release Tree, and the tree wilted more and more while the fruit became more and more ripe, all the way until Momo plucked the fruit from the crack.¡± Mavis objectively detailed the changes in Wellington, not adding in any of her own opinions so as to avoid bringing them down a wrong track of thought.


    ¡°A fruit that grew from absorbing souls?¡±


    ¡°Mutated after getting struck by lightning?¡±


    Mavis smiled and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Although it looked like that on the surface, they couldn¡¯t confirm if it was really true.


    Bai Yi nodded. ¡°I see, so many things happened over here.¡±


    ¡°What are you guys doing here then?¡± Mavis asked.


    ¡°The United Nations want the branches of the Soul Release Tree. We discovered that if somebody has this kind of branch on them when they die, the soul will be sucked into the branch of the Soul Release Tree and not dissipate. It is hard to say if revival is possible, but on the small chance that it is, that bunch of people started to value this thing very greatly,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°So it¡¯s like that.¡±


    ¡°But this is a good time too; it¡¯s lucky that we came back in time. From today onward, welcome back to the team Mavis,¡± Bai Yi said to her.


    ¡°En.¡±


    ¡°Then, how do you plan to handle this Soul Release Tree?¡± Bai Yi asked Sarelli.


    ¡°By chopping it down, of course.¡±


    ¡°Be more exact. This tree is more than three meters in diameter and 30 plus meters tall; how much of it can you take away?¡±


    Everyone looked toward the Soul Release Tree. Previously, the United Nations had only wanted some of its branches; after all, the Soul Release Tree was precious beyond words. Even an idiot wouldn¡¯t plan to chop the tree down once and for all. Now, however, the tree had already withered, so they didn¡¯t need to be so apprehensive about that anymore. However, with such a big tree, they definitely couldn¡¯t take everything away in one trip.


    Sarelli hesitated for a moment and pointed to a forked tree branch. ¡°Chop off that branch first then.¡± Although it had wilted, the Soul Release Tree was still very huge. They didn¡¯t have the authority to decide how to handle this precious tree, so they decided to follow the United Nations¡¯ instructions first and bring back just a section.


    Bai Yi drew Red Kiss and swung it a few times, the air splitting apart before him. The branch that Sarelli had indicated immediately fell down in three sections, each roughly two meters in length and as thick as a wrist. Due to having wilted, the branch sections didn¡¯t have many twigs left on them now, so they didn¡¯t have to do any other processing on them.


    ***


    Translator¡¯s Notes:

 Chapter 219

    Chapter 219: Assemble


    On their way back they encountered the Giant Devil Mosquitoes again, but luckily nothing much happened with the Great Stink Bomb Fruit. Sarelli asked Bai Yi for one for the sake of repelling the Giant Devil Mosquitoes when they inevitably came again, but, sadly, Bai Yi refused him because there were only three of the Great Stink Bomb Fruits left. The one in Nancy¡¯s hands right now was for backup and for concocting potions, while the other two were intentionally left behind on the tree by Bai Yi.


    The Great Stink Bomb Fruits were definitely good stuff, it had the effect of enhancing the strength of the absolute life field after consuming it. Yet, Bai Yi¡¯s team did not pick the tree clean. In reality, after eating ten of those fruits, the effect of the Great Stink Bomb Fruits had already diminished to a very small level. There were a total of 24 Great Stink Bomb Fruits, Bai Yi¡¯s team ate eleven and they picked another ten for the other people who entered LV2. Of course, the bunch of LV2s hadn¡¯t known what they were eating. They only felt that the taste had a great impact and it seemed to be beneficial to their body. However, due to each person not eating a lot of it, they weren¡¯t too clear about the effects either.


    As for the remaining two fruits, Bai Yi felt that if there was somebody who could bear the intense stink and eat the fruit anyway, then it was that person¡¯s fortunate encounter. Bai Yi wasn¡¯t the kind of person who would selfishly desire to completely possess something good once he saw it.


    One could say that he was altruistic or stupid, but this was the way Bai Yi did things.


    Though Bai Yi didn¡¯t give Sarelli a Great Stink Bomb Fruit, he still gave him a small test tube of the fruit¡¯s fluid. After all, they had already taken the mysterious fruit for themselves, it wasn¡¯t a bad thing to smooth relationships when they could.


    Holding the piece of Soul Release Wood, the group of them came to the pier and the people who stayed back to guard the place greeted them. Nothing much had happened on their side. After assembling, the group split off once again and Sarelli and his team went flying off in the helicopter.


    ¡°What happened? Something seems off between you guys,¡± Betsy asked.


    ¡°We fought for a fruit and they weren¡¯t happy about it.¡± Bai Yi shrugged.


    ¡­


    ¡°Sarelli, where are we going now? Back to Australia?¡±


    Only Sarelli¡¯s team members were on the helicopter now. Seeing that Sarelli wasn¡¯t replying him but just observing a small piece of Soul Release Wood, Rupert called out for Sarelli loudly again.


    ¡°Sarelli!¡±


    Sarelli lifted his eyes, ¡°Go to Westport. There¡¯s a frontline research facility by the United Nations there.¡±


    ¡°Frontline research facility? Why didn¡¯t we hear about this before?¡± Rupert immediately asked in surprise.


    ¡°Tell you guys? So that you guys can leak it to Bai Yi afterward? A bunch of idiots ¨C one of you stupidly grabbed a bug you knew nothing about! Let¡¯s hope the frontline research facility has a way to treat the injury on your hand! And you, Rupert! Why did you piss there so unthinkingly?¡± Sarelli asked with a calm and collected expression. Now, Sarelli exerted his authority over them without showing his anger, completely different from the feeling of a minor character he had while they were with Bai Yi.


    ¡°This¡­you know things like pissing, sometimes you just can¡¯t hold it in?¡± Rupert said embarrassedly.


    ¡°Tsk, moron. But this is good too, Bai Yi will probably treat us as real newbies now.¡± Sarelli scolded again and didn¡¯t continue to speak. The few helicopters then flew towards the direction of Westport.


    ¡°Sarelli, I heard that you also came from the Devil Isles, is that true?¡± After a while, Rupert asked again. Actually, the rest of them were very curious too.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask about things you shouldn¡¯t ask about,¡± Sarelli gave him a glance but didn¡¯t explain.


    Rupert just shrugged with an expression of helplessness. However, only Sarelli knew that he really did come from the Devil Isles. It was just that he came from the northern island and was one of the United Nations¡¯ men.


    It was needless to say just how important Devil Isles was as a natural ecosphere for activated cells research. At the very beginning of the change, all countries had already placed high importance on that place. Not only the frontline research facility, but there were also a lot of soldiers that got sent there, just that not many of them survived. Sarelli could be sure that among the thousand-plus LV2s on the southern island, there were definitely soldiers sent by the various countries. As for which country they came from and how many of them there were, he wouldn¡¯t know that.


    Loyalty, huh?


    Sarelli looked at his own hands. In the beginning, when he was selected for this mission by the military, the only request from the higher-ups was absolute loyalty because this wasn¡¯t just a simple mission. He¡¯d believed that he was loyal enough too but after four-plus years of living in Devil Isles, seeing his companions die from various dangers, and transforming into a monster himself, how much of that loyalty was still left in him now? More than likely, he was just following his habits by continuing to report and serve the United Nations.


    Were there people from other countries on Bai Yi¡¯s team?


    Sarelli closed his eyes and thought about it. Suddenly, Rupert shouted. ¡°Team Leader, there¡¯s a flying evolved life form coming towards us!¡±


    In a moment, Sarelli jumped out of the helicopter. A pair of wings spread from his back, colored patterns appeared on his face, and he roared at the flying evolved life form coming towards them. That kind arrogant and domineering appearance, and the traces of oppressive pressure coming from his body wasn¡¯t much inferior to even Bai Yi. If Bai Yi could see what Sarelli looked like now, he would find something familiar.


    ¡­


    ¡°Woolf, long time no see.¡± Mavis waved to Woolf.


    ¡°Long time no see! Is it ok for you to be outside like this?¡± Woolf looked at his friend from the past, happy, even though Mavis was just a spiritual body now.


    ¡°It should be fine if it¡¯s just a short period of time. I still have some things to tell Bai Yi,¡± Mavis smiled and said.


    ¡°What about Heloise and Vala?¡± Mavis took a look at the group and asked.


    ¡°Many things happened,¡± Bai Yi recollected the things that occurred.


    ¡°Did their souls disappear?¡±


    ¡°No. They are in this piece of Soul Release Wood now. That¡¯s also how we found out that Soul Release Wood could absorb and preserve people¡¯s souls,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°The environment here isn¡¯t too good. Let¡¯s return to the city and let Heloise and Vala out so we can finally all come together again.¡± Mavis said as traces of hurt appeared on her face listening to Bai Yi¡¯s words. The Devil Isles was really too dangerous. Since the beginning, her companions died one after another for various reasons. But luckily with Soul Release Wood, they could at least preserve the souls for now.


    ¡°OK!¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    Momo had called out Heloise and Vala¡¯s soul occasionally in the past as well, but every time they came out their souls would become fainter. After a few times, they came to understand that the environment of the outside world wasn¡¯t suited for souls, so Heloise and Vala rarely came out after that.


    Once they returned to the center of Wellington, Heloise and Vala drifted out from the piece of Soul Release Wood and hugged Mavis.


    ¡°Hey, you don¡¯t know just how little space there is in this piece of Soul Release Wood! I almost suffocated to death! If not for Momo being able to talk to us from time to time, we would probably grow sick from getting trapped inside,¡± Heloise grumbled upon seeing her.


    ¡°Don¡¯t grumble for now. Your souls are a little corrupted; follow me to the tree¡¯s core to purify yourself!¡± Mavis looked at Heloise and Vala and immediately said.


    ¡°Purify?¡±


    ¡°Right, purify. I¡¯ll explain the reasoning behind it later!¡± Mavis nodded and led Heloise and Vala and flew towards the tree¡¯s core.


    After Heloise and Vala were purified, everybody could tell that their souls were indeed a bit different. All of them finally gathered again and listened to Mavis talk about her experiences. Mavis had already become a spiritual body when Wellington had started changing, so her point of view was completely different than that of a normal person.


    ¡°Undoubtedly, Ghost City Welling was an Underworld,¡± Mavis started to explain.


    ¡°Underworld!¡±


    ¡°Right, Underworld. This is my understanding of it!¡±


    ¡°The Underworld refers to an accidentally formed special environment in which souls can exist. However, the formation of such an environment is coincidental, and this environment would succumb to the erosion by the main world if it¡¯s special layout got damaged. After those few buildings collapsed, it was as if a hole opened in the Ghost City and the Underworld qi gradually leaked out and dissipated. My guess is that this special layout got broken.¡± Mavis explained.


    ¡°That¡¯s probably the case. Aren¡¯t there ghost sightings in a lot of places like those ancient battlefields or murder locations? In the end, all of those became legends due to a lack of evidence. Most probably, the environment changed and the accidentally formed Underworld eventually got eroded by the main world and disappeared. The souls lost the conditions for survival and also disappeared in the end.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    Alodia held the laptop and recorded all of this information.


    ¡°Then, is there a possibility to artificially create an Underworld?¡± Alodia suddenly asked after recording the details.


    Everyone heard and immediately stared at each other. A man-made Underworld? There seemed to be examples of such things in the ancient legends of many countries.


    ¡°Pyramids!¡±


    ¡°Terracotta Army!¡±


    ¡°Ancient Tombs!¡±


    ¡°Great Netherworld Formation!¡± Bai Yi also mentioned.


    Everybody else heard and immediately looked at Bai Yi dumbly. The other places were familiar, but what was this Great Netherworld Formation that Bai Yi spoke about? Bai Yi couldn¡¯t help but laugh to himself and started to explain to the others. He only mentioned it on a whim actually. Didn¡¯t those cultivation or fantasy novels always have something like that?


    ¡°Bai Yi you are really¡­!¡±


    The others finally understood and didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry.


    ¡°A man-made Underworld is possible in theory, but we won¡¯t be able to reach an accurate conclusion in the short term.¡± Bai Yi said.


    At this time, Bai Yi thought about the image Heloise drew of Ghost City Wellington when she flew up into the sky. Great Netherworld Formation: if they could reconstruct the arrangement as seen in that drawing and refine it, could they really create the kind of formations they saw in novels?

 Chapter 220

    Chapter 220: Fading Away Underworld


    ¡°A man-made Underworld, perhaps¡­if a large number of humans died at once, in addition to a special layout,¡± Vala said.


    ¡°We all know that souls would naturally dissipate in a normal environment. Is it plausible that if a large number of humans die at once, the number of souls present exceeds the rate of dissipation of these souls and the special environment, and coupled with a special layout would form an Underworld? Such as the special layout of the buildings in Wellington, the pyramids, or things like the Terracotta Army? Those people who got buried together with the kings in their tombs ¨C doesn¡¯t that satisfy the condition of many people dying at once?¡± Vala continued.


    They had to admit that Vala was very smart and explained things extremely logically and clearly, but everyone shivered inside listening to her explanation.


    A large number of humans dying!


    ¡°OK, let¡¯s not talk about this issue anymore. It¡¯s not like we can test it out anyway. Mavis, can you talk about the purification? Just now you said that Heloise and Vala¡¯s souls were corrupted, what¡¯s going on?¡± Bai Yi asked and changed the topic; he felt like they would be intruding on some forbidden territory if they continued to delve into this.


    ¡°Purification? It¡¯s like this!¡± Mavis started to explain.


    ¡°You guys saw the vengeful spirits back then right? When those vengeful spirits were hunting, they would appear extremely brutal and always warped into some very strange and savage forms. At the start, even those warped vengeful spirits would go back to a normal human form when they were quiet. However, later on we discovered that these vengeful spirits gradually deviated from the appearance of a normal human soul, truly transforming into the appearance of a monster. This is what we refer to as corruption.¡± Mavis said.


    ¡°Not just those vengeful spirits, even souls like us who still retain our own consciousness would slowly transform like this. We can¡¯t say that this kind of transformation isn¡¯t good because I think that this is one of the ways for a purely spiritual lifeform to evolve. After losing the restriction of the physical body, the growth of the soul doesn¡¯t have to be trapped within the confines of our species and hence it grows to become strange. For those spiritual bodies that had transformed, they really did become more powerful in the end and a small portion of them can even attack the physical world directly now.¡± Mavis explained.


    One of the evolution methods for spiritual lifeforms!


    Directly attacking the physical world!


    Bai Yi and the others never imagined that they would learn so much shocking information here. Don¡¯t think that these were just a few short sentences, they could be treated as absolutely top-secret material.


    ¡°What about you guys?¡±


    ¡°Purification and dissolution: that is the power of the Soul Release Tree. You guys saw it back then, right? The vengeful spirits liked that place a lot, but none of them dared to be overly close to it. The Soul Release Tree can purify spiritual bodies and allow us to maintain our original form, that¡¯s how I still can appear in front of you guys in human form. However, if you aren¡¯t able to control yourself during the purification process, then that wouldn¡¯t be purification anymore but you would be directly broken down and absorbed into the Soul Release Tree.¡± Mavis said.


    ¡°Control yourself? Why didn¡¯t we feel anything?¡± Vala and Heloise asked.


    ¡°Because the Soul Release Tree died!¡± Mavis said sadly and pointed at the dozens of balls of light floating around. ¡°Look at them, there were hundreds of thousands of spiritual bodies in Wellington at first, but now there are only a few dozens of us who could control ourselves, the others all¡­¡± There wasn¡¯t a need to say what happened to the others.


    ¡°Anna!¡± Bai Yi saw one of the souls among them.


    ¡°Heh, I thought that you guys have already forgotten about me! I didn¡¯t even get a ¡®hi¡¯.¡± Anna floated over and scolded them.


    ¡°No way! We still have a very deep impression of you. We were just too engrossed in listening to the new information and didn¡¯t notice you.¡± Bai Yi hurriedly smiled and apologized. This mad ghost Anna was the one who took them to search for Yu Han back then.


    ¡°Hmph, I¡¯ll believe you for now,¡± Anna said proudly.


    ¡°Our purification isn¡¯t complete, right? I feel that there¡¯s something different between us.¡± Vala looked at the dozens of souls and said.


    ¡°En, that¡¯s for sure. The Soul Release Tree was still alive when we got purified. Now that the Soul Release Tree is dead, the purification power has weakened by several times though the dissolution power is gone.¡± Anna said, not having any sense of unfamiliarity or awkwardness with Bai Yi¡¯s team.


    ¡°Speaking of us, you guys should take the tree¡¯s core. Otherwise, the United Nations will definitely take it.¡± Anna floated around in the air.


    ¡°The tree¡¯s core?¡±


    ¡°Yep, the tree¡¯s core. After the Soul Release Tree died, not every part of the tree retained its purification power. Only the centermost part of the tree still retained this ability, roughly a twenty-centimeter piece of wood at the core. Oh right, you should take some of the remaining Soul Release Wood as well. Looking at the faces of those people just now, the tree will probably be completely gone not long from now if you guys don¡¯t take it.¡± Mavis said at length.


    ¡°Of course.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°Aunt Mavis, where are the Spirit Devouring Butterflies?¡± Momo bore with it until now, only asking when she saw that the other things had more or less been discussed already.


    ¡°Spirit Devouring Butterflies?¡±


    ¡°The same thing that happened to the other spiritual bodies: they all got absorbed by the Soul Release Tree. Towards the end, most of the Spirit Devouring Butterflies changed to become spiritual beings, and those that didn¡¯t become spiritual beings were all eliminated. As the range of the Ghost City shrunk more and more, they lost a suitable environment for survival.¡± Mavis was very sad as well talking about this.


    The Soul Release Tree and the Spirit Devouring Butterflies were both special lifeforms that only appeared because of the Ghost City Wellington. At the same time that they became unique, they also became unsuitable for the normal world.


    Momo heard her words and had the face of wanting to cry but stubbornly refused. If it was a normal kid, the kid would have probably started to wail long ago. However, Momo was different. She had experienced the passing of many people and knew that just crying would never be able to solve any problems. Bai Yi looked at Momo and sighed, not knowing if this was a good or bad thing. She was still so young but had already forced herself to develop this overly strong character.


    ¡°Just cry if you want.¡± Bai Yi patted Momo¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°The little butterflies all died daddy, the little butterflies all disappeared!¡± Momo jumped into Bai Yi¡¯s arms, grabbed his sleeve, and cried loudly. In reality, Momo was just slightly older than nine years old now, and many times she was just pretending to be strong. A child that age should be able to cry when she wanted to and leave the problems for the adults to bear.


    Momo cried very sorrowfully, as the six remaining Spirit Devouring Butterflies flew out of Momo and began to slowly dance around her. After crying for a while, Momo finally looked at the six Spirit Devouring Butterflies, still sobbing sporadically. One of the butterflies landed on Momo¡¯s nose, slowly flapping its wings.


    Everyone immediately went quiet. All of them knew that Momo could communicate with spiritual bodies and animals. She was definitely talking with the Spirit Devouring Butterfly now.


    ¡°It said that I have the smell of the Spirit Devouring Butterflies on me.¡± Momo raised her head and looked at Bai Yi.


    ¡°They are staying in your body, of course you would have their smell.¡± Woolf interrupted at the side. However, Bai Yi and the rest ignored Woolf¡¯s words and carefully pondered about this.


    After a short moment, all of them said at the same time, ¡°That fruit just now!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s probably due to that fruit, after all, it was a fruit that grew after absorbing all the spiritual bodies. There¡¯s probably some connection between these things. However, you need to figure this out for yourself. The formation of this fruit is too special and none of us knows what¡¯s going on either.¡± Bai Yi stroked Momo¡¯s head and consoled.


    ¡°Are the little butterflies growing inside the fruit? Did they get eaten by me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know that either.¡± Bai Yi smiled and said.


    At this time, not just Bai Yi, but the rest of them were all extremely curious about this fruit. A fruit that grew under such special conditions and the smell of the Spirit Devouring Butterflies, what exactly was going on? After the spread of the activated cells, things in this world seemed to be becoming more and more strange, but also more and more interesting as well as more dangerous at the same time.


    After Momo calmed down, Bai Yi and the rest heeded Mavis¡¯ advice and retrieved the tree¡¯s core. Other than that, they also took out a square piece Soul Release Wood roughly one meter by one meter. Even though this was quite a big piece of Soul Release Wood, it wasn¡¯t anything worth mentioning in relation to the entire mass of the Soul Release Tree. They didn¡¯t try to be greedy either. Such a big piece of Soul Release Wood was already sufficient for them and carrying more than that would actually end up being inconvenient.


    At this time, Bai Yi also got Momo to let the other souls out, these were all their LV2 companions that had died in the battle. After explaining it to them simply, Bai Yi also let them go through the tree core to purify themselves. As for the souls of the normal people that Momo had collected as well, they of course wouldn¡¯t get such a good treatment.


    After finishing the purification, it was time to change their place of residence. In the beginning, they had only randomly broken off branches of the Soul Release Tree, but now that they had better conditions they would change the place the souls were staying in.


    Melvin then made a simple pendant for everyone using the Soul Release Wood. Melvin was the Weapon Armor Maker in the team, so his processing and grinding skills were good and all of the pendants were exquisite even though they were all carved from wood. Everybody seriously carried one, it was needless to say how much they valued the pendants after knowing the function of this Soul Release Wood. If they died accidentally, their soul would be able to be preserved inside the Soul Release Wood. This was also why people in the outside world placed such importance on the Soul Release Wood.


    Momo carried two pendants. One of them contained their old companions and the LV2s who died in the battle, while the other pendant contained the normal souls.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Bai Yi held Momo¡¯s hand and said.


    Hearing Bai Yi¡¯s words, the rest of them kept their gazes and slowly walked outside.


    Behind them was the still and tranquil Wellington. After they took away the tree¡¯s core, it seemed like the last bit of Underworld qi gathered in Wellington disappeared as well. Under the gentle sunlight shining down from the sky, the entire city of Wellington seemed to be glowing with a fresh and bright atmosphere. This was the atmosphere that belonged to the normal human world, the environment that countless normal people were used to. Yet, it was a world that the dead couldn¡¯t stay in.

 Chapter 221

    Chapter 221: Provenance Fruit


    They immediately began to search for Doctor Wang after leaving Wellington, this was something that the United Nations placed great importance on as well. Undoubtedly, this Doctor Wang was a complete demonic genius in the eyes of many people. The location that Bai Yi¡¯s team was heading to right now was one of the 121 research facilities.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll go to the no. 43 research facility now.¡± Bai Yi said to everybody after looking at the map. On this map, all of the 121 research facilities were numbered from 1 to 121, so they didn¡¯t have to remember the specific names.


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t no. 43 already searched long ago?¡± Although there were 121 research facilities, most of them had already been searched by the United Nations.


    ¡°They checked it a few years ago, right? Do you think that the Doctor Wang wouldn¡¯t think of moving to the place after the search party left?¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Honestly, I can¡¯t understand what that guy is thinking.¡±


    ¡°If you could understand his thoughts, then he wouldn¡¯t be known as a demonic genius anymore.¡± Ulisses teased Woolf as they ran through the treetops.


    ¡°You¡¯re saying that as if I¡¯m very stupid!¡±


    ¡°Hahaha, Woolf your image is already well-established!¡± Bellamy laughed.


    ¡°Tch! I think that¡­.¡± Before Woolf could say anything, the branch below his feet broke with a ¡®kachi!¡¯ and his heavy body fell toward the bushes below. Bellamy immediately stretched out her hand grabbed hold of Woolf¡¯s thick and short tail. However, Woolf¡¯s body was too heavy for her to keep her balance on the tree branch, so Bellamy got dragged to the ground after Woolf.


    Everybody stopped, and Bai Yi looked at the sky. They could afford to rest for a while.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take a break.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Somehow I feel like I¡¯m dragging people down after entering LV2¡­.¡± Woolf grumbled.


    ¡°Nah, that¡¯s not it. You are just too big. Most of the branches can¡¯t support your weight and it¡¯s also easy for you to run into other branches.¡± Bellamy hung upside down from one of the tree branches before gracefully doing a backflip in the air and landing on the ground.


    Since entering LV2, they could freely control their bodies¡¯ special energy and this brought about a lot of convenience to them. If used properly, it was possible to use their energy to stick to surfaces, so Bai Yi and his team could run along trees and inclined surfaces as if they were flat ground like in animes. Yet, it still wasn¡¯t possible to stand on water because water was always in motion. They could only control the special energy up to a thin area beyond their bodies, once it exceeds the transmission range of their absolute life field they wouldn¡¯t be unable to control it anymore.


    Woolf had decent control over his special energy since he had undergone a perfect metamorphosis. It was just that his body was too big, so he seemed to be dragging them down while traveling.


    ¡°Let¡¯s move. We should reach no. 43 research facility before dark and we¡¯ll stay there for the night.¡± Bai Yi said to everybody after resting for a while and eating something.


    None of them had any objections; they could rest in the open as well, but who wouldn¡¯t prefer the comfort of a clean and tidy research facility?


    Following the map, they very quickly arrived at no. 43 research facility. If not for the detailed and precise map, they would have definitely been unable to find the place because it had long been covered in dense vegetation. After clearing away all the soil and various plants, they finally opened the door to this research facility with the password and method provided by the United Nations. Things inside were very neat, but there wasn¡¯t a single person inside at all. Of course, this was to be expected. Bai Yi and his team never expected to find Doctor Wang so easily here and even the signs outside showed that there wasn¡¯t anybody living here.


    Luckily, the research facility had a passageway suitable for large-sized experimental subjects, so Woolf could enter as well. After touring the research facility, Bai Yi connected Yeye to the intranet of the research facility and let her see if there were any hidden sections in this place.


    ¡°There are no hidden sections here. There¡¯s a small prison below with 31 experimental subjects inside, but they are all dead now. You guys take a look yourself while I go charge my battery.¡± Yeye jumped out and said to Bai Yi. Yeye had undergone improvements as well, now possessing a reserve battery that could last Yeye for one day on a full charge. Furthermore, through the wireless signal between the laptop and Yeye¡¯s main computer, she could even pop up on the laptop from time to time.


    ¡°En, we¡¯ll go take a look ourselves.¡± Bai Yi finished speaking and brought a few others to the prison in the lower level. Yeye had already opened all the doors so they could just walk through.


    When Bai Yi and the rest came to this small prison, their eyes immediately became slightly downcast. Dead. These 31 experimental subjects had all died. After more than five years without anybody coming to supply food, these five experimental subjects would of course be unable to continue living.


    Suddenly, an ear-piercing alarm rang!


    They instantly went on guard, but the alarm stopped after a few seconds and Yeye¡¯s voice came from the speakers. ¡°Bai Yi, you guys be careful. Signs of life were detected from prison cell 22.¡±


    It couldn¡¯t be. There were still signs of life?


    All of them were stunned for a moment before going over to check things out cautiously. However, no matter how they looked at it, the creature in the prison cell had dried up long ago. After a long while, they finally discovered a spider climbing out from the eye socket of the long dried up corpse in the prison cell.


    It was a black spider roughly the size of a thumb with some slight bright-red lines on its abdomen: a black widow spider.


    ¡°It¡¯s this black widow?¡±


    ¡°Right, it¡¯s this black widow spider. The experimental subject probably carried a spider egg on him in the beginning. Although the experimental subject died, this spider managed to survive by feeding on his body. Since this place was completely isolated, the spider hasn¡¯t seemed to come into contact with any other genes and retained its original appearance.¡± Yeye explained.


    At this time, this black widow spider slowly crawled across the floor and up to the transparent glass window. Its little eyes observed Bai Yi and the rest outside.


    Momo stuck her face close to the window, making eye contact with the little spider through the glass window.


    ¡°Daddy, let¡¯s release it.¡± Momo suddenly turned around and said.


    ¡°En.¡± Bai Yi muttered. ¡°Yeye, open the door.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    After the door opened, the black widow spider instantly jumped to the floor and crawled toward the door. Even Bai Yi found it hard to believe that such a small spider could also grow to become so intelligent. After the black widow crawled out of the door, it immediately jumped off the ground, landing toward Momo¡¯s body.


    Bai Yi and Alodia tensed, but Momo just stretched out her right hand.


    Momo let the black widow spider land on her right hand and smiled before turning her head, ¡°Daddy, I¡¯ll send her outside.¡±


    ¡°En.¡± Bai Yi nodded. He was really getting more and more confused. That was a black widow spider! Even without fusing with any other genes, the poison of the black widow spider was already incredibly potent. If it was Bai Yi or Alodia, their first reaction upon seeing this black widow would definitely be to be on guard. Only Momo would let the spider land on her hand like that.


    All of them returned to the research facility¡¯s upper levels. Their sleeping quarters had already been tidied up. Everybody else saw the black widow on Momo¡¯s hand and were stunned for a moment, but after a while they just let it be since they were all desensitized to Momo doing such things.


    ¡°Little spider, why not just follow us?¡± Momo said gently when she was about to release the black widow. Bai Yi heard Momo¡¯s words and the corner of his lips couldn¡¯t help but twitch. Momo do you know the danger of a black widow spider?


    Fortunately, the black widow only paused for a while on Momo¡¯s hand before crawling towards the outside without turning back.


    It was just a small interlude in their journey and it didn¡¯t have any effect on them. After returning to the research facility, all of them closed their doors and prepared to rest. As usual, Bai Yi let Momo enter deep level sleep, and after she fell asleep her seemingly calm body immediately began to change.


    They had discovered long ago that the body would automatically go through a form of self-adjustment when entering a state of deep level sleep or even higher levels of rest. Due to the resonance of the absolute life field, everybody changed in a unique way during the Metamorphose Stage. This kind of transformation happened gradually but would speed up when in a stage of deep level sleep or above. Even so, the speed wouldn¡¯t be to the point of ridiculously fast under normal circumstances, because the body couldn¡¯t handle it!


    The slow transformation of the Metamorphose Stage was a gradual change, and every part of the person had to keep up with this transformation at the same time.


    Physical body, soul, energy, awareness, absolute life field!


    The most fundamental limiting factor was the replenishment of external physical elements.


    For example, Bai Yi¡¯s body harmonized more with his own energy every time he entered deep level sleep, but it wouldn¡¯t change by too much. This was because his body couldn¡¯t allow it. The various basic components of a human body were fixed and it wasn¡¯t possible to suddenly create a lot of the necessary components that the body needed out of nowhere. If the body changed too much in one go, it would just result in the body breaking down.


    However, this time, Momo¡¯s transformation was very fast. She absorbed the nutrients in the fruit very rapidly, and not just in her physical body but in other areas as well like her soul, special energy, awareness, and absolute life field were also changing at the same pace. Furthermore, this kind of changes seemed to be influenced by that fruit and created a bias and inclination towards a particular direction of change.


    ____________________________________________________________________


    Provenance Fruit ¨C A fruit that grows in a special environment. Its form varies and it may not be in a form of a plant or fruit, but its effects are generally the same. Due to the different characteristics of the fruit, it can let the physical body, energy, and soul of an evolved lifeform change in a fixed direction.


    The earlier the fruit is consumed in the Metamorphose Stage, the better the effects are. If the fruit is consumed in the later stages, there can be side effects if the nature of the fruit clash with the original energy inclination of the body, such as dropping dead.

 Chapter 222

    Chapter 222: Fine Changes


    Undoubtedly, the special fruit that Momo ate was a Provenance Fruit. However, Bai Yi and the rest had been completely in the dark about the existence of such a thing until now. The name hadn¡¯t even appeared for the first time before this. The attribute of this fruit that grew in the unique environment of Wellington was [Death: Soul Attribute]!


    It was very similar to Momo¡¯s attribute, just that it was even more complete.


    Of course, that didn¡¯t mean that this fruit was only suitable for Momo; in reality, anybody could eat this fruit, just that it was most suitable for Momo. That was why all of them suddenly felt that this fruit was extremely precious when they had discovered it in the beginning for no reason.


    The reason why Momo hadn¡¯t felt much after eating the fruit was that Momo¡¯s own attribute was very similar to the attribute of the fruit. However, it would definitely be torturous if somebody else ate it. For those whose special energy had already changed to a particular attribute, their special energy would have been forcefully changed to the soul attribute by the Provenance Fruit. It would be fine if things went smoothly, but if the two types of energies clashed, the person would undoubtedly be tortured to the point of death.


    ¡­


    They woke up on the second day. Momo had undergone some changes but they weren¡¯t too obvious, so none of them minded them and continued to head to the other research facilities.


    After half a month and checking on four other research facilities, they finally found that something was wrong. Actually, they had sensed something amiss earlier, but the changes had been still very small and they couldn¡¯t be sure. Now, all of them felt a sense of fear when they approached Momo, and subconsciously felt that getting close to Momo was extremely dangerous. This feeling that came naturally from the body was very acute.


    Undoubtedly, this kind of change must have been due to the fruit that Momo consumed.


    Discovering Momo¡¯s changes, Bai Yi wasn¡¯t in the mood to search the other research facilities anymore and stopped at the no. 39 research facility south of Masterton to study Momo¡¯s changes. This research facility was neither too big nor too small and the facilities were quite good as well. With Yeye¡¯s help and Bai Yi seriously studying biology before, they started to study Momo¡¯s changes in detail.


    After half a month of study, Momo¡¯s changes became even greater and they managed to consolidate their findings of Momo¡¯s changes as they related to her initial basic statistics.


    The Momo who had just entered LV2:


    Total Energy: 7000, Rate of Flow: 130, Maximum Rate of Flow: 700, Normal State Consumption: 2400, Maximum Consumption: 7000, Awareness: 130.


    This time, their test was more detailed than the crude one before and they added some other factors.


    1. Changes in special energy


    First is the total amount of special energy. Momo¡¯s total amount of energy reached a level of roughly 35,000 and the energy characteristics had become completely different from before. It would be accurate to define Momo¡¯s special energy as soul energy now. Initially, Momo¡¯s energy could only exterminate souls, but Bai Yi discovered that Momo could freely control this energy now. The power of extermination was still there, but if Momo was willing she could use this energy to maintain the survival of the soul.


    It could be said that whether to live or to die could be decided in a single thought from Momo.


    Other than that, if previously all of her special energy was provided by the activated cells, that wasn¡¯t the case for Momo¡¯s body now. Based on Momo¡¯s feeling, the activated cells provided roughly 15,000 of soul energy to her, while the remaining 20,000 came from her soul. They still didn¡¯t understand this kind of energy production so far, but it was definitely different from the energy conversion from the activated cells.


    Everybody else had experienced these kinds of changes as well, but they had been to a much lesser extent than Momo.


    Bai Yi¡¯s total energy wasn¡¯t too different from Momo¡¯s, probably around 35,000 as well; however, 30,000 of that came from his physical body, while only 5,000 came from his soul.


    2. Changes in the physical body


    Momo¡¯s physical composition, how should one describe this? It basically couldn¡¯t be analyzed. Of course, it wasn¡¯t that it couldn¡¯t be analyzed at all, just that there were many mysterious parts of Momo¡¯s physical compositions that they couldn¡¯t identify with their current knowledge and equipment. However, what they could ascertain was that Momo¡¯s cell structure was already completely different than that of a normal human. Bai Yi even suspected that Momo couldn¡¯t be considered a human now.


    However, Bai Yi and the rest weren¡¯t much better than Momo. All of them were changing as well, just that Momo¡¯s changes were the greatest.


    For example, if some of Bai Yi¡¯s cells were separated from his body they would automatically float in the air and respire by itself. The cells of the others seemed more normal, but all of them suspected that the more normal they looked, the more abnormal they actually were, and it was just that they couldn¡¯t see it now.


    Woolf¡¯s cells now had a metallic color and the molecules inside his cells seemed to gain a few more molecular bonds, strengthening the connection between the molecules. The rest of them had tested them before. So long as these additional molecular bonds weren¡¯t broken, the cells themselves wouldn¡¯t receive any damage. Most importantly, Woolf¡¯s energy could replicate this kind of molecular bonds, strengthening the connections even further. As long as the instantaneous damage he received didn¡¯t exceed the capacity of these molecular bonds, then Woolf wouldn¡¯t receive any damage. Everybody suddenly felt enlightened then, no wonder that Woolf was getting better and better at taking beatings.


    As for the others, Alodia¡¯s cells had signs of crystallizing while Melvin¡¯s cells reached more than 200 degrees Celsius. Sharpei¡¯s cells seemed just like cancer cells, showing a tendency to invade and encroach on other things, but their enhancement ability hadn¡¯t changed.


    Apparently, the changes in the physical bodies of each person allowed them to endure the existence of the differing special energies in their bodies.


    3. Changes in the soul


    This couldn¡¯t be observed by any instrument, so they had to rely on their own senses to feel this. The changes in Momo¡¯s soul was the most special, and her original words had been that ¡°The soul seems to control the body.¡±


    People would normally think that this was just a normal statement, but Bai Yi and the rest didn¡¯t think so. From birth, a normal human could only feel their physical bodies and use their five senses to interact with the world. When Momo said that the soul controlled the body, she meant that the soul had already superseded the body in its role of interacting with the outside world. As for how this worked exactly, they, unfortunately, had no clue because such a concept didn¡¯t exist at all in their memories.


    However, what all of them could sense was that when their special energy became able to pervade their souls and their souls were able to produce special energy, then all of their souls became very firm and strong.


    Of course, Momo¡¯s soul was definitely the strongest one of out of all their souls right now. Furthermore, a kind of energy field had appeared around Momo, a field that had a feeling similar to the Underworld yet possessing a kind of vitality to it. They discovered that in Momo¡¯s energy field, other souls could actually stay in it and not get eroded by the main world.


    Heloise, Mavis, and Vala were overjoyed for a long time after finding out. This meant that they could stay in the outside world at will now. However, Momo¡¯s energy field wasn¡¯t too big, just around a two meters radius around here, so they could probably only come out for a while to chat with the others when Momo stopped.


    However, their necks felt cold when they thought that there were ghosts following them all the time.


    4. Changes in awareness


    Based on Yeye¡¯s data, awareness was an emergent property of the activity of the brain and the soul. It was a type of biological phenomena and couldn¡¯t exist independently. However, Bai Yi discovered that his awareness had signs of exceeding this condition and seemed to be able to exist independently.


    That was the feeling that Bai Yi had when he entered a meditative level of rest. It could be said that every time Bai Yi slept, his state of sleep would at least be deep level sleep, but for the levels of sleep above that like the meditative state or womb sleep, Bai Yi couldn¡¯t enter those stages at will. During one of his experiences of meditative sleep, Bai Yi mysteriously felt his awareness seemingly exceeding the limitations of his body and soul to exist independently for a short while. The feeling was very hard to describe, it was as if he was looking down on his body from a supreme position in a third-person view.


    Of course, when Bai Yi mentioned this incident Woolf immediately asserted that Bai Yi was definitely dreaming. Woolf even spoke some nonsense about how the so-called third person view was just the point of view when playing a 3D game. Bai Yi didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry, he really did have that feeling then but it was really too different from that of playing a game.


    None of the others had this experience, but Bai Yi still insisted on his view that his awareness had signs of existing independently.


    Just like how Momo had the greatest changes in her soul, Bai Yi felt that the area that he changed the most in was his awareness; thus, he felt this one step ahead of others.


    The reality was indeed so. After that incident where his awareness existed independently for a while, Bai Yi felt the strength, precision, and toughness of his awareness had all increased by a large degree.


    5. Changes in the absolute life field


    The absolute life field is a unique type of field that only appeared after a life form entered LV2. Through the absolute life field, evolved life forms could manipulate the special energy in their bodies. The strength of the absolute life field determined the amount of special energy that each person could control at a point in time.


    Due to the consumption of the Great Stink Bomb Fruit, all of their absolute life fields were strengthened by quite a lot. However, the one with the greatest change was still Momo. Her absolute life field was at least twice as strong as the others. For example, Momo could control 7,000 of her soul energy in an instant. The amount of power displayed at that moment completely astounded all of them. Furthermore, Bai Yi suspected that if not for her level of awareness limiting her strength, she might even be able to use all the energy in her body at once.


    These were all the internal changes that they managed to consolidate after doing detailed tests.


    The external changes were much simpler. Momo¡¯s energy had completely become a dark transparent color, and its color was gradually becoming darker. When she released this energy, it would look just like a quietly burning flame, but it wouldn¡¯t have the slightest warmth to it and wouldn¡¯t cause any harm to objects.


    Not just lifeless objects, but even if they were living things, this kind of flame wouldn¡¯t cause any damage to them as long as Momo didn¡¯t wish to harm them. This kind of flame, on the contrary, could be placed within their soul. The good thing about this strange flame was that it would slowly burn within the soul and create a purification effect similar to the Soul Release Tree. Of course, the purification effect was still very small, but Momo was still in the middle of changing so the future was highly anticipated.


    This kind of flame was named the Soul Purifying Flame by Momo!


    Normally, the Soul Purifying Flame would be beneficial to the soul, but if Momo changed her mind then, unfortunately, the flame would burn the soul to nothingness.

 Chapter 223

    Chapter 223: Purifying Energy


    Momo¡¯s changes were the greatest as well as the fastest, and the rest of them used Momo as an example to understand their own changes.


    If previously they only understood the conditions behind the Metamorphose Stage simply, then now they truly understood the conditions and rules behind the Metamorphose Stage in detail and took the initiative to develop towards a particular direction using this information. During every deep level sleep and womb sleep, the body would undergo a shallow level of metamorphosis again and complete a slight self-adjustment. The composition of the physical body, soul, and energy were all changing towards a direction unique to each individual.


    The fruit that Momo ate was one of kind and unable to be replicated. However, there were still countless types of other substances on the Devil Isles with vastly varying compositions. Betsy and Nancy had already started to research on how to use the different kinds of foods and substances to supplement their bodies with the necessary nutrients. Perhaps these things wouldn¡¯t be as powerful as the fruit that Momo ate, but it could still slowly change and supplement the body with what it needed bit by bit.


    This was separately coined by Betsy and Nancy as Tonic Cuisine and Attribute Medicine!


    Comparatively, it was still Betsy¡¯s Tonic Cuisine that was the most suitable for them. The taste of medicine wasn¡¯t good after all and anybody who heard the word ¡®medicine¡¯ would probably not be willing to consume it for an extended period of time. However, even though they knew that the various types of foods and substances found on the Devil Isles were extremely useful, their progress was still very slow because it was too dangerous. Before they could supplement their bodies with what they needed, they might lose their lives if they were just a little bit careless consuming those unknown things.


    ¡°I can¡¯t do this anymore. I¡¯m never being a guinea pig again!¡± Romain clutched his stomach, almost vomiting up his intestines.


    ¡°You are really unlucky. It¡¯s so pitiful.¡±


    The rest of them looked at Romain in pity. Due to the fact that these substances were all of an unknown nature, their actions were really like the Farmer God trying a hundred plants1. The living things in the Devil Isles all mutated and changed in numerous weird and varied ways. It was very likely that they would be poisoned to death before they could figure out the properties of these things.


    Fortunately, Nancy was very skilled and the antidotes she concocted were very effective as well. Moreover, the tolerance of each person was also very high now. With the protection of their special energy they could expel the poisonous compounds in their bodies to a certain degree, so up to this point, nobody had died. Of course, once somebody ate something poisonous, it would always result in a flurry of activity and anxiousness, and the person would end up vomiting all over the place in a very miserable state. Thus, even though there were a lot of new and strange things to test, their progress was extremely slow.


    ¡°Let¡¯s change methods,¡± Bai Yi said suddenly.


    ¡°What?¡± Everyone looked at Bai Yi, especially Romain. If Bai Yi said that because of him¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous, we¡¯ve already gotten poisoned six times. Although every time it was only the guinea pig who got poisoned and nobody has died so far, we really can¡¯t guarantee what will happen in the future. Honestly speaking, the poisons these six times weren¡¯t too powerful, so we managed to neutralize it in time, but what if the poison next time is too powerful to neutralize before it kills us?¡± Bai Yi said.


    Everyone went silent hearing his words.They clearly knew that these findings would be immensely beneficial to the Metamorphose Stage, but it was truly too dangerous.


    ¡°Change methods ¨C Bai Yi, do you mean to find something like a lab rat to test these substances?¡±


    ¡°Right!¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°I think this is workable, we can use the lab rat to test if it¡¯s poisonous and judge whether there are any beneficial compounds in that substance afterward.¡± Nancy and Betsy both nodded.


    ¡°Where to find a lab rat though?¡±


    ¡°Just catch some animals from the surroundings. It would be slightly slower, but it¡¯s much better than testing the substances on ourselves. Anyway, it¡¯s not like the Devil Isles are lacking in living things right now.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Catch the evil animals; don¡¯t touch the cute ones!¡± Momo said.


    ¡°Yes, yes!¡± Bai Yi agreed hurriedly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t catch those that we can communicate with either!¡± Momo added on again.


    ¡°Yes, yes!¡± Bai Yi continued to accede to Momo.


    Everybody started to laugh, Bai Yi¡¯s overpampering of Momo really left them speechless. All the living things on the Devil Isles had assimilated with the activated cells and gained human-like intelligence, especially the first batch of lifeforms infected. When they hunted normally, they would also check their prey first. If it exhibited goodwill to them first then they would not attack it. However, if the other side attacked first, then they would just have to say sorry.


    So, the matter of using other creatures to test the substances was decided just like this.


    At the end of the second day, Betsy and Nancy discovered a new mysterious plant, and based on the order it should have been Bellamy¡¯s turn to be the guinea pig. They already decided to catch other creatures to be the lab rats yesterday, so Bellamy should have waited for them to catch a lab rat, but before they could do so Bellamy just ate the plant.


    ¡°Ah, I forgot!¡± Bellamy suddenly realized after she finished eating it.


    ¡°Idiot,¡± Betsy scolded, but her voice contained her care and concern for Bellamy.


    After half a day, Bellamy still hadn¡¯t displayed any abnormal reactions, but Nancy still used her blood to do some tests before saying, ¡°non-poisonous, but the effects are still not understood.¡±


    ¡°If only we were in a sci-fi movie, I could just take some machine and scan the plants to know their attributes, composition, and effects,¡± Nancy said looking at the little light blue grass, unconsciously licking the tip of the grass.


    ¡°Just wait.Somebody will probably invent such a thing after a few hundred years,¡± the rest of them teased.


    ¡°Perhaps it won¡¯t require a few hundred years¡­¡±


    ¡°But either way we won¡¯t have the chance to see such a thing.¡±


    ¡°You never know. The activated cells were developed for the sake of researching longevity; we really might be able to live for a very long time,¡± The bunch of them chatted.


    Suddenly, Bai Yi noticed that Nancy¡¯s lips had a slight blue tint to them. Bai Yi thought that he was mistaken and took another serious look at them.


    ¡°Nancy, your lips!¡± Bai Yi said in shock.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Your lips are a light blue color!¡±


    If Bai Yi thought that he was mistaken previously, he couldn¡¯t be surer now. The rest of them also looked over and stared at Nancy in shock. Undoubtedly, her lips had turned a light blue color and the color was was still slowly spreading all over her face. Nancy herself hadn¡¯t realized anything but instinctively touched her own face and looked at the rest of her teammates in confusion.


    ¡°That little blue grass!¡±


    Everyone looked at the small stalk of blue grass in Nancy¡¯s hands. Just now Nancy had unconsciously licked the tip of the grass; it was possible that some substance had entered Nancy¡¯s body then.


    ¡°What? Isn¡¯t this non-poisonous?¡± Nancy said and suddenly shivered with cold.


    She started to shiver all over and clutched her hands together, not even being able to form coherent words anymore. How could it be non-poisonous when she already looked like this? Nancy had definitely gotten poisoned by some mysterious cold poison that was ineffective to Bellamy. Nancy collapsed, and Bai Yi immediately rushed beside her and supported her.


    ¡°Shit, this is bad!¡± The others looked at Nancy and couldn¡¯t help but feel their hearts pound.


    During the testing of the substances, everybody took turns doing it with the exception of Nancy. This was because Nancy was the Medicinal Maker. If Nancy got poisoned, then nobody else could save her in time. Unexpectedly, that little blade of grass had no effect on Bellamy but reduced Nancy to this state with just a small lick. Now that Nancy had collapsed and nobody else was skilled in medicine, what could they do?


    ¡°Bellamy, extract some of your blood!¡± Bai Yi looked at Bellamy.


    ¡°Me? Yes, OK!¡± Bellamy said anxiously.


    This kind of blue grass didn¡¯t have any effect on Bellamy, so Bai Yi immediately guessed that some part of Bellamy¡¯s body could resist the effects of this grass. The others also immediately thought of this. Betsy immediately helped Bellamy to extract a small cup of blood and fed it to Nancy.


    All of them stared at Nancy nervously after she consumed Bellamy¡¯s blood. It seems that the spread was slowing down, but the effect wasn¡¯t very obvious. Strange, unless they had to transfuse blood instead making her consume it? But if they had to transfuse blood, Nancy and Bellamy¡¯s blood type definitely weren¡¯t compatible. It wasn¡¯t possible to find two evolved humans with compatible blood types on the Devil Isles now.


    ¡°Bellamy, what are you doing?!¡± Betsy suddenly shouted loudly. Everyone turned around and saw Bellamy sucking the blade of the grass in her mouth.


    ¡°Sister Betsy I¡¯m fine, anyway this thing is ineffective on me, right? Let me try and sense what in my body is countering the effects of this grass.¡± Bellamy was extraordinarily serious at this time. Betsy heard Bellamy¡¯s words and couldn¡¯t help but to stop speaking and watched her with concern and worry.


    At this time, Bellamy closed her eyes after eating the blade of grass. None of them spoke a word but just looked at Bellamy and Nancy worriedly. Apparently, Bellamy was trying to sense the happenings in her body right now. All of them could tell that the blue grass really had absolutely no effect on Bellamy, there wasn¡¯t even a single trace of abnormality on her body.


    After more than ten minutes, Bellamy opened her eyes and looked at her hands, and a colorless transparent mist started to float around it.


    ¡°It¡¯s probably¡­my special energy!¡± Bellamy said, not completely sure of herself.


    Bellamy¡¯s energy characteristics had always been very normal. There weren¡¯t any special attributes to it: both her attack and defense hadn¡¯t increased and there weren¡¯t any special manifestations to it either, such as heat, cold, darkness, light or things like that. No one knew what Bellamy¡¯s energy attribute was, but it seemed that there was a clue to what it was now.


    Bellamy pressed both her hands on Nancy¡¯s chest and, bit by bit, the colorless transparent misty energy seeped into Nancy¡¯s body. Everybody could see that a light blue vapor slowly evaporated from Nancy¡¯s chest before dissipating into the air.


    ¡­


    Purifying Energy: Pure and transparent, it can purify and remove any abnormal substance or energy within a life form¡¯s body.


    ***


    Translator Notes:


    The story of the Farmer God (ÉñÅ©ÊÏ) trying a hundred different plants (it doesn¡¯t sound as cool in English) is a pretty cool story. He was one the Three Sovereigns in Chinese legend and got named the Farmer God after inventing agriculture when he saw a bird planting seeds. Seeing that the people were always falling ill, he decided to test many different plants for their medicinal properties, getting poisoned many times in the process. He used tea to neutralize the poison many times before finally dying when he ate the heartbreak grass. Anyway, I just think it¡¯s a cool legend of China¡¯s Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors (a group of mythological rulers/deities in ancient China that preceded the earliest dynasties).

 Chapter 224

    Chapter 224: Everybody¡¯s Attributes


    In the beginning, nobody knew what Bellamy¡¯s attribute was. They only felt that her energy wasn¡¯t suitable for attack or defense and her absolute life field didn¡¯t seem to be able to do anything special either. However, the attributes of some of the other people on the team were unknown too, so they hadn¡¯t been too concerned about it. Unexpectedly, they finally got a clue as to what her attribute was.


    After Bellamy¡¯s energy entered Nancy¡¯s body, a faint blue mist evaporated from Nancy¡¯s chest and dissipated into the air. Even after Nancy had recovered completely, Bellamy still stared dumbly.


    ¡°This kind of energy attribute!¡± Bai Yi looked at Bellamy thoughtfully.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do a test; your energy attribute seems to be extremely useful,¡± Bai Yi said to Bellamy.


    ¡°Oh, OK.¡± Bellamy nodded, still in a daze.


    Over the next few days, they intentionally let some of the group consume poisonous food and allowed Bellamy to inject her energy into them afterward to test it. After spending much effort, they finally understood what Bellamy¡¯s energy attribute was: purification!


    This kind of energy was very gentle and didn¡¯t conflict with practically every other type of special energy. When this energy entered another person¡¯s body, this purifying energy would assist the energy of the host body to expel all abnormal energy or substances within that person¡¯s body. How this purification worked was unknown; but, if Momo¡¯s Soul Purifying Flame could purify souls, then Bellamy¡¯s energy had the ability to purify the body.


    Of course, Bellamy¡¯s energy hadn¡¯t reached the point where she could purify things perfectly because she was only at the initial stages of the Metamorphose Stage. However, everybody still had high expectations of her future abilities.


    Purification energy! None of them had any objections and defined Bellamy¡¯s energy as purification energy.


    ¡°Bellamy, do you want to become a Medicinal Maker?¡± Nancy asked Bellamy seriously after completing the series of tests.


    ¡°What?¡± Bellamy replied in shock.


    ¡°Do you want to become a Medicinal Maker? Your energy is of the purification type. Don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s even more suitable for this job than my healing water energy?¡± Nancy said seriously.


    The rest of them secretly nodded their heads as well. Her purifying energy could clean up any abnormal substance or energy within a person¡¯s body; Bellamy would definitely be able to walk further on the path of a Medicinal Maker than Nancy if she decided to be one.


    ¡°But I like to cook.¡± Bellamy looked at Betsy, blinking furiously.


    ¡°Cook? You learned from me for so long and your skills are still this bad. I think it¡¯s more like you just want to spend your days playing around.¡± Betsy knew what Bellamy was thinking just from the look in her eyes. Bellamy just purely didn¡¯t want to study and only thought of playing. En, just like Momo but probably even worse.


    ¡°You really don¡¯t want to become a Medicinal Maker?¡±


    ¡°En, I don¡¯t want to,¡± Bellamy nodded guiltily.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine; I won¡¯t force you, but you still have to follow us.¡± Nancy raised her head slightly, a look that told her that she was not allowed to run away.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Your energy attribute ¨C purifying energy! We are in the midst of developing new tonic cuisines and attribute medicines. Don¡¯t you think that your energy attribute appeared at just the right time? With your help, our progress will become so much faster. Right, Betsy?¡± Nancy said to Betsy. At this moment, Nancy and Betsy winked at each other, seemingly coming to a mutual understanding.


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s so troublesome!¡± Bellamy said dejectedly.


    Everybody couldn¡¯t help but smile. Although Bellamy had always been learning to cook from Betsy, most of the time she liked to play more and was just as playful as Chinchilla. All of them could tell that when Bellamy¡¯s energy attribute was confirmed, Nancy and Betsy had come to a tacit agreement. Bellamy would not only learn cooking, but she would also study to become a Medicinal Maker because she was really the most suitable person.


    Momo looked at Bellamy with sympathy in her eyes. Bellamy was probably going to be forced to study to death by the two of them.


    ¡°What¡¯s Pupu and Romain¡¯s attributes?¡± Alodia asked.


    ¡°That we really don¡¯t know.¡±


    All of them shook their heads. Everybody else¡¯s attributes had shown some degree of manifestation so far, but only Pupu and Romain¡¯s attributes still remained completely unknown.


    Alodia organized Bellamy¡¯s personal information and recorded it with all of their basic information, but it had to be kept secret. They kept a record for the sake of convenience, but it definitely mustn¡¯t be known by other people.


    ¡­


    Both Melvin and Betsy¡¯s energy belonged to the heat attribute, but they were slightly different.


    Melvin¡¯s energy reached a temperature of roughly 250 degrees Celsius, similar to the temperature of a common bonfire. The energy could be manifested as flames when released. For Betsy, when her energy left her body it would undergo a secondary combustion in the air and the temperature could reach as high as 350 degrees Celsius. In theory, Betsy entered LV2 later than Melvin, so it was hard to believe that the temperature of her energy could be higher than Melvin¡¯s.


    However, when these two types of flames acted on the same object, there wasn¡¯t any difference at lower temperatures; however, differences could be seen at higher temperatures.


    Betsy¡¯s flame had a higher temperature than Melvin¡¯s, but it only seemed to be on the surface. It was also just normal heat. On the other hand, Melvin¡¯s flame had a kind of penetrating and melting power, so that even though the temperature of his flame was lower than that of Betsy¡¯s, he could destroy the structure of objects faster than her.


    For example, when cooking Betsy¡¯s flames would be pretty much the same as a normal fire. However, if they used Melvin¡¯s flame to cook, the metal wok would be burnt through if they used it for an extended period of time, even though the temperature of Melvin¡¯s flame was lower. Hence, Melvin¡¯s energy was named [Fire: Penetrative Melting], while Betsy¡¯s energy was named [Fire: High Heat Burning]


    Nancy: She could control water in a small area around her, but the volume of water was dozens of times lesser than what Rose could control. However, Nancy could inject her energy into pure water and that kind of water could accelerate the speed of recovery of the physical body and energy. It could be seen as a type of healing energy, hence Nancy¡¯s energy was named [Water: Healing Energy].


    Ulisses: Absolute life field could control solid matter in a small area around him, but his energy didn¡¯t have any additional special characteristics. The rest of them had already named their abilities, so Ulisses didn¡¯t exempt himself from this either and named his ability [Control: Ruler of Earth], but he was still far from living up to this name.


    Bellamy: [Purify: Purification Energy], was able to clean up any abnormal substances or energies inside one¡¯s body.


    These abilities were all easy to observe and test, and now Bellamy¡¯s attribute had been discovered. Other than these people, only Pupu and Romain still hadn¡¯t shown any special characteristics. Especially Pupu, this guy was one of the first lifeforms to undergo perfect metamorphosis, but even now nobody could figure out what attribute he had. As for Chinchilla, this little cat hadn¡¯t even entered LV2 yet, so it was still too early.


    ____________________________________________________


    While checking on every research facility, Bai Yi and his team were also taking the initiative to bring about their metamorphosis.


    There were more people on the northern island of the Devil Isles than the southern island, so they had met quite a few people. Since there weren¡¯t many evolved humans still alive now, they were very friendly when people encountered each other. If evolved humans happened to bump into each other, they would stop, chat for a while, and exchange some information. Bai Yi was still very famous even in the northern island, so these people would always ask him about things.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t try to keep their information a secret either, and even divulged the conditions behind the Metamorphose Stage they discovered. Of course, Bai Yi would also get some information in exchange from these people. The people who managed to survive until now weren¡¯t idiots, they would definitely have had some findings as well. Under the mutual exchange of information, Bai Yi¡¯s team gained a better understanding of the Metamorphose Stage and Nancy and Betsy also got to refine their tonic cuisine and attribute medicine further.


    This was especially important when it came to those strange animals and plants. They couldn¡¯t possibly know about all of them, so after exchanging information with these people Bai Yi¡¯s team could locate these animals and plants and conduct detailed tests on them.


    With Bellamy around, they could even test the things known to be extremely dangerous to others. Usually, those extremely dangerous things were also extremely useful things.


    With Bellamy¡¯s help, Nancy¡¯s attribute medicine and Betsy¡¯s tonic cuisine improved quickly. However, Bellamy was in a much poorer state; not only did she have to assist the two of them, but Nancy and Betsy were also teaching their knowledge to Bellamy bit by bit. Bellamy was so busy nowadays that she didn¡¯t even have any time to play anymore, making Momo and Chinchilla both pity her a lot. One must know that in the beginning, Momo, Bellamy, and Chinchilla were the three musketeers of playing.

 Chapter 225

    Chapter 225: Ice Lake Monster


    Betsy researched her tonic cuisine, Nancy researched her attribute medicine, and the rest of them had something to research on as well: how to battle. In Bai Yi¡¯s team, all of them were already quite skilled with a sword because they had already developed a systematic way of training in the sword. However, after entering LV2, they all had different attributes and gained powers that only used to exist in fantasies, so their method of combat differed greatly from each other.


    Thus, they left the details of how they were supposed to fight to each person to develop and study.


    In comparison to the slow changes of the others, Momo changed the fastest, practically becoming a new person every day. Momo could now even manipulate souls to attack.


    Theoretically, the ones with the strongest souls were of course Mavis and the souls of the other LV2 evolved humans. However, Momo didn¡¯t use their souls because it just felt too inappropriate, so in the end, she only used the souls of those normal soldiers. Right now, 21 balls of light were around Momo. These were the souls of the 21 normal humans that Momo picked.


    The souls of these normal soldiers weren¡¯t too strong, so Momo had to use her Soul Purifying Flame to nourish them. However, one advantage of using these normal human souls was that they didn¡¯t have much consciousness left in them. Their memories had practically all been lost and they were only left with a simple intelligence.


    Compared to Momo, the rest of them also had their own development and progress, but their changes were not as large as Momo.


    Bai Yi¡¯s team had already spent half a year in the Devil Isles by now. Even after searching 23 research facilities, they still hadn¡¯t found any traces of Doctor Wang. As for why their progress was so slow, it was completely due to their research into their own abilities that delayed their journey.


    Although the progress was slow, they still found quite a few useful things inside the research facilities. The research facilities had all been researching activated cells, but the focus of each facility¡¯s research was all somewhat different so to advance their own interests. All of the data that they obtained supplemented the deficiencies in Yeye¡¯s database.


    ¡­


    The group of them walked forward on a snow mountain. This was the Tararua Range1 on the northern island of Devil Isles, roughly 1200 meters above sea level and the top of the mountain was already covered with snow. Based on the map, there should be a research facility there. What on earth were those people thinking back then, building a research facility in the middle of a mountain range like this? Fortunately, Bai Yi¡¯s team could run even in an environment like this, otherwise, it would have been really annoying if their feet sunk in with every step.


    ¡°When would we be able to find that place at this rate?¡±


    Bai Yi stopped underneath a tree branch. Suddenly, the snow piled on top of the branch fell down but bounced away when it came into contact with Bai Yi.


    Bai Yi held the map and checked against the theodolite before hitting it twice.


    ¡°Bai Yi, what¡¯s going on?¡± Woolf sat on the snow and asked.


    ¡°This place seems to have a very strong magnetic field that affected the theodolite. We can¡¯t use it to accurately determine the latitude and longitude anymore.¡± Bai Yi looked at the randomly changing numbers on the theodolite and couldn¡¯t help but to frown. The Devil Isles didn¡¯t seem to be too big on the map, but people would know exactly how huge it was if they had to run around inside it. Without knowing the precise location, how were they supposed to look for the hidden underground research facility?


    ¡°Then what do we do?¡±


    ¡°We can only search for it bit by bit then. Even if it¡¯s a research facility it must have left some traces previously.¡± Bai Yi said and looked at the rest of the group. ¡°Let¡¯s split up into four groups; we¡¯ll meet back at that mountain peak in two hours.¡± Bai Yi pointed to a nearby peak. The rest of them heard his words, nodded, and formed four groups before going off in different directions.


    Bai Yi and Alodia ¡®happened¡¯ to be in the same group. Even if nobody talked about it, ever since the incident last time the rest of them still tried to create chances for them to be alone together.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t fight it but also didn¡¯t seem to be falling in love with Alodia. Alodia herself was also very clear about this. Bai Yi was probably still thinking of Hong Qi Hua in his heart. Moreover, just like what Alodia said before, it was enough just to keep looking at Bai Yi¡¯s back for her. Between the two of them, there wasn¡¯t that kind of raging undying love, but a kind of gentle warmth that made things feel even more ambiguous.


    ¡°Come!¡±


    Bai Yi stretched out his hands and looked at Alodia.


    Alodia was still a bit shy at first, but she very quickly calmed her heart down and walked over. Bai Yi carried her in a princess carry before spreading his wings and flying up into the sky. Alodia wrapped her arms around Bai Yi¡¯s neck, staring at the side of Bai Yi¡¯s face dumbly for a while before finally focusing her attention to survey the mountain range below for any sign of human activity.


    Bai Yi¡¯s flying speed wasn¡¯t too fast, but just a slow glide. The magnificent scenes of the snowy mountains continuously flew past below them.


    After looking for a while, Bai Yi couldn¡¯t help but admit that they really couldn¡¯t find any traces of human activity. After the vegetation was infected by activated cells, it all grew extremely fast and long completely covered up any signs of human activity. Suddenly, Bai Yi saw a cloud of snow far in the distance to their east. Bai Yi¡¯s Reverse Flower Eyes spun, focusing on the commotion in that area. The cloud of snow didn¡¯t seem like a natural occurrence.


    Bai Yi immediately turned his head and flew toward that place.


    The closer they were, the surer Bai Yi and Alodia became that there was some intense battle going on over there. When they finally arrived at the place, they discovered an intense battle happening by the side of a cracked, frozen lake. On one side, were six strangely shaped evolved humans and, on the other side, was a beetle-like creature covered completely in transparent ice floe on its back. The creature was more than 30 meters long and 20 meters wide with dozens of long sharp and sinister legs on its sides. On the sides of its gigantic mouth were four continuously waving tentacles.


    When Bai Yi arrived, he happened to see the beetle monster spraying frozen mist from the holes in its carapace, and one of the guys who couldn¡¯t escape it time immediately collapsed to the ground.


    ¡°Ariza!¡± The teammate of the guy shouted in horror.


    However, all of them could only watch as Ariza started to freeze over solid starting from his feet. Then, one of the tentacles of this beetle struck out and wrapped itself around Ariza before pulling him towards its gigantic mouth.


    Bai Yi and Alodia flew over and could clearly see the four rows of sharp teeth inside its mouth. It was easy to imagine what would happen if the guy was pulled inside its mouth. Bai Yi drew Red Kiss and sent a wave of sword qi at the huge tentacle. ¡®Pa!¡¯ a dull impact rang out, but all that happened was that a ripple of energy dissipated from the tentacle, and after a violent jerk the tentacle went back to normal.


    Energy defense!


    Bai Yi and Alodia immediately thought. It was the defense method that they had developed recently and could greatly reduce the impact of any enemy¡¯s attack. Unexpectedly, this monster also knew how to do it! At this time, the tentacle continued to pull Ariza into its mouth.If they delayed any longer, then this guy would definitely be done for.


    ¡°You go down first!¡± Bai Yi said to Alodia.


    ¡°En!¡± Alodia nodded before releasing her hands and plunging down from more than a hundred meters in the air.


    Bai Yi flicked his wings and stepped forcefully behind him with his right foot as if pushing off a solid object. Bai Yi¡¯s speed abruptly accelerated by two times and charged towards the monster¡¯s mouth. At this moment, Bai Yi had already withdrawn his wings because, while his flying speed was indeed very fast, his wings hindered his ability to dodge and change directions in a true aerial battle.


    The air beneath Bai Yi¡¯s feet became a stepping board for him again so that it looked as though Bai Yi ran on the air. Bai Yi closed in on the tentacle wrapped around Ariza and pulled back his right fist.


    Forward Wrecking Hammer!


    The Tai Ji Fist that they were learning now no longer followed the original move sets; instead, they entered the realm of ¡®retaining the essence but losing the form¡¯. Bai Yi¡¯s body tensed, and, as if a big taut bow, starting from his feet all the power in his body transferred through his right fist.


    ¡®BOOM!¡¯ The air in the area blew away in the shockwave and the tentacle trembled violently before finally releasing its grip. At this moment, Bai Yi forcefully pushed off the air again, placed his left hand on Ariza¡¯s body, and pushed him out of the area with the soft force of the Tai Ji Fist. The frozen Ariza flew away while Bai Yi stepped on the air again and turned to face the monster.


    Bai Yi carried a smile on his face, continuously dodging in the air and clashing with the monster¡¯s tentacles with his fists. Bai Yi used the Tai Ji Fist incomparably smoothly so that every contact between his body and the tentacles would cause a small eruption of air to flow; thus, every time the monster wanted to grab hold of Bai Yi, its tentacles were easily deflected.


    ¡°Can you calm down first? I don¡¯t have any intentions of becoming enemies with you. Just wait for my daughter to come and then we can probably talk things out then.¡± Bai Yi¡¯s Reverse Flower Eyes spun as he said this to the strange creature. Bai Yi couldn¡¯t tell where the eyes of this creature were exactly and didn¡¯t know if it could understand him either; however, there really wasn¡¯t much battle intent coming from Bai Yi¡¯s body right now.


    Suddenly, the four tentacles smashed down at the same time. Bai Yi pushed with his hand, borrowed the force of the tentacles and gathered the air below his feet again to complete a few rapid jumps and land on the ground.


    By then, the five evolved humans had already retrieved Ariza and were anxiously trying to help their teammate to no avail. Ariza had already been completely frozen in ice; he wouldn¡¯t die so quickly from this kind of rapid freezing and as an evolved human, he had special energy in his body to protect him, it still wouldn¡¯t be good if things carried on this way.


    The beetle-like monster also stopped. It submerged its body in the frozen lake, only leaving two tentacles waving on the surface. It wasn¡¯t that this creature understood Bai Yi¡¯s words, it was just extremely wary of Bai Yi.


    If not for seeing this creature¡¯s true appearance, Bai Yi would have probably thought that it was just a gigantic piece of ice floe on the frozen lake.


    ¡°Can you tell me how you managed to enrage this guy?¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t turn around as he said this to the five panicked people.

 Chapter 226

    Chapter 226: Difficult


    Alodia fell from the sky, and right before she reached the ground the energy in her body pulsed and she stepped rapidly in the air. The air beneath her feet discharged and reduced her falling speed allowing her to gently land.


    Air Step!


    Bai Yi wasn¡¯t the only one who had the technique of running on the air; the rest of them could do it as well. However, only Bai Yi could easily control the air and form solid steps to truly run on the air. As for the rest of them, they could only use their energy to push the air around them to create a small upward force that kept them afloat. The rest of them couldn¡¯t use this ability very well or consistently, but it was still possible to use this technique to reduce their falling speed.


    After Alodia landed, she took out a communicator and sent a signal through it. Returning to the Devil Isles once again, Bai Yi¡¯s team wasn¡¯t lacking in equipment. This was a wireless communicator provided by the United Nations. It had very strong resistance against short-range interference, so they could easily contact each other even if the magnetic field was very strong around them. After finding out what had happened, the rest of them hurried towards their location.


    When Bai Yi charged in to save Ariza, the rest of this team had actually still been fighting against the monster. After seeing Bai Yi pushing Ariza towards them, two of them had immediately caught Ariza while the rest wanted to work together with Bai Yi to kill the frozen lake monster in one shot. Unexpectedly, Bai Yi immediately retreated after the short clash as if he had only been sparring with an old friend and the frozen lake monster had really seemed to have quietened down after.


    It could understand human words?


    No, it should have¡­sensed the aura of its opponent. The leader of this team looked at Bai Yi¡¯s back, to him Bai Yi didn¡¯t seem any different from a normal human, and that was undoubtedly extremely rare among the evolved humans on the Devil Isles.


    ¡°Can you tell me how you managed to enrage this guy?¡±


    ¡°Corey, Uehara, you guys bring Ariza aside to treat him, start a fire to melt the ice and be careful of breaking the ice,¡± a big and tall man instructed loudly and looked at Bai Yi¡¯s back. This man didn¡¯t answer Bai Yi¡¯s question immediately but first arranged for his companion¡¯s treatment first.


    ¡°We accidentally picked a plant from the back of the creature and woke it up; that¡¯s why we were getting chased.¡±


    ¡°Plant? Is it very important?¡± Bai Yi asked and suddenly looked into the distance.


    A figure flew towards them across the distance. Icicles hung from this man¡¯s hair and the tips of his brows but they didn¡¯t seem frozen over at all. When he arrived, he stared down arrogantly at everybody below him and observed them for a while. Suddenly, he turned his eyes to the frozen lake monster and his face broke into a delighted smile. Without saying anything, the man immediately grabbed a two-meter-long spear from behind him. The spear began to rapidly freeze over starting from where he gripped it.


    The man extended his body in the air, pulled the spear back as far back as he could, and readied to throw it.


    Thinking of killing this frozen lake monster?


    ¡°Greivis!¡± The team leader of that team said while furrowing his eyebrows.


    ¡°Friend, I think this isn¡¯t too good. Trying to kill this creature the moment you see it? It¡¯s not like it offended you right?¡± Bai Yi raised his head and spoke. Bai Yi had no idea who this Greivis was, but a guy who looked down on everybody so arrogantly the moment he arrived and then immediately tried to kill the monster so determinedly, who on earth was he?


    ¡°I¡¯m taking this monster,¡± Greivis said in the air, giving Bai Yi a look of disdain.


    In an instant, the spear that had already frozen completely shot down from the sky, pointing straight at the monster by the side of the lake. Bai Yi also drew Red Kiss instantaneously. His right hand vibrated as he swung the sword and a crescent-shaped sword qi collided with the spear. The sword qi changed the trajectory of the spear with its impact causing it to deviate from its path and the spear ended up bouncing off the hard shell of the monster with a ¡®dang!¡¯.


    The frozen lake monster that had already quietened down immediately raised its head and roared at Greivis.


    ¡°Bastard, who the hell are you?!¡± Greivis in the sky ignored the monster and, after a moment of surprise, he tilted his head and glared at Bai Yi with an iciness in his eyes.


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you introduce yourself first before asking for the names of others?¡±


    ¡°Ha! You want to know my name? Let me see if you are qualified first!¡± Greivis smiled mockingly and dove down from the sky. Catching the spear which had bounced into the sky, he thrust it toward Bai Yi. In an instant, Bai Yi¡¯s vision seemed to be filled with an entire wall of spearheads, sealing off his entire frontal direction.


    However, all Bai Yi did when faced with the complex series of thrusts was raise his right hand.


    ¡®DING!¡¯ The tip of Red Kiss collided against the tip of the spear and an intense shockwave erupted from the collision point. In the next moment, water vapor spurted out from the tip of the spear and with multiple ¡®kacha!¡¯s Bai Yi began to freeze over starting from the tip of his sword. In just one second, this cold vapor enveloped Bai Yi¡¯s body and froze him over entirely with transparent icicles hanging from his body.


    By then the beetle monster had already climbed onto shore and its claw swiftly descended upon the head of Greivis.


    ¡°Tch, so annoying. Since you want to die so badly, I¡¯ll help you get on the way.¡±


    Greivis twisted his spear and thrust it towards the claw coming swiftly towards his head. ¡®DANG!¡¯ The field of ice and snow beside the lake shook and Greivis sunk close to half a meter into the ground. However, he didn¡¯t seem to mind at all and gave an excited and cruel smile.


    At this moment, Bai Yi sighed in his heart.


    The power of water control and extreme cold energy appearing on the same person, any contact would immediately turn him into a big ice cube. However, this guy was really too brash and insolent, immediately trying to kill him just over a small disagreement. Bai Yi shook his body, the layer of ice on him immediately cracked, and finally shattered into pieces with multiple ¡®kacha!¡¯s.


    Greivis abruptly increased his force, forcing the giant beetle¡¯s claw above his head violently away and looked at Bai Yi. He actually managed to stop the extreme cold energy on the outside and didn¡¯t receive any damage at all. This guy!


    At this time, two other groups of people arrived from different directions. Bai Yi¡¯s team and another team of people congregated right beside the lake. The beetle monster, which got pushed away and wanted to continue raging, saw the newcomers and decided to be tame as well, stealthily retreating a distance back and submerging itself inside the ice-cold water of the lake.


    ¡°Team leader, don¡¯t fly too fast. We can¡¯t catch up with you!¡± On the other side, a black bear-like evolved human exclaimed panting for air but suddenly realized that the atmosphere didn¡¯t seem right after raising his head. Bai Yi and Greivis stood in the centermost area while their teams came from different directions and gathered behind them.


    ¡°Betsy, go help them to defrost the frozen guy,¡± Bai Yi pointed at Ariza who was still frozen.


    ¡°Sure,¡± Betsy nodded and headed toward that team.


    Betsy walked over as she lit up a ball of fire in her right hand. The people in the Ariza¡¯s team heard Bai Yi¡¯s words as well and didn¡¯t stop Betsy from walking over but instead thanked her sincerely, ¡°Sorry to trouble you.¡±


    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s nothing much,¡± Betsy shook her head and placed her hand on the ice. The ice rapidly melted, turning into water and flowing to the ground.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± Greivis seemed to finally take Bai Yi seriously.


    Bai Yi only smiled faintly, not answering his question. At this time, Greivis recalled what Bai Yi said just now, that before asking for somebody¡¯s name he should give his own name first. Thinking of this, Greivis¡¯ expression cracked into an insolent smile.


    ¡°Greivis, this master is called Greivis!¡±


    ¡°Bai Yi!¡±


    ¡°Bai Yi, Bai Yi¡­Oh, so you are that Bai Yi, huh? I didn¡¯t expect to see you here, so that¡¯s how things are. Is this monster your prey?¡± Hearing Bai Yi¡¯s name, Greivis and his team members were stunned for a moment. Among the evolved humans now, there wasn¡¯t anybody who didn¡¯t know who Bai Yi was.


    ¡°It¡¯s not my prey. We just happened to come across a battle here and came to stop it.¡±


    ¡°Then, this is the prey of you guys?¡± Greivis looked at the six-person team with arrogance in his eyes.


    ¡°No, we were just looking for special ice-attribute plants and accidentally enraged that guy,¡± the team leader said carefully. Although he was quite unhappy, they were, in the end, helpless before the superior numbers and strength of Greivis¡¯ team.


    ¡°Thinking of converting to an ice-attribute special energy, huh?¡± Greivis scanned the few of them after hearing his words and revealed a mocking smile. ¡°You guys want this monster? If you guys don¡¯t want it then it¡¯s mine. I¡¯ll still follow the ¡®first come first serve¡¯ rule, but looking at your level of strength¡­.¡±


    Their expressions immediately changed slightly, but that team leader didn¡¯t have anything to retort.


    ¡°No, we aren¡¯t strong enough.¡±


    ¡°Then, I¡¯m taking this monster. If Team Leader Bai Yi doesn¡¯t want it either, I wonder if you would be willing to give it up to me?¡± Greivis turned around to ask Bai Yi after questioning the other team.


    At this time, the frozen lake monster secretly retreated deeper into the water, swimming towards the heart of the lake. Bai Yi stared blankly at the monster for a moment and started laughing. The creature was really quite smart. Everybody watched the slowly disappearing ice beetle as Greivis stared at Bai Yi, waiting for his reply.


    ¡°No, do as you please,¡± Bai Yi shook his head.


    The moment Bai Yi finished speaking Greivis immediately flew into the air again and chased after the frozen lake monster. Bai Yi watched Greivis and was sure that he wouldn¡¯t be able to capture this monster unless he dared to take the risk and dove into the lake. Sure enough, the closer the monster swam towards the heart of the lake, the deeper it submerged itself in the water. Greivis tried to stop the monster multiple times but almost suffered big injuries due to it already being in the water.


    This is good too! Bai Yi thought in his heart.


    Actually, it wasn¡¯t easy to handle evolved lifeforms recently because they were really too intelligent now. It wasn¡¯t because that they were too intelligent and Bai Yi¡¯s team couldn¡¯t win the fight, but that they didn¡¯t know whether to kill these evolved lifeforms or not. If it were those savage and primitive beasts from before, they definitely wouldn¡¯t have felt any guilt or burdened inside if they had killed them. However, many of the evolved lifeforms had a level of intelligence on par with humans now; it was just that they didn¡¯t know human language.


    Hence, they were really in a difficult spot as to how to handle these evolved lifeforms.

 Chapter 227

    Chapter 227: Battle and Clues


    Greivis chased after the ice beetle trying to kill it, but the monster was very strong as well and wouldn¡¯t be killed so easily. Very quickly, the creature became completely submerged and fell to the bottom of the lake and Greivis had no chance but to return without any harvest. Seeing that his prey had disappeared, Greivis had a very sour look on his face. After staring darkly at the lake for a moment, Greivis turned around to stare at Bai Yi by the side of the lake. In his heart, this incident was purely due to Bai Yi finding trouble with him. If not for Bai Yi, he would have caught that monster.


    Greivis looked at the three teams by the side of the lake, focusing especially on Bai Yi¡¯s team.


    There were twelve people on Bai Yi¡¯s team and they all had very strong auras, while his team only had nine members. If they really ended up fighting, it would surely end with heavy losses for both sides. But, it really pisses me off to leave it like this! Greivis thought in his heart as he flew back to the side of the lake.


    Bai Yi placed both of his hands inside his pockets and watched Greivis fly toward him. This was really troublesome. From the very beginning, he could tell what kind of personality Greivis had: arrogant, overbearing, and self-important. One could tell that he really didn¡¯t believe in ¡®first come first serve¡¯ from his very first attack and only reluctantly compromised after hearing Bai Yi¡¯s name. Right now, he was probably thinking of how to pay Bai Yi back for his actions.


    Ah¡­really so troublesome!


    ¡°I have long heard of Team Leader Bai Yi¡¯s strength. Would you be interested in giving me some pointers?¡± Greivis¡¯ mouth cracked into a smile.


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll give you some pointers,¡± Bai Yi said with his usual smile.


    ¡°Ah, my thanks!¡± Greivis said with a sinister expression when he heard that Bai Yi candidly accepting his challenge.


    ¡°Team Leader!¡±


    At the same time, Greivis¡¯ team members heard him challenging Bai Yi and couldn¡¯t help but to want to stop him. This was definitely a losing deal. Even if Greivis managed to beat Bai Yi it wouldn¡¯t do any good for them to harm Bai Yi with his level of prestige.


    However, at this time, Greivis stretched out his right hand, signaled his subordinates to keep quiet, and gestured for Bai Yi to come at him.


    Bai Yi smiled faintly and suddenly disappeared from the spot.


    So fast!


    The Bai Yi in Greivis¡¯ vision disappeared instantaneously. The next time he appeared Bai Yi was already right below him and his left fist viciously drove towards his abdomen.


    ¡®Heh!¡¯ Greivis grunted coldly, not bothering to dodge. Instead, he thrust his spear toward Bai Yi. White mist appeared instantly around the freezing cold spear as it made contact with the air.


    Before anyone could realize it, Bai Yi had already drawn Red Kiss and stopped the advance of the spear, parrying it away with a ¡®dang!¡¯. At the same time, Bai Yi¡¯s left fist had almost landed on Greivis¡¯ abdomen. As Bai Yi¡¯s fist approached, his hand started to freeze over and a cruel smile appeared on Greivis¡¯ face. Was his body something that could be neared so easily? However, at that moment, Greivis¡¯ smile stiffened on his face.


    Bai Yi¡¯s fist landed unwavering on his abdomen. A gust of air spun inwards, creating an immense suction, but abruptly reversed its direction of spin and exploded with force.


    ¡®Ding!¡¯ the sound of the collision, and ¡®pa!¡¯, a dull impact, rang out.


    The two of them split apart after a single instant of contact and floated in the air. Countless layers of ice appeared on Greivis¡¯ body and a fist-shaped dent appeared on his abdomen with cracks spreading from it like a spider web. Greivis exhaled deeply, but once his breath left his body it turned into tiny crystal-clear pieces of ice. At this time, Bai Yi clenched his left fist. The frozen pieces on his fingers instantly shattered and the broken ice fell to the ground.


    ¡°Team Leader, this Bai Yi seem to be very strong; let¡¯s not fight anymore!¡± The black bear-like guy who was more than four meters tall and incomparably bulky said. Unfortunately, the two people in the air would never listen to him.


    Momo happened to be standing close to the black bear, right in the middle between both teams and couldn¡¯t help but to look at the black bear. This black bear¡¯s fur immediately stood on its end with a single look from Momo and he assumed a fighting pose.


    ¡°I-I am not scared of you!¡± The black bear wanted to put up a strong front and say that he wasn¡¯t scared. However, the light around Momo seemed to be absorbed and her surroundings appeared significantly darker. Moreover, the few small balls of ghostly lights that floated around her really made the black bear¡¯s blood run cold.


    Momo stretched out her right hand, a ghostly light circling around her hand and the black bear immediately focused his attention on it. Suddenly, the ghostly light around Momo¡¯s hand stretched and turned into a terrifying face of a dead person.


    ¡°AHHHHHH!!!¡± The black bear immediately screamed and backed far away from Momo.


    Everybody turned their heads, but the ghostly ball of light turned back into looking like a stretched version of a firefly light. The terrifying face of a corpse was nowhere to be seen. However, the people in Bai Yi¡¯s team knew that Momo was definitely scaring people again. Bai Yi specially requested that Momo make these souls stay in the form of a small ball of light; otherwise, they would really feel uncomfortable having a bunch of ghostly apparitions following them around all the time, even if they knew about the existence of souls.


    ¡°Black Bear?¡± Greivis¡¯ teammate caught hold of the black bear and looked at Momo in puzzlement.


    While they were fooling around below, the battle above had already resumed. With a second collision, the battle between the two of them escalated to even more intense levels, turbulent gusts of wind raged and dazzling ice flowers continuously exploded across the sky.


    Bai Yi pushed off from the air and rapidly changed directions multiple times before suddenly stopping right above Greivis¡¯ head. Before Greivis could muster his defenses completely, a fist landed hard on his face. ¡®Boom!¡¯ Greivis shot quickly into the frozen lake like a cannonball causing a huge wave to splash into the air.


    Greivis floated up from the lake and half squatted on the surface, glaring at Bai Yi darkly.


    Bastard. Air control, huh? No wonder you¡¯re so fast!


    He was too fast. Bai Yi¡¯s mobility in an aerial battle was dozens of times of that on land. This was because Bai Yi could make use of the air all around him to change his direction of movement instantly unlike being on the ground where people could only push off from the ground. How could Greivis who could only flap his wings move faster than Bai Yi? Moreover, another thing that Greivis didn¡¯t think of during the battle was that the amount of air resistance that Bai Yi faced was extremely small. That was why he could move so monstrously fast.


    At this time, Bai Yi also descended from the air. A ripple spread from where the tip of his foot lightly touched the water¡¯s surface.


    Greivis grit his teeth and suddenly started to run on the water¡¯s surface. When he was about to get close to Bai Yi, his right foot suddenly slammed down violently. ¡®BOOM!¡¯ As if a bomb went off below the lake, huge waves splashed up into the sky all around them. At this moment, Greivis pointed his spear at Bai Yi and the extreme cold energy in his body erupted with all the force he could muster.


    Infinite Frozen River!


    ¡®Kacha¡¯ sounds rang out continuously. The waves that splashed high into the sky instantly froze over before they could come down and froze Bai Yi inside. However, in the eyes of the others, Greivis was just using a large-scale freezing attack on an empty space above the water¡¯s surface. Bai Yi had clearly outflanked him and already arrived right beside him.


    ¡°Team leader!¡± The black bear started shouting again.


    Greivis instantly sensed something and thrust his spear into the lake. In the next moment, the lake started to freeze over with Greivis at the center. Ice instantly formed around Bai Yi¡¯s feet and rapidly shot up all the way up to his waist before stopping. From the looks of it, Bai Yi looked like he had been frozen to the surface of the lake.


    However, at this moment, Greivis just looked at the dark red blade pointed right at his heart silently.


    Lost!


    If Bai Yi had wanted to kill him, he could have done it long ago. If not for this being just a sparring session, he would have probably died for real when he thought that Bai Yi was still in front of him. This Bai Yi, how did he confuse his sights and sneak beside him? Greivis looked into Bai Yi¡¯s eyes that were gradually turning back to normal, seemingly able to guess something.


    ¡°Hmph!¡± Greivis grunted coldly and walked to the side of the lake, leaving with his team without saying a word.


    At this time, the black bear continuously apologized to Momo and the rest and only hurried to run after his teammates once he saw that everybody else had left.


    ¡°That black bear is really interesting.¡± Betsy laughed.


    ¡°Haha yeah, that guy is really quite funny.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a black bear,¡± Momo said. The rest of them were surprised for a moment hearing that. He was a black bear? He was probably similar to Sharpei and Pupu and only started to learn the human language recently. That was probably why he appeared to be such a joke.


    ¡°Hey, can somebody help me to melt the ice? I can¡¯t move.¡± Bai Yi said helplessly.


    ¡°Seriously?¡± Woolf and the rest were all taken aback hearing his words.


    After Greivis and his team left, Bai Yi still remained frozen to the lake. At first, they thought that Bai Yi was just acting cool, but from the looks of it now that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. Betsy and Melvin immediately ran over, helping Bai Yi melt the ice. However, once Betsy and Melvin tried to do so, they immediately realized that something was wrong. So hard! The layer of ice freezing Bai Yi¡¯s legs was unimaginably hard. Even if as they used their flames to heat the ice, the ice was melting at a very slow pace.


    ¡°This level of freezing!¡± All of them were astounded.


    ¡°En, I was just one step faster than him.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°Deep Freeze!¡± At this time, the team leader of the other team came over and said to Bai Yi. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that I am only introducing myself now. I am Damian the team leader of this group.¡±


    ¡°Hello, I am Bai Yi, and these are my teammates.¡± Bai Yi said with a smile, not minding it at all.


    ¡°Can I ask what Deep Freeze is?¡±


    ¡°Greivis discovered a method to cultivate and transform special energy to turn the energy in his body into the extreme cold attribute. This is also why he¡¯s very famous in the area.¡± Damian said.


    At this time, Bai Yi was slightly shocked in his heart. A method to cultivate and transform energy ¨C Cultivation Method1!


    ***


    Translator Note:

 Chapter 228

    Chapter 228: Choose Clearly


    Actively cultivating and transforming the special energy into the extreme cold attribute, Bai Yi¡¯s first thought upon hearing Damian say this was Cultivation Method! It couldn¡¯t be helped; Bai Yi read quite a few novels before and they had a heavy impact on him. Of course, this wasn¡¯t the fully developed and systematic Cultivation Method like in the novels where one could just adopt it and wait to reap the rewards. This was still something that they had to experience and develop for themselves after much research.


    ¡­


    ¡°Greivis probably targeted that ice beetle for that reason, right?¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°That¡¯s a part of it; everybody knows now that you can speed up the rate of metamorphosis by consuming food that has a similar attribute to yourself. However, he definitely has other methods as well. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be one of the strongest evolved humans in the area.¡± Damian said.


    ¡°Bai Yi, can you just come out yourself? It¡¯s too troublesome to bend my back and try to heat up the ice.¡± Betsy said mischievously when she saw Bai Yi standing there and asking questions.


    ¡°Oh, then you guys should move away first.¡± Bai Yi said.


    The rest of them left the ice surface when they heard his words and Bai Yi immediately clenched his fists tight after that. In the next moment, the air around Bai Yi spun around him crazily, blowing his hair upwards. The blood vessels on his face seemed to bulge with blood, giving him a ferocious and baleful look.


    Blood Boil: Shake!


    The entire surface of the lake started to tremble. Countless cracks appeared on the frozen layer of ice on Bai Yi and shattered into pieces. After the layer of ice broke, Bai Yi very quickly regained his serenity; his swaying hair fell down again and rested on his shoulders.


    The other team by the lake felt extremely stunned. Bai Yi could actually escape from the Deep Freeze so easily! He really is extraordinary, Damian thought in his heart as he looked at Bai Yi on the lake. Just now when they saw Bai Yi being frozen to the lake surface, they thought that Bai Yi wasn¡¯t too much stronger than Damian. Now that they thought of it again, Bai Yi had already stopped when Greivis started freezing the lake. If not for Bai Yi having enough confidence, how would he let Greivis freeze him so easily? Furthermore, the battle just now was just a sparring session and not a life and death battle, nobody knew just how much of their true power they had brought out.


    Bai Yi walked over and shook his right foot, ¡°I almost miscalculated. It seems like Greivis¡¯ method of cultivating and transforming special energy is very effective. This cold energy is more powerful than I expected. Even my energy defense was unable to stop this cold qi from invading my body, the surface layer of my muscles and blood are already frozen.¡±


    Everyone looked at Bai Yi¡¯s right leg in shock, realizing that his leg now looked icy-white and the bottom of his pants had already been torn to pieces while he struggled to break free.


    ¡°I¡¯m very curious about this method to cultivate and transform your energy now,¡± Bai Yi said as a warm red color appeared on the upper half of his body and made him look like he had just been in a sauna. White vapor continuously emitted from his body and this warm red color gradually moved downwards, recovering the part of his legs that had been invaded by the cold energy.


    Blood boil was one of Bai Yi¡¯s techniques to gain a temporary burst of strength through the high-speed circulation of blood in his body by burning through both the biological and special energy in his body. Of course, Bai Yi¡¯s energy wouldn¡¯t be exhausted so easily now, and he could still use this method to circulate the biological heat in his body to expel the cold energy.


    ¡°It¡¯s really very amazing. I¡¯m also very curious,¡± One of the balls of light flew over from Momo¡¯s side, transforming into Vala and looked at Bai Yi.


    ¡°Team Leader Damian, can we use exchange information in detail? I believe that both sides can gain from this.¡± Bai Yi looked at Damian.


    ¡°It¡¯s my pleasure, but we don¡¯t know much actually.¡± Damian nodded.


    ¡­


    The group of them found a small cave by the side of the mountain. They then cut down a big tree to start a fire. The bunch of them took a rest there and started to discuss their findings so far. Betsy along with Uehara from the other team made a huge pot of stew; in such a snowy and cold environment, being able to enjoy a bowl of delicious warm stew was definitely a form of pleasure. En, if they ignored the fact that they were in constant danger just by being in the Devil Isles.


    ¡°You guys know about the LV2 Metamorphose Stage right?¡± Damian didn¡¯t wait for Bai Yi to begin talking and started speaking first. It couldn¡¯t be helped. With the difference in power and status of the two teams, it was better for him to take a softer approach.


    ¡°En, of course, we do,¡± Bai Yi nodded. ¡°In the Metamorphose Stage, due to individual differences and the resonance of the absolute life field, every person¡¯s attributes will slowly change in a unique direction.¡±


    ¡°That is just under normal circumstances. We discovered that the food we consume and the environment we are in can also influence the change in an individual¡¯s attributes.¡± Damian looked very proud. It wasn¡¯t common for them to be able to understand more things than Bai Yi¡¯s team.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°Due to being in different environments and consuming different types of food, this can influence and induce a certain type of energy transformation in an individual to a certain extent,¡± Damian explained.


    ¡°For example, 30% of the evolved lifeforms in this snow mountain possesses ice-attribute energy. If somebody lived in this place all their lives, then there was a very high chance that that person¡¯s energy attribute would turn into that of an ice type. Of course, if the food that the individual normally consumes is also of the ice attribute, then the chances of ending up with ice attribute energy is even higher,¡± Damian continued.


    ¡°Was that the reason why you guys are searching for ice attribute plants and animals here? And also why Greivis was so excited when he saw that ice beetle?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°En, that¡¯s right, that¡¯s the reason.¡± Damian nodded.


    Damian looked at Betsy and Melvin and added on. ¡°Actually, to become like the two of them, we could also go to a volcanic region if we wanted to gain fire attribute energy. I know that there¡¯s a bunch of evolved humans living on the Tongariro volcano trying to change their energy attribute to that of fire. As for those who had already succeeded in doing so, they could also hunt and consume the other fire attribute evolved lifeforms there to increase the temperature of their flames. Mount Ruapehu is quite an ideal place as well, but it really is too dangerous now. Most of the lifeforms there seem to be experimental subjects and they are all very strong.¡±


    Mount Ruapehu¡­Bai Yi squinted his eyes. Wasn¡¯t Tongariro National Park Research Facility near to that place?


    ¡°I get it now. We have always been traveling around the Devil Isles and our attributes changed naturally, so we hadn¡¯t discovered such a pattern.¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t express his thoughts and said with a smile.


    ¡°This is also something that we discovered ourselves. Under normal circumstances, you would only discover such a pattern if you stayed in a special environment for a long time.¡± Corey in Damian¡¯s team said.


    ¡°Oh, thanks a lot then!¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s nothing much,¡± Damian said but being thanked by Bai Yi still made them feel very honored.


    ¡°Do you guys know about Greivis¡¯ Cultivation Method?¡± Bai Yi slapped his head after he finished speaking. ¡°Ah, sorry, Cultivation Method is something I took from the novels. It¡¯s Greivis¡¯ method of training and transforming special energy.¡±


    ¡°This we don¡¯t know. Something as important as that would be a secret among secrets after all.¡± Damian shook his head.


    ¡°Oh right, I have a question to ask Team Leader Bai Yi,¡± Damian said.


    ¡°What question?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s like this. Some time ago, we met a team that came from the outside world. They told us that the United Nations designated Tasmania to be an autonomous region for the evolved humans. I wonder if this is true?¡± Damian asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s true, you learned about it from that outside team?¡±


    ¡°En, they were still afraid that we wouldn¡¯t believe them and asked us to verify it with your team if we had the chance.¡± Damian nodded.


    ¡°What they said is true, the evolved humans in the southern half of the Devil Isles gathered together and set off for Australia. We battled with the United Nations, negotiated with them, and, in the end, the United Nations agreed to make Tasmania, the southernmost state of Australia, an autonomous region for the evolved humans. In reality, the activated cells had already spread to Tasmania. The spread just wasn¡¯t as fast as the Devil Isles. The lifeforms in Tasmania had only just started to change, so to LV2 evolved humans they are basically in no danger there,¡± Bai Yi explained everything in detail.


    However, what Bai Yi was thinking in his heart now was this: the United Nations sent people to enter the Devil Isles? The identity of these people was unknown, but they should have a decent amount of strength to operate within the Devil Isles, but he didn¡¯t know if these people were looking for Doctor Wang or had some other objectives.


    Damian¡¯s team immediately became incredibly overjoyed after verifying this information.


    ¡°Actually, there¡¯s one more thing that I have to say,¡± Bai Yi looked at their faces and couldn¡¯t help but add on.


    ¡°What is it? Please speak.¡±


    ¡°Actually, it¡¯s like this. Even though Tasmania is an autonomous region, it¡¯s still isolated from the human world and we are still unable to make contact with normal humans. Also, the living things in Tasmania have just started to evolve, so the resources there aren¡¯t very plentiful. You guys know this as well that to speed up the rate of change in the Metamorphose Stage we would need to consistently consume food that contains beneficial nutrients to our bodies. I can tell from how you guys are actively trying to collect ice attribute plants or animals that if you guys went to Tasmania you would be very safe, but your rate of Metamorphosis would become very slow as well. I have already informed my friends in Tasmania through the United Nations about this,¡± Bai Yi spoke and paused.


    ¡°Whether you choose the safety of Tasmania, giving up the abundant resources on the Devil Isles and slow down your speed of metamorphosis, or choose to continue struggling on the Devil Isles, facing danger but accelerating your rate of metamorphosis, you must think very clearly about it!¡± Bai Yi said very seriously to the six of them.

 Chapter 229

    Chapter 229: Because We Can¡¯t Do Everything


    You must think very clearly about it! Bai Yi¡¯s words echoed in their heads. This was truly a difficult problem. After all, there weren¡¯t many that could guarantee their safety 100% on the Devil Isles. If not for Bai Yi appearing this time, Ariza would have died for sure.


    ¡°You guys don¡¯t have to be so worried now. The United Nations is still constructing the super aircraft carrier. With how the Devil Isles are like now, normal ships won¡¯t be able to enter this place.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°En.¡± Damian¡¯s team nodded.


    ¡°To think of it, how do you guys usually use the ice attribute plants or creatures?¡± Bai Yi asked. He had an idea in his head right now, but he had to clarify some things first.


    ¡°How do we use the ice attribute plants or creatures?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    ¡°We eat them, I guess, but it¡¯s just very dangerous. All the plants and creatures on the Devil Isles now are basically foreign to us. Other than the ones that other people have already tested with their lives, we don¡¯t dare to eat anything else.¡± Damian¡¯s situation was apparently quite similar to Bai Yi¡¯s. They used human lives and white mice to test new plants and animals and figure out their effects from there. However, there weren¡¯t any real white mice on the Devil Isles. Even if they caught some and tested it on them, it still might not be completely safe for consumption.


    For example, Damian¡¯s team knew that ice attribute plants and animals could induce the transformation of the special energy in one¡¯s body to ice attribute energy. That was why they were trying to collect these new plants and animals. However, what was safe to certain lifeforms may end up being extremely poisonous to humans because the special qualities of each living thing were too special and varied now.


    All in all, it was still extremely dangerous!


    ¡°Then, do you guys or Greivis have a potion that can stably supplement the body¡¯s needs and induce the transformation of ice attribute energy?¡± Bai Yi looked at Damian¡¯s group and slowly asked. At this time, the rest of the people in Bai Yi¡¯s team looked at him, not knowing what he wanted.


    ¡°We don¡¯t. Greivis seems to be wantonly killing and harvesting animals and plants as well, so he doesn¡¯t seem to have a refined way of doing it. But we know more than ten special plants and ten creatures that have this effect.¡±


    ¡°This incident was entirely because we found two stalks of Seeping Snow Grass on the frozen lake monster¡¯s back and we only realized that it was a living thing when we tried to pick it. I¡¯m not sure why Team Leader Bai Yi wants to know this?¡± Uehara said and looked carefully at Bai Yi. It was quite obvious; everybody could see what Bai Yi wanted to do.


    ¡°Concoct a type, or a few types, of potions that have a huge effect on the transformation of ice attribute energy, or through using tonic cuisine!¡± Bai Yi said seriously.


    ¡°Eh?¡± Damian and the few others immediately looked at Bai Yi in shock. What was Bai Yi trying to achieve here?


    ¡°To make a trade. I am very curious towards the method of training and transforming energy in Greivis¡¯ hands!¡± Bai Yi said in a low tone, his eyes sparkling brightly.


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible. Why would he hand over something like that?¡±


    ¡°No, there¡¯s a chance. It just depends on what price I can offer. That¡¯s why I need your help.¡± Bai Yi looked at Damian seriously. Damian backed away slightly under Bai Yi¡¯s gaze, but suddenly looked at Ariza by the side who Bai Yi rescued and thought in his heart: Forget about it. I¡¯ll just treat it as repaying the debt. Anyway, with our discrepancy in strength, there wouldn¡¯t be anything to gain if we had any conflict.


    ¡°Please speak, Team Leader Bai Yi.¡±


    ¡°I need you guys to tell me about all the special plants and animals in the area, regardless if it¡¯s ice attribute or not, poisonous or not. Tell me everything as long as you find it special. My team will produce a suitable potion and tonic cuisine within this period. Of course, this requires your cooperation. There isn¡¯t anybody on my team with ice attributed energy, so we still need you guys to test the effects.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±¡¯


    ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous. Things like testing effects are really too dangerous! There are many things that cannot be touched on the Devil Isles right now.¡± Damian rejected Bai Yi without the slightest trace of hesitation. It was fine telling Bai Yi about those special plants and animals, but testing the effects was a no go. On Damian¡¯s team, a woman with traces of a cold aura around her looked at Bai Yi icily. She initially had high expectations of Bai Yi since he had such great prestige; she never expected that he would want to use others as experimental subjects.


    ¡°I think you don¡¯t have to worry about this problem.¡± Bai Yi pointed at Bellamy.


    ¡°Bellamy, her energy attribute is ¡®purification¡¯. It can expel any abnormal energy or substances in a person¡¯s body. I guarantee that there won¡¯t be any problems. Of course, if you guys still don¡¯t believe me, you can use a plant or animal that you know to contain potent poison as a test. Afterward, you guys get a copy of the formula for all the potions and medicines that we develop. Furthermore, if the deal goes through, you guys can get Greivis¡¯ energy transformation and cultivation method as well.¡± Bai Yi said with a smile.


    Damian¡¯s team looked at Bellamy in surprise. Purification! Was there really such an attribute?


    ¡°I believe that you guys won¡¯t lose out on this deal. In the end, there isn¡¯t anybody with the ice attribute in my team. The energy transformation and cultivation method will be most beneficial for you guys.¡± Bai Yi added again.


    ¡°We need to discuss this.¡± Damian¡¯s team looked at each other and said.


    ¡°Sure!¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡­


    ¡°Bai Yi, do you really value the energy transformation and cultivation method so much?¡± Vala floated inside a cave and said to Bai Yi. At this time, everybody else was sitting nearby.


    ¡°En, it¡¯s very important.¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t we just develop one ourselves?¡± Ulisses asked.


    Everybody looked at each other after hearing Ulisses¡¯ words, but Bai Yi shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not that we can¡¯t develop one ourselves, but if there¡¯s a faster and more convenient way to get it, then there¡¯s no need to be so stubborn. Activated cells and special energy are unfamiliar territories to everybody. We may be able to discover some things, but others can also similarly have some other findings. Exchanging information and making up the holes in each other¡¯s information is the fastest way to progress. Nobody is all-powerful. A person who wants to complete everything by himself is without a doubt na?ve.¡±


    ¡°If only there was a magic tome, then we could just flip through the book and learn whatever we wanted to. Where do you see movie characters having to go through so much trouble to figure things out for themselves?¡± Woolf said.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t a movie, but I also want to get a secret martial arts manual left behind by ancient experts.¡± Bai Yi laughed.


    ¡°Anyway, we can¡¯t possibly be like in the novels and movies and just learn from what the predecessors left behind. In a way, we are the predecessors. Perhaps a long time in the future, the things that we have discovered and consolidated may become the Cultivation Method, magic tomes, or the Inheritance1 to the people after us,¡± Bai Yi said regretfully.


    ¡°Then, won¡¯t I be like an archmage?¡± Woolf couldn¡¯t help but get excited thinking about this.


    ¡°The most you could be is probably some great warrior or battle god. Archmage probably isn¡¯t your thing,¡± Betsy shrugged at Woolf.


    ¡°Battle God Woolf? That doesn¡¯t sound too nice. Actually, who I admire the most is Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings,¡± Woolf thought in his head, seemingly imagining himself to be some battle god.


    ¡°What¡¯s there to admire about an old man like Gandalf?¡± Betsy jabbed.


    ¡°I want to become the White Underworld Princess,¡± Momo raised her right hand and was also very excited.


    ¡°What is a White Underworld Princess?¡± Everybody looked at Momo.


    ¡°Daddy and I both have the surname Bai2, and isn¡¯t my energy attribute the soul and death? Also, I want to be a princess.¡± Momo explained very seriously. The rest of them immediately started to laugh. She was really still a child, after all, wanting to become a princess like in fairy tales. With Woolf and Momo fooling around, the atmosphere became a lot livelier immediately. Everybody started to joke around about what kind of title they should give themselves.


    While Bai Yi¡¯s team was going off-topic, Damian¡¯s team were still having their discussion. However, no matter how they thought about it, there really doesn¡¯t seem to be any harm to them. On the contrary, they could gain huge benefits, and they really didn¡¯t have any reason to reject.


    ¡°If that Bellamy really has the purification attribute, then we will agree to this,¡± Uehara said, looking at Sigrid. On Damian¡¯s team, there were only Damian and Sigrid who were of the ice attribute. If they had to test the effects of something, Sigrid would normally be the one to do so. No matter what, Damian was still the leader.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it; I¡¯ll test the potion. Bai Yi promised us that we could use poisonous plants or animals to test Bellamy¡¯s purification energy first, so it shouldn¡¯t be a lie. Moreover, Bai Yi wouldn¡¯t have such high prestige for no reason. If he really was that kind of selfish person who only cared about his own interest, somebody would have realized it by now. There are a lot of smart people in this world.¡± Damian said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it, Team Leader,¡± Sigrid said quietly and didn¡¯t say anything else after that. His entire persona seemed to be recluding into a quiet shadow.


    Damian looked at Sigrid before nodding. All of them knew that Sigrid was very quiet normally, but once she said something, she would basically never change her mind.


    ¡­


    On the next day, just as they expected, Damian agreed to Bai Yi¡¯s request. There wasn¡¯t any negative outcome for them. They just had to tell them the location of any special plants or animals and cooperate with Betsy and Nancy to test the effects of their tonic cuisine and attribute medicine. With Bellamy around, it might be dangerous, but they would definitely not die. Furthermore, even if the deal with Greivis failed, they would gain a lot just from the recipes and formulas they would receive from Betsy and Nancy.


    They knew that Greivis had been active in this mountain range recently, and Bai Yi¡¯s team immediately started on the tests on their new recipes and formulas.


    Just as Bai Yi said, they weren¡¯t all-powerful, they couldn¡¯t possibly think of everything themselves. As for the magic tomes that Woolf mentioned or the secret manuals that Bai Yi talked about, they were just jokes.


    ***


    Translator Note:

 Chapter 230

    Chapter 230: Trade


    After Damian agreed to the deal, the two teams immediately started testing and developing ice attributed tonic cuisines and attribute medicines. Since Bai Yi¡¯s team was already researching this, their progress came quickly even though it still took up a lot of time.


    They had already come up with eleven ice attribute recipes that were around 230% to 400% more effective than just consuming the ingredients directly. Since they were recipes, the ingredients used were also more commonly seen, and at this time Damian understood what having a qualified chef could do for them. They had eaten many things in the past but had only experienced a small portion of the effects.


    As for the ice attribute medicine, Nancy concocted six types of them. Four of them contained potent poison. It was true that on the Devil Isles, the more poisonous something was the more valuable it could be. However, if Bellamy wasn¡¯t around, many people would probably have had to die before these four attribute medicines could be produced since Bellamy had to purify them hundreds of times in the process of developing these attribute medicine.


    While developing these attribute medicines, Nancy achieved a breakthrough in skill as well and managed to develop an extraction technique that allowed the compounds to retain their maximum potency.


    In the end, the potions that Nancy developed were roughly 200% to 350% more effective than consuming the raw ingredients individually.


    Don¡¯t think that Nancy¡¯s medicine was less effective than Betsy¡¯s tonic cuisine. Food and medicine are different things entirely. Food was something to be consumed over a long period; thus, its effects weren¡¯t immediate but very gentle, slowly changing the body one step at a time. Medicine was different; it was something that could have great effects within a short period of time. By comparison, within a short period, the effects of the medicine would be dozens of times stronger than the tonic cuisine. Of course, one also had to take into account the different types of ingredients being used for both things.


    In truth, Betsy¡¯s tonic cuisine could bring out the effects of the ingredients to a large degree, but not to the same degree as attribute medicine. Since the effectiveness was the most important thing, the ingredients with the most powerful effects were turned into medicine.


    While Bai Yi¡¯s team were busying themselves with all of this, they saw Greivis who had not yet given up on the ice beetle inside the frozen lake a few times. However, he would always return without achieving anything because the ice beetle would always very quickly descend to the bottom of the lake.


    Out of everybody, Momo was the only one who could interact with the lake monster.


    That¡¯s right, only Momo!


    Since a very long time ago, Momo had shown an unbelievable intimacy and closeness with animals. This time wasn¡¯t an exception. Momo¡¯s communication with animals seemed to come from the soul, so even if they didn¡¯t speak the same language they could still somehow manage to understand each other. While Momo played by the lake, she very quickly got to know this gigantic ice beetle. At the start, Sharpei was still very wary of the ice beetle, but he couldn¡¯t be bothered to care as much after they got familiar with each other.


    After Momo got to know the ice beetle, Bai Yi and the rest found out that despite the monster¡¯s ferocious appearance, it wasn¡¯t that kind of savage beast because it only seemed to eat ice.


    Momo touched her finger to the giant tentacle and suddenly said in delight ¡°be a guest at your house? Sure!¡± Sharpei was relaxing by the side at first, but after hearing Momo¡¯s words he immediately stood up and bared his teeth at the lake monster.


    ¡°Grrrr!¡± Sharpei growled in a low tone. He slammed his right claw down, causing the snow beneath it to melt rapidly.


    ¡°Sharpei, it won¡¯t be dangerous!¡± Momo said.


    ¡°No, you can¡¯t go; that place is underwater! If you really want to go, you must tell Bai Yi!¡± Sharpei said. It already wasn¡¯t a problem for Sharpei and Pupu to communicate with basic words anymore.


    Momo touched the tentacle again and said: ¡°then, you wait for me a while, I¡¯ll go ask daddy!¡±


    Momo ran across the snowfield back to the cave and found Bai Yi sitting cross-legged inside, seemingly trying to sense something. Bai Yi was trying to sense the changes in his special energy. Even though he said that they couldn¡¯t possibly know everything, Bai Yi still wanted to study a bit himself on how to cultivate and transform his special energy. After all, it was still unclear whether the deal with Greivis would go through or not. If he was honest, discoveries sometimes required luck as well as talent. Bai Yi had been studying for the past few days but hadn¡¯t had much headway. He even tried using the meditation posture commonly seen in novels, but it was to no avail.


    ¡°Daddy, Little Beetle invited me to its house to play,¡± Momo said loudly to Bai Yi once she arrived.


    ¡°En, go if you want to go. Take care of yourself,¡± Bai Yi¡¯s head drooped down and pointed towards the floor, but his eyes were completely unfocused, seemingly thinking of something. After hearing Momo¡¯s question, Bai Yi just simply entertained her with some words and let Momo leave.


    ¡°En!¡± Hearing Bai Yi¡¯s words, Momo immediately ran out happily. Alodia happened to pass by outside at this time and waved to Momo as she saw her running out so happily.


    Momo then started to return to the lake and realized that Greivis had appeared again and was attacking Little Beetle on the surface of the lake. Her little face immediately turned cold and she suddenly accelerated. Standing by her side, Sharpei sensed that things weren¡¯t good; at this rate, they were probably going to start fighting.


    ¡°Stop!¡± Momo stood at the side of the lake and shouted loudly.


    However, why would Greivis listen to Momo? He continued to battle with the ice beetle on the lake¡¯s surface. Both had the ice attribute and were at LV2, so their battle was roughly evenly matched and very intense. Also by the side of the lake were the other teammates of Greivis. They couldn¡¯t fly or control water, so they weren¡¯t able to help him.


    When Momo and Sharpei ran over, that black bear saw Sharpei and immediately went into a defensive stance, seemingly very wary of Sharpei.


    Momo looked over at the black bear, and he instantly got a fright and apologized profusely to Momo, bowing every time he apologized.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry¡­.¡±


    ¡°Hey Black Bear, why are you so scared of this little girl?¡±


    Greivis¡¯ teammates couldn¡¯t stand the sight anymore. Black Bear was a member of their team after all and he was very strong. Why was he always apologizing and so afraid of Momo whenever he saw her? However, they very quickly understood why.


    Momo walked two steps toward the group of people, and the brightness around her suddenly dimmed. 21 balls of light flew out from her body and floated into the air. The few people in front of her instantly felt an oppressive pressure; it was dangerous, extremely dangerous! It was almost as if an aura of death wrapped itself around them. One must know that within Bai Yi¡¯s team the one that changed the most was Momo. If not for Momo¡¯s age and experience limiting her strength, perhaps even Bai Yi would not be Momo¡¯s match.


    Just from the two steps forward, the entire group of people before her tensed up instantly and cold sweat slowly formed on their brows.


    ¡°Momo!¡± One of the souls suddenly flew in front of Momo, stopping her. It was Vala, who was always with Heloise and Mavis, and one of them would always remain outside.


    ¡°I¡¯ll handle this,¡± Vala smiled at Momo.


    ¡°En, sorry to trouble you, Teacher Vala,¡± Momo hesitated a while before nodding.


    In front of them, Vala transformed from the ball of light to her original human appearance. Vala appeared to be experienced and elegant, just as she appeared when she was as an etiquette teacher to nobility in the past. The few people of Greivis¡¯ team looked at Vala in shock. They hadn¡¯t known what those balls of light that always surrounded Momo were, but they never imagined that they were actually souls.


    ¡°Can you guys call your team leader back first? He won¡¯t be able to achieve anything even if he continued to fight like this. After all, as long as Little Beetle remains in the lake, it can easily just submerge itself and run away,¡± Vala said to the group.


    The few of them who were facing Vala didn¡¯t know what kind of attitude they should use to respond, especially the black bear who looked at Vala in confusion. The last time, the light clearly turned into something extremely terrifying and gave him a fright. Was this a human soul? Then what did his soul look like? The black bear took a battle stance and carefully turned his body as Vala floated over, fearing that Vala would scare him again like the previous time.


    However, Vala didn¡¯t have that kind of hobby. The incident last time was completely the antics of another soul that Momo controlled.


    Vala watched how the black bear acted and gave him a smile and a nod. Seeing Vala¡¯s smile, the black bear blanked out for a while before scratching his head with his right paw and nodding dumbly back at Vala. Sharpei looked at the black bear¡¯s appearance and couldn¡¯t help but let the corner of his lips rise. This dumb bear was actually blushing.


    ¡°Can you get your team leader back first? I have something important to say to him,¡± Vala said.


    ¡°Sure. OK,¡± the black bear immediately said before he shouted at Greivis who was still battling with the ice beetle. ¡°Team leader! There¡¯s somebody looking for you here!¡±


    The rest of them saw how the black bear was acting and couldn¡¯t help but to facepalm, could this bear be any dumber?!


    By then, Greivis was also a bit sick of the battle. The beetle monster was actually extremely strong. If not for its size limiting its mobility, it would be very hard to say who would be hunting who. When he heard the black bear¡¯s voice, Greivis immediately looked back at the lakeside and left the battle.


    ¡°Team Leader Greivis, right? I have something to discuss with you,¡± Vala smiled amiably. Greivis looked at Vala¡¯s transparent body ¨C a soul!


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Actually, my team leader is interested in making a deal with you. If you agree to it, there¡¯s definitely much more to gain than just hunting this monster,¡± Vala said.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Greivis lifted his eyebrow. ¡°Tell me more.¡±


    ¡­


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t intend to make contact with Greivis so quickly since the recipes and formulas hadn¡¯t been fully researched and developed yet. He never thought that Vala would start negotiating the deal with Greivis on his behalf. However, Vala lived up to her status as a former noble etiquette teacher and the negotiation went very amiably.


    Greivis suddenly asked extremely important questions, ¡°What¡¯s your status? Can you represent Bai Yi in this?¡±


    ¡°Teacher Vala is my teacher. Daddy will definitely agree to whatever Teacher Vala agrees to,¡± Momo interjected seriously.


    Greivis looked at Momo and then back to Vala before finally nodding.

 Chapter 231

    Chapter 231: Incomprehensible Diagram


    After Vala and Greivis finished discussing things, Momo brought all of them back to the cave. In the distance, Woolf, who was guarding the entrance, immediately stood up. If not for Momo being with this group of people, Woolf would have thought that they were there to find trouble with them. Despite it being Momo who brought them over, Woolf still stopped the group of people outside.


    ¡°Please wait for a moment,¡± Vala said to Greivis.


    Momo brought Vala back into the cave. Bai Yi seemed to be still pondering something and didn¡¯t even notice Momo entering the cave. After a while, Bai Yi finally came back to his senses and looked at Momo and Vala standing in front of him.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Bai Yi asked in confusion.


    ¡°Actually, something happened: I discussed the deal with Greivis,¡± Vala said.


    ¡°Daddy, you guys talk; I¡¯ll go out and find Chinchilla,¡± Momo said and ran out.


    ¡°You discussed it alone?¡±


    After Momo left, Bai Yi looked at Vala again.


    Vala didn¡¯t expect that to be Bai Yi¡¯s first question. Vala got a shock in her heart and suddenly thought of a problem. Momo was very respectful toward her, and, in truth, every student she taught was very respectful. There wouldn¡¯t be a problem if the child was a normal student, but things became problematic if the student was noble. A noble child with status would need to express his or her own independent thoughts and opinions and not be overly dependent on her. Too much dependence and reverence would likely appear as a puppet-like personality and that was something that couldn¡¯t be tolerated as a noble.


    No matter what, Bai Yi was the leader and she had overstepped her position by negotiating with Greivis without Bai Yi¡¯s approval.


    ¡°I¡¯m very sorry. I will pay more mind to my status in the future.¡±


    Vala lived in that social sphere for a long time; she knew that things would become very dangerous for her if she was careless.


    ¡°Status?¡± Bai Yi frowned. ¡°What are you afraid of? I just wanted you to bring Momo along and let her learn more things. She¡¯s really too playful.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Vala nodded seriously.


    ¡°Tell me about the conditions you reached in the negotiation with Greivis then,¡± Bai Yi said.


    Vala immediately began to explain the conditions of the deal she reached with Greivis in detail. While speaking about this, Vala looked at Bai Yi seriously. Although Bai Yi wasn¡¯t a member of the so-called traditional nobility, he already possessed some of the air of an elite. Furthermore, considering how much the world had changed, and Bai Yi¡¯s current abilities and power, he could very possibly become one of the rulers in this new world. However, Bai Yi didn¡¯t currently seem to be aware of that.


    Bai Yi, would he be a good leader?


    Since Bai Yi wasn¡¯t aware of this himself yet, then she had a responsibility to guide Bai Yi. The same was true for Momo. No matter what, she was her last student. Thinking of this, Vala immediately turned back into that noble etiquette teacher: serious, strict, elegant, yet not overstepping her position.


    ¡­


    Bai Yi and Greivis¡¯ deal eventually went through well. There were many arguments, but in the end, things still settled down. During the process, Vala¡¯s contribution didn¡¯t go unnoticed, but nobody noticed her change in attitude.


    Bai Yi obtained the method for cultivating and transforming energy from Greivis, and Bai Yi provided a few recipes and formulas suitable for Greivis¡¯ team. When the deal was complete, Bai Yi also gave them each a small piece of Soul Release Wood about two centimeters long.


    After asking Bai Yi what the pieces of wood were for, Greivis looked at Bai Yi in shock at his answer and left with his team.


    After Greivis¡¯ team left, the group of them started to study the complicated-looking diagram in their hands. Damian¡¯s team also obtained the same diagram; however, understanding it was another matter. None of them imagined that Greivis was actually an energy expert who had been conducting research on energy conversion before New Zealand¡¯s change. It was because of this that Greivis was able to create just a special method of energy transformation.


    Without the prerequisite professional knowledge, it was difficult to make sense of this diagram.


    The human body was extremely complex, to begin with, and the evolved humans now were another mystery altogether. Everything that the evolved humans had now required them to stumble around in the dark to figure out. Things weren¡¯t like in games or movies where the characters learned things easily.


    ¡°Did Greivis cheat us by giving us some random diagram?¡± When Damian¡¯s team got hold of the diagram, all of them immediately felt their heads start swimming. The content didn¡¯t describe a process as simple as moving energy along certain meridians, but a detailed process of the transformation of energy. The mathematical formulas and symbols that made up the diagram were horrifyingly numerous, and the vague process of energy transformation shown on the inside was just confusing.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Greivis might be insolent, but I can tell that he¡¯s a very proud guy. Moreover, I saw it myself during the deal that Bai Yi got the same thing from them,¡± Damian shook his head.


    Sigrid said a word, ¡°Study!¡±


    ¡°En?¡±


    Sigrid spoke again, ¡°Professional knowledge.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s probably the only way now. If we don¡¯t have any knowledge regarding energy conversion, we won¡¯t be able to understand this diagram,¡± Damian said.


    Meanwhile, Bai Yi said the same thing.


    This was easy to understand. For example, many people knew that large amounts of energy could be produced from nuclear fusion and fission, but how many people could imagine the exact process needed to create it from those simple words? The energy conversion process in evolved humans was even more complex than that. Although they had this diagram, they wouldn¡¯t be able to make use of it to transform the energy in their bodies if they were unable to imagine the process in their heads.


    Everybody had been very excited when they had acquired the diagram. It seemed to be as if they had received a secret martial arts manual, but in just half a day, everybody was forced back to their original state.


    They couldn¡¯t understand it. Not only was there a lot of modern energy-related knowledge applied in the diagram, but there were also a lot of things that Greivis named and defined himself. Moreover, Greivis himself only managed to figure out the basics of things. There were still many things that he didn¡¯t fully understand himself and he could only use vague formulas to represent it. Most importantly, this was the method of cultivation most suitable for him. If they wanted to use this process on themselves, they had to completely understand the theory behind it and be able to adjust it to become suitable for their own bodies.


    ¡°Yeye, do you have information regarding energy in your database?¡± Bai Yi asked as he recorded this diagram into Yeye¡¯s database.


    ¡°Yep! The search for the Devil Algae began because of the Theory of Special Energy, so there¡¯s a complete energy knowledge database in me. Of course, these are only the theories developed by the scholars before the change. I don¡¯t understand the information in this diagram either, but we can try to cross check the diagram and understand it.¡± Yeye said as she tried to simulate the process of energy transformation on the computer¡¯s screen.


    A few of them looked at the energy conversion process that Yeye simulated on the screen. It was very marvelous, beautiful, and much easier to take in than the plain diagram.


    ¡°Let¡¯s find a more intact research facility and stop there for a while,¡± Bai Yi said to everyone.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Everybody agreed.


    They had already given up on finding the research facility that was nearby because they had been searching for such a long time. Before leaving, Momo went to say goodbye to Little Beetle and this time it invited Momo to its home again. Bai Yi and the rest already knew that the ice beetle didn¡¯t eat meat but survived on ice and minerals, so they weren¡¯t worried about it. Moreover, Bai Yi decided to tag along as well.


    The two of them stood on top of the giant ice beetle¡¯s back as it swam to the heart of the lake. As the giant beetle dove into the lake and the icy cold water was about to engulf them, the beetle manipulated the water and formed an air bubble around them.


    The beetle passed through an aqueduct and swam upwards again, quickly arriving at a dry platform. It then cried out to Bai Yi and Momo introducing its ¡®home¡¯.


    Bai Yi and Momo stared at this cave dumbfoundedly¡­This place was clearly a research facility! However, most of this research facility had been damaged and became a place suitable for this beetle to live in. At the top of the cave, a few lamps remained lit and there was still a computer on top of a broken platform. The researchers had built this research facility by the lake, but something must have had happened at the end. The experimental subjects broke out of this place and it became the ice beetle¡¯s home.


    ¡°So it was here! No wonder we couldn¡¯t find it even after searching for so long,¡± Bai Yi said helplessly.


    The beetle used a small tentacle to tap the computer indicating for Bai Yi and Momo to look. This creature¨Cit can¡¯t be that it¡¯s planning to ask Momo to fix its computer? Bai Yi was taken aback.


    Bai Yi found a more intact computer monitor in another room and connected it to the computer in the main room.


    Once the computer switched on, the beetle immediately used the computer familiarly, seemingly searching for something. After a while, the classic movie Transformers appeared on the screen. After the movie started playing, the beetle watched the story on the screen unfold with rapt attention.


    So it was like this!


    Bai Yi almost couldn¡¯t contain the strange unwell feeling inside his heart and laughed out loud. After stopping here for a while, Bai Yi and Momo said their goodbyes to the beetle and returned to the lakeside.


    ¡°How was it, Bai Yi? Was the beetle¡¯s home very eerie and scary?¡± The others asked.


    ¡°No. It¡¯s actually very big and clean,¡± Bai Yi felt like laughing thinking of the gigantic beetle going up close to the small computer screen to watch the movie.


    ¡°What happened?¡± The rest of them couldn¡¯t help but ask after seeing Bai Yi¡¯s face.


    ¡°Its home is the research facility that we had been searching for, and that guy likes to watch movies, particularly Transformers.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± None of them understood what he said.


    Only after Bai Yi let the rest of them visit the beetle¡¯s home as well and left a huge collection of movies on its computer did this group of people finally understand. So it was like this!

 Chapter 232

    Chapter 232: The Most Fundamental Principle


    Although they had found a research facility, it was clearly not suitable for them to inhabit. Bai Yi wanted to find a more intact research facility to study energy conversion, or else the diagram that they obtained during the trade would just be a piece of scrap paper.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t forget Yeye¡¯s statement about how individual power could overpower any authority granted by the masses. Their situation now reflected that. Their individual strength hadn¡¯t reached the stage where they could disregard society entirely, but their level of strength had already started to become an immense threat.


    Bai Yi planned to put the mission of searching for Doctor Wang aside for a while. This was because Doctor Wang might have already died, or that he wouldn¡¯t be able to create the drug to regain their human forms even if they found him. Finding Doctor Wang was just one of their hopes.


    After leaving the research facility, they decided to look for a good place to stay in.


    ¡­


    North of Hastings and by the side of Ngaruroro River was a mid-sized research facility between two lakes. That was their new destination and where they planned to stay for a period, but it was really hard to say exactly how long they would stay there.


    Although they had immediately set off for their destination, they were still unable to reach that place within a day.


    Around their bonfire was a flat area dozens of meters wide in which they would be able to detect even small bugs that tried to approach them. When everyone had fallen asleep, Sharpei¡¯s ears twitched suddenly. Soon after, the rest of them opened their eyes as well. They developed this habit on the Devil Isles. They had to pay full attention to any activity they sensed no matter how small. However, none of them moved and waited to see what was it that had actually dared to treat them as prey. At this time, Sharpei suddenly slammed his claw down on the ground forcefully.


    ¡®Boom!¡¯ The ground shook and a part of it collapsed. In the newly formed hole, they could see that there was a fat rat quickly running away. Sharpei didn¡¯t expect that this rat would be able to dodge his attack and immediately gave chase to exterminate his enemy completely.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t bother to stop him and let Sharpei rush towards the rat.


    Quickly, miserable shrieks and Sharpei¡¯s roars came from the distance, but the sounds stopped after ten or so seconds. Bai Yi felt slightly suspicious. Had the battle ended so quickly?


    Very quickly, Sharpei brought a group of rats back with him. Looking at those huge rats wearing monster skins, Bai Yi and the rest of them couldn¡¯t help but feel that they were very familiar.


    ¡°Wuzhi?¡± Bai Yi suddenly recalled a group of rats that they had met very long ago.


    ¡°Chichi, Bai Yi,¡± Wuzhi said Bai Yi¡¯s name in a strange voice. He jumped over and appeared very excited. Those in Bai Yi¡¯s team that met the rats for the first time were all very taken aback. These were rats! Bai Yi even knew rats? They had met quite a few rats before; however, their common sense said that rats before the changes weren¡¯t really ¡®good¡¯ animals, so they didn¡¯t really try to communicate with them.


    After interacting with Wuzhi, Bai Yi¡¯s team found out that Wuzhi barely made it to LV2 after much effort, but the bunch of underlings he had before had all died. Moreover, they encountered a creature similar to a Great Devil Snake very recently, and most of the rat swarm had died in that encounter. Even now they were in midst of running for their lives.


    ¡°You still dare to set your sights on us even though you were running for your life?¡± Bai Yi smacked Wuzhi¡¯s head.


    ¡°Chichi!¡± Wuzhi apologized profusely, and Bai Yi finally forgave him in the end. They could tell that Wuzhi and his underlings were in a very miserable state from the escape, so Bai Yi decided to let Wuzhi and his gang stay a night next to them since they had been quite familiar with each other before. However, Bai Yi didn¡¯t intend to bring Wuzhi¡¯s group along with him since their species were different after all. Furthermore, judging from how Wuzhi was planning to attack his group, they had probably killed and eaten quite a lot of humans in the past.


    ¡°Don¡¯t eat humans in the future,¡± Bai Yi said right before they left on the second day.


    ¡°Chichi~. The humans attacked first¡­¡± Wuzhi grumbled that it was the humans who attacked them first. Because rats were omnivorous and had a fast rate of reproduction, they were now the most numerous species of lifeforms in the Devil Isles. Moreover, the rats now were a lot larger than before, about the size of a fat pig, and thus became the prey of many carnivorous creatures.


    ¡°That¡¯s all then. Take care!¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t intend to force Wuzhi to do anything, and after waving their hands, they left with their own teams.


    Wuzhi took his few remaining underlings and stood on top of a hill to watch Bai Yi¡¯s team leave. Wuzhi¡¯s intelligence wasn¡¯t low anymore, so he knew that it wasn¡¯t possible for him to follow Bai Yi. Humans¡¯ dislike for rats practically came from their bones. It was already very good for Bai Yi to treat them without prejudice.


    ¡­


    After such an interlude, Bai Yi¡¯s team finally arrived at the no. 17 research facility located north of Hastings and beside Ngaruroro River. When they stopped at this research facility, they immediately began to research the diagram. Before they could start studying the diagram in earnest, they had to learn about basic energy conversion. Nobody could escape this time; they all had to study it. If they didn¡¯t study it, they wouldn¡¯t be able to understand the diagram; and if they weren¡¯t able to understand it, then they wouldn¡¯t be able to transform the special energy in their bodies actively.


    This was something that nobody could help with unless somebody in the future came up with a simple method that only required people to follow the specified instructions. Withstanding that, the requirements to learn this was extremely high. This made Woolf and the rest of them very miserable, since, honestly speaking, none of the people in their team were scholars or researchers. Now that they had to study such a complex subject, it was practically asking for their lives. However, for the sake of making themselves stronger, they had no choice but to study this.


    Among all of them, Bai Yi and Vala learned the fastest. Bai Yi had created a stable foundation for himself when he studied with full focus back in New Christchurch and learned a lot about biology. Since the sciences were somewhat related to each other, there were some common things thus his learning speed was faster than the others¡¯. As for Vala, she was a very knowledgeable person, to begin with, so she learned things very quickly. For the rest of them, none of them had much knowledge so they really had to start from the basics to understand it.


    ¡°I can¡¯t do this anymore. I don¡¯t understand at all!¡± Woolf came into a reformed hall and sat on the gigantic chair he had made for himself feeling his head swimming.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like you¡¯re the only one who finds it difficult,¡± Ulisses said as he lifted his head and stretched his neck.


    ¡°I still have to learn culinary skills and medicine under Older Sister Betsy and Nancy. I¡¯m studying way more than you guys!¡± Bellamy complained as she brought a big plate of food in front of the two of them.


    ¡°This could be considered the basic Cultivation Method that Bai Yi talked about, right?¡± Ulisses took a bite and immediately felt better.


    ¡°En, Bai Yi said that it¡¯s at the level of Fireball,¡± Woolf suddenly felt like crying.


    At the level of a Fireball!


    Woolf and Ulisses stared at each other and felt devastated in their hearts. Since when did the characters in movies and novels have to study so much complicated knowledge just to learn a little fireball?


    ¡°Uncle said before that this is because we are at the most preliminary stage of figuring things out. That is why we have to understand the most fundamental principles of energy conversion and actively control the energy in our bodies through this understanding later on. The transformation of special energy is something even more complicated than nuclear fusion. If we can¡¯t understand the basic principles underlying it, then it would be impossible for us to actively adjust and change this process for our needs.¡±


    Alodia walked in and happened to hear the two of them complaining.


    ¡°There will be simpler methods in the future.¡±


    Bai Yi walked in as well. It was close to lunchtime now, so almost everybody had arrived at the dining hall.


    ¡°Simpler methods?¡± The eyes of the dumber ones in the team instantly lit up.


    ¡°Right, a simpler method. We can systematically organize the conditions underlying these theories and consolidate all of them into something simple,¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Give an example?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk about Wind Bullet then, something on the same level as a Fireball. What we are learning now are the most fundamental principles. Where does the energy in the Wind Bullet come from? What is the process for its energy conversion? How does air organize itself to form a stable structure? What affects the power of the manifested Wind Bullet?¡± Bai Yi said with white spinning Wind Bullet forming on his fingertips. The transparent air spun continuously and gave off a whistling sound.


    ¡°As long as we master the fundamental principles, we can make adjustments and improve on the current design. Not just small Wind Bullets, but big Wind Bullets, and even the formula for a hurricane could be deduced.¡±


    The Wind Bullet in Bai Yi¡¯s hand gradually changed.


    Woolf raised his hand, ¡°Please make it simpler.¡±


    Bai Yi heard and the Wind Bullet in his hands dispersed, feeling like laughing as he asked Woolf a question, ¡°Do you know the basic mathematical operations?¡±


    ¡°Of course I know!¡± Woolf wasn¡¯t that dumb.


    ¡°What we are learning now is similar to the basic mathematical operations. They are the most fundamental principles. As long as you have mastered these mathematical operations, you will be able to make the correct calculations based on these principles no matter how big the number is. What I mean by consolidating the rules into something simple is like me telling you that 12 x 5 ¨C 3 /2 = 58.5. You don¡¯t have to know why; you just have to know that the answer is 58.5. After that, as long as you are able to write this answer, even if you are retarded or you don¡¯t even know what numbers are, nobody can say that your answer is wrong.¡±


    ¡°This is the so-called ¡®following the prescribed order¡¯. I don¡¯t need you to understand. I just need you to follow the steps and replicate the answer,¡± Bai Yi said with a smile.


    ¡°However, I still hope that everybody can start learning from the most fundamental principles because what you manage to understand based on your own body will let you create something most suitable for yourself. Most importantly,¡± Bai Yi paused. ¡°There isn¡¯t a ¡®following the prescribed order¡¯ Cultivation Method for you guys to learn.¡±


    Bai Yi shrugged.


    ¡°We still have to study in the end¡­.¡±Woolf and Ulisses went limp on the table. En, actually there was still one more; Momo was also similarly lying on the table at the other end. To these guys who disliked studying, this was enough to torment them to death.

 Chapter 233

    Chapter 233: Three Years And News


    At first, it was just Bai Yi¡¯s team studying, but not long after even the souls inside the Soul Release Wood had started studying the energy transformation diagram as well. To those souls, it was even more boring being stuck in the Soul Release Wood than being in a jail cell. To be able to have something they could do to kill time, they really couldn¡¯t be more satisfied. Through debates, discussions, and consolidation by this group, the improvements of these souls were actually the largest among them.


    At this time, Bai Yi¡¯s team realized that souls could cultivate as well.


    However, only those souls who had entered LV2 could cultivate. Seemingly, metamorphosis didn¡¯t just let the body and soul reach a new balance but also enabled a significant change in the quality of their souls. This kind of change was the absolute life field. Even if the physical body died, the absolute life field still existed within the soul and so these souls could cultivate.


    For normal souls, they would gradually undergo metamorphosis after being nourished by Momo¡¯s Soul Purifying Flame for a period of time. However, the souls that were nurtured by Momo¡¯s Soul Purifying Flame were completely different from those independent LV2 souls. They could only be considered as Momo¡¯s puppets because they were unable to escape from her.


    Over three years, everybody changed. At first, they had reluctantly forced themselves to study. Eventually, they accepted studying as a part of their daily lives. Now, they plunged into studying with all their effort and everybody studied really hard. This was especially true when they saw how much Bai Yi changed, and they also didn¡¯t want to be surpassed by Vala and the other souls.


    Due to the energy conversion diagram being something that Greivis created based on his own body, Bai Yi and the rest discovered that their energy attributes would gradually turn to that of the ice attribute if they just followed the steps on it. Extreme cold energy seemed to be quite good, but Bai Yi felt that it would be best for him to give up on trying to be skilled in multiple attributes. How their bodies naturally changed in the beginning was the most suitable state for them and the rest of them felt this way as well.


    After completely understanding the diagram given to them by Greivis, Bai Yi started to consolidate the conditions and patterns underlying it and adjust the diagram into something suitable for himself.


    After studying how to transform the energy in his body in a particular direction based on the understood underlying principles, Bai Yi finally understood the nature of his own energy.


    Five Senses Simulation!


    Bai Yi¡¯s energy attribute wasn¡¯t Visual Simulation at all, but the ability to simulate the signals that are received through a lifeform¡¯s five senses and project it out, befuddling the lifeform¡¯s five senses. Due to the uniqueness of Bai Yi¡¯s eyes at the start, the first signal that he could simulate was the visual signal. That was why Bai Yi thought that his ability was Visual Simulation. As the transformation of Bai Yi¡¯s energy became more advanced, he also began to understand his own energy more.


    For example, right now Bai Yi could simulate the visual signal received by a person to trick the person¡¯s true vision. Similarly, the simulated sound signal could befuddle the person¡¯s sense of hearing, but it couldn¡¯t affect the other senses.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t know what the limit of his energy was, but his first goal was to master the simulation of the signals received by all five senses completely. The second goal was to use the simulated signals to affect the other senses such as using sound signals to trick the opponent¡¯s sight. If he could do that, then, unless the person completely sealed off all five of his senses, his enemies would become utterly helpless. After sealing their five senses, killing his enemies would just be as easy as slaughtering a sheep.


    If Momo changed the fastest in the beginning, then Bai Yi had almost caught up with Momo after he tailor-made a method for energy cultivation and transformation for himself.


    Although the diagram was the most basic thing, it meant that evolved humans had stepped on the path of active cultivation.


    These were different from their changes before. Regardless of what changes they experienced before, they always followed the wishes of their bodies and let their bodies change as it wanted. Now, they had a method to cultivate their body in a certain direction actively.


    ¡­


    Bai Yi¡¯s team stayed at this place for three years, and the United Nations didn¡¯t have any comments on that. They knew that the United Nations had the same thoughts as them. Finding Doctor Wang was just a bonus, so they would never place all their hopes on finding him. In truth, the United Nations was also researching a few things: how to regain human form, the patterns behind the LV2 Metamorphose Stage, how to bring out the most power in the Metamorphose Stage, what kind of stage was LV3, and how to reach that stage. All of these were the objectives of the United Nations¡¯ research.


    Within these three years, the United Nations had also finished the construction of the super aircraft carrier. It was 800 meters long, had a water displacement weight of 110 tons, and looked just like a small island floating on the sea.


    Due to Bai Yi¡¯s team disseminating the information about Tasmania out to everyone before, and the teams sent by the United Nations to the Devil Isles, many people chose to leave the Devil Isles for Tasmania when the ship arrived. People who could disregard the dangers of the Devil Isles like Bai Yi¡¯s team were undoubtedly in the small minority.


    Due to them staying in this place for such a long time, quite a few evolved humans knew that Bai Yi¡¯s team were staying there. Occasionally, there would be a few guests visiting to ask about some things.


    ¡°We¡¯re looking for Bai Yi,¡± an evolved human stood in front of the door to the research facility and said to the camera in front of him.


    After this man finished speaking, Yeye quickly opened the main door and let the people inside. Craig¡¯s team had already come here a few times before, so they were quite familiar with each other. After passing through an examination passage, the group arrived in the visitor¡¯s hall of the research facility.


    Very quickly, Bai Yi arrived with a smile on his face, ¡°Long time no see, what brings you here today?¡±


    ¡°Bai Yi, we met a person a few days ago,¡± Craig didn¡¯t beat around the bush.


    ¡°En, who?¡± Bai Yi asked expectantly.


    ¡°Eleanor1: a biology expert who conducted research on activated cells before,¡± Craig paused for a moment trying to leave Bai Yi hanging. ¡°Most importantly, this guy said that he partnered with Doctor Wang before. Doctor Wang was the main person in charge of the research facility, and Eleanor had a similar level of authority as Doctor Wang, just that his professional knowledge was slightly inferior to Doctor Wang.¡±


    ¡°Where is he?¡± Bai Yi asked. His expression became very serious.


    ¡°At Napier. He¡¯s a leader of a team now. If we didn¡¯t find out about his identity from his team members by chance, we would have never known that such a powerful guy was actually a researcher previously,¡± Craig said.


    ¡°Is he still there?¡±


    ¡°He hadn¡¯t left when we came here, but I don¡¯t know about now.¡±


    Bai Yi stood up and said to Craig, ¡°Thank you! Make yourselves at home. We¡¯re going to leave this place very soon, so you can have this place.¡±


    ¡°Thanks a lot then!¡± Craig¡¯s team immediately revealed an overjoyed expression. This place was initially a research facility. It was also where Bai Yi¡¯s team stayed for three years so a lot of the facility¡¯s interior was complete. This place was much better than that old run-down hospital in which they had been staying.


    Bai Yi very quickly gathered his team members and left the research facility. When leaving, Bai Yi had Yeye reset the fingerprint access to Craig¡¯s fingerprint. The layout of the research facility, how certain places should be set up, and what was contained in each area were all left on the computer. Once Craig and his team looked over this information seriously, they would know how to make use of this research facility.


    At this time, Bai Yi¡¯s team were already rushing towards Napier hurriedly.


    Eleanor!


    Bai Yi thought of this name in his heart. Yeye had information on Eleanor. He was indeed just slightly inferior to Doctor Wang at Tongariro National Park Research Facility. Moreover, Eleanor was the last person to make contact with Doctor Wang before the two of them escaped from the Tongariro National Park Research Facility. Both of them had then consumed the Prototy Original Form Drug and left.


    Bai Yi¡¯s team rushed for half a day without any rest and finally reached Napier. After coming to this place, everybody looked at the lush jungle city. The original city was completely covered in vegetation, but not so much time had passed to make it look like an ancient ruin yet. Hence, jungle cities like this had become unique environments only seen in the Devil Isles.


    ¡°You guys split into three teams. I¡¯ll go alone,¡± Bai Yi immediately spread his wings and flew into the sky after he finished speaking.


    ¡°Really so anxious,¡± Woolf commented, but they still quickly split into three teams and left to search for Eleanor.


    This was a hard-to-come-by piece of information! Bai Yi knew that the United Nations had probably searched all of the research facilities by now, and they had taken most resources and research data. However, he still had not heard any news regarding Doctor Wang so far. Now that Eleanor had appeared again, how could Bai Yi not be serious about this? Regardless if Eleanor really had information on Doctor Wang¡¯s whereabouts or not, he himself was a biology research expert and that alone made him tremendously valuable.


    Bai Yi¡¯s team searched around Napier until nighttime and finally assembled again without finding Eleanor¡¯s team.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that Craig tricked us?¡±


    ¡°It can¡¯t be. What benefit does he gain from tricking us? Eleanor could have already left this place before we could reach here. We¡¯ll continue searching tomorrow. Be on the lookout for traces of human activity,¡± Bai Yi said.


    __________________________________________________________________


    While Bai Yi¡¯s team searched for Eleanor, a new guest came to visit the tremendously infamous City of Graves. Ning Xue stood on the floating dragon and looked in the direction of the City of Graves.


    It¡¯s about time!


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Little Lai. We¡¯ll go in,¡± Ning Xue said. Little Lai didn¡¯t have pellagra anymore but had become a truly imposing and powerful floating dragon. He swung his tail and flew toward the City of Graves. The moment they entered the city they felt a powerful controlling suction force sucking the two of them into the heart of the city. The floating dragon didn¡¯t resist this force, and the two of them shot inside at a high speed.


    In the center of the City of Graves, a heartbeat-like sound came from a strange plant that looked like it was made out of countless body parts. When Ning Xue and the floating dragon flew to this place, Ning Xue suddenly broke open a bottle from which a strange smell slowly spread across the area. The initially powerful suction force suddenly stopped and the strange plant seemed to fall asleep and slowly drooped down.


    This was something that Yu Han sacrificed an entire city of evolved humans to grow. In reality, even Ning Xue didn¡¯t know what this thing was, but since Yu Han left it behind, Ning Xue wouldn¡¯t let somebody else have it even if she didn¡¯t know what it was.


    ***


    Translator Note:

 Chapter 234

    Chapter 234: Southern Island


    Bai Yi¡¯s team rested in Napier for a night and started to search again seriously the next day. If people had stopped there before, then there should have been some signs. After searching meticulously, they finally found an extinguished bonfire just outside of the city. They didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. All of them had unthinkingly gone straight to the center of the city to search without knowing if Eleanor¡¯s team had entered the city in the first place.


    After finding the extinguished bonfire, Bai Yi followed the tracks left behind north.


    After chasing them for half a month and losing their trail multiple times, Bai Yi¡¯s team finally caught up with them in the mountain ranges at the center of the northern island. From the looks of it, most people understood the Metamorphose Stage quite well now and Eleanor¡¯s team had spent time searching for different ingredients along their journey to supplement their bodies¡¯ transformation.


    Eleanor¡¯s team had eleven people, each with their own roles within the team. From afar, one of Eleanor¡¯s team members sensed Bai Yi¡¯s team¡¯s approach. However, Bai Yi never intended on hiding their presence in the first place.


    A woman landed from the sky and said to Eleanor, ¡°Team Leader, there¡¯s some people close by. From the looks of them, they seem to be coming in our direction.¡±


    ¡°Could they be just passing by?¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like it. They are heading straight for us at a fast speed.¡±


    ¡°Find a place to stop and be on alert. We¡¯ll see exactly who it is,¡± Eleanor said to his teammates after thinking for a moment. There were lesser and lesser people on the Devil Isles now, so it was quite hard to meet other evolved humans. Eleanor felt that his team treated others quite well and they didn¡¯t really have enemies either, who would be looking for them?


    Eleanor stopped at a hillside. It didn¡¯t have as dense vegetation as other areas and they could see far away from there. From a kilometer away, Eleanor could already see Bai Yi¡¯s team running toward them. Their direction of travel didn¡¯t change at all, heading straight for his group and by now Eleanor knew without a doubt that their target was his group. When they were about 200 meters apart from each other, Bai Yi¡¯s speed slowed down, as did the rest of his team. Eleanor observed this group of people from afar, his left hand gently touching the hilt of the blade by his waist.


    Bai Yi raised both his hands and smiled to show that he didn¡¯t have any malicious intent. It couldn¡¯t be helped. Anybody would be on guard if a whole group of people charged straight toward them.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but is there somebody called Eleanor here?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    The opposite side heard Bai Yi¡¯s words and half of them immediately looked toward the man standing in front. This man looked quite similar to Bai Yi, and he had even fewer abnormal characteristics than Bai Yi. After all, Eleanor had taken the Prototy original form drug before he had fused with any genes. The gazes of these people led Bai Yi to ascertain that the man was Eleanor.


    ¡°I am Bai Yi. Is this Team Leader Eleanor? I only have some questions to ask you. I don¡¯t have any ill intent.¡±


    ¡°Bai Yi!¡± Eleanor looked at Bai Yi.


    Was it this guy? The one who distributed the information inside the research facility to everyone and obtained great prestige for free? Eleanor was one of the top researchers at Tongariro National Park Research Facility, so, in reality, he knew even more than they did but he had never thought of doing so. Eleanor thought of this matter and immediately felt a sense of something being stolen from him by Bai Yi. But of course, this feeling wasn¡¯t strong. It was just a little bit of dissatisfaction.


    ¡°So you are Bai Yi. Why are you looking for me?¡± Eleanor asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s regarding Doctor Wang.¡±


    ¡°Doctor Wang!¡± Eleanor appeared very shocked to hear the name. It had been more than eight years since he had last heard it. Suddenly hearing this name again, he had a strange sense of nostalgia. Thinking about all the arguments he had with Doctor Wang back at the research facility and their situation now, things had changed so much.


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised that you actually know about our relationship, but I¡¯m very sorry, I don¡¯t know his whereabouts,¡± Eleanor said.


    ¡°I¡¯m very serious about this. We are looking for Doctor Wang because of the drug to regain human form. Not the Prototy original form drug that only let us retain our human form, but the drug that can truly let us return back to our normal human appearances.¡±


    ¡°You actually know about the Prototy original form drug!¡± Eleanor was getting more and more shocked. From what he knew, the Prototy drug had only just been developed right before he left the research facility, and no other research facility should have had the drug. ¡°It¡¯s useless, I don¡¯t know how you became aware of the Prototy drug, but at that time the Prototy drug had only just been created. It actually hadn¡¯t even been completed yet. There isn¡¯t a more effective drug that can allow people to regain their normal human appearances.¡±


    ¡°I know. That¡¯s why I want to look for Doctor Wang. From the looks of it, I doubt you continued to research after leaving Tongariro National Park Research Facility. However, if it¡¯s that person, he might really have continued to research. Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t want to completely regain your normal human appearance?¡± Bai Yi replied.


    ¡°Regain my human appearance? Don¡¯t I already appear to be human now? Even if I returned to human society, nobody would treat me as a monster as long as I don¡¯t expose myself intentionally.¡± Eleanor started to laugh loudly.


    ¡°What about your companions?¡± Bai Yi said plainly.


    Eleanor¡¯s laughter gradually quietened down, and he looked at Bai Yi seriously.


    ¡°You can indeed return to the human world, but why haven¡¯t you? Because you know that even if you did so, you would still be an abnormality. No matter how similar you look to a normal human, you are still an evolved human in the end. If you leave this society of evolved humans, you will feel a sense of loss from being an outlier. Only after we find Doctor Wang, find the drug that would allow everyone to regain their human appearance, and assimilate into the wider world would we be able to feel the value of our existence,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Are you trying to brainwash me?!¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not. I am just describing a reality.¡±


    ¡°Why are you so sure that we would be able to get the drug to regain human form if we find that guy? I admit that guy was slightly better than I was back at the research facility, but you can¡¯t be sure that he definitely succeeded in developing such a drug! Perhaps he has given up on the research over these eight years, or perhaps he has already died long ago!¡± Eleanor said unhappily.


    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t have abandoned his research because he took the main computer, Sunlight!¡± Bai Yi said. ¡°As for whether he¡¯s alive or not, we can talk about it after we find his trail.¡±


    ¡°Sunlight. So, you went to Tongariro National Park Research Facility after all,¡± Eleanor stared at Bai Yi.


    ¡°Yes, we went to that research facility,¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°Do you know that when I first heard about the information regarding LV1-1 to LV1-3, I wondered what bastard released that information? I really felt that somebody robbed something that belonged to me,¡± Eleanor walked toward Bai Yi, not a trace of emotion on his face.


    Both teams slowly tensed up as Eleanor walked over. One misstep and the two teams would probably start a chaotic battle.


    Eleanor came within three meters of Bai Yi. This was a dangerous distance for anybody, life or death would be decided in an instant if either of them decided to make a move.


    ¡°Seriously, I was one of the people in charge of the research facility, but it was actually an outsider that exposed the information. Let¡¯s go. You don¡¯t want to continue talking over here, right?¡± Eleanor said and turned around.


    ¡°Well I¡¯m sorry then, you¡¯re the one who didn¡¯t do so in the first place,¡± Bai Yi followed up and walked beside Eleanor.


    ¡°It pisses me off just talking about this! In the beginning, when I escaped from the research facility, the entire country fell into chaos. It was already difficult to survive, who would think of doing this?!¡± Eleanor grumbled angrily. However, Bai Yi actually felt that his attitude was quite adorable. At least, he wasn¡¯t that kind of petty person; otherwise, there would definitely be some casualties if they started fighting.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you guys know about fusing with genes from other animals? Yeye had quite a big database of genes with which to fuse. As long as you guys fused with those genes it shouldn¡¯t have been hard to survive.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s precisely because we know that we didn¡¯t dare to fuse with the genes. I only wanted to return to the normal human world back then, and that Prototy drug had only just been created at the time. At the time, it hadn¡¯t even gone through the preliminary tests. Who would want to use himself as a lab rat? If the Prototy drug was ineffective, what would we do if we became monsters after fusing with those genes?¡± Eleanor said.


    ¡°We decided to fuse with other genes for a very simple reason. Rather than fusing with random genes in situations not within our control, it was better to actively fuse with some more useful genes. For example, gaining the physical strength of an ant, the nimbleness of a cat, or regeneration and things like that,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Hmph, you guys are quite smart. It was precisely because I knew about all these that I was too careful not to fuse with anything,¡± Eleanor had an expression full of complaint. In the beginning, when the country had just started to change who would have known that the entirety of New Zealand would transform into the Devil Isles now?


    ¡­


    ¡°Honestly speaking, I don¡¯t know where that guy went either. However, just as you said, since he took the main computer Sunlight, he would definitely not give up on his research. I think the most likely scenario is that he found a more hidden research facility to continue his experiments,¡± Eleanor said to Bai Yi after the two teams found a more suitable place to talk.


    The guy that Eleanor mentioned was, of course, Doctor Wang. Both teams listened to the conversation very closely.


    ¡°That¡¯s unlikely. In truth, the United Nations provided us with the locations of all 121 research facilities. Our mission was to search them for signs of Doctor Wang. We didn¡¯t finish searching all the research facilities because of some matters on the way, but the United Nations would have other people working on this too. Doctor Wang couldn¡¯t be in any of the research facilities,¡± Bai Yi shook his head.


    ¡°He¡¯s not there?¡± Eleanor furrowed his brows.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t disturb Eleanor. He was definitely trying to recall if there was any useful information or news. However, there wasn¡¯t much headway even after Eleanor thought about it for three days. Over these three days, the two teams got familiar with each other and Woolf even blabbered about the energy cultivation diagram that they had obtained.


    After another two days, Eleanor finally recalled something.


    ¡°Go to the southern island. I remember Doctor Wang saying before that he had a student who was researching about something in his own house,¡± Eleanor said.


    ¡°The southern island?¡±


    ¡°En, southern island. We¡¯ll go as well,¡± Eleanor nodded and added on at the end. ¡°And that energy cultivation diagram, you can¡¯t be stingy with it. Aren¡¯t you always so generous? It shouldn¡¯t be a problem to give my teammates some pointers, right?¡± Eleanor pointed to his own team members.


    Team Leader, you are really a genius!


    Eleanor¡¯s team almost exclaimed out loud. Looking at how Eleanor intentionally hid the exact location, Bai Yi knew that Eleanor wanted to take the chance to extract some benefits from him.

 Chapter 235

    Chapter 235: Queenstown


    There wasn¡¯t a purely altruistic person in the world, or, at least, Bai Yi didn¡¯t think that he was such a purely altruistic person. Every single one of his actions, from distributing information to the other evolved humans to helping everybody undergo metamorphosis, were done with a clear purpose in mind. Bai Yi was always looking far into the future, so he never complained about or celebrated the minor gains or losses. Unexpectedly, he somehow became the definition of ¡®generous¡¯ in the eyes of others.


    Eleanor this guy!


    Bai Yi looked at Eleanor¡¯s excited expression and knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to keep it a secret anymore.


    ¡°Help me find Doctor Wang,¡± Bai Yi said seriously. As long as they could find Doctor Wang, he didn¡¯t mind telling Eleanor about the energy cultivation diagram.


    ¡°OK!¡± Eleanor nodded but grumbled in his heart. Who knew where that fellow ran off to?


    On the way to the southern island, Bai Yi dumped a big pile of documents in the hands of Eleanor¡¯s team. The group saw the thick stack of papers and immediately felt a headache coming. It couldn¡¯t be so complicated, right? However, after Bai Yi¡¯s explanation, they finally understood that it was really that complicated. In the end, Eleanor lived up to his name of one of the top researchers in the past as he was the only member of his team that could more or less understand the information. As for the others, they were at about the same level as Woolf so not much could be expected from them. To understand this information, they would have to study the basic stuff first.


    They had already given the information away anyway, so Bai Yi¡¯s team took some secret joy in watching Eleanor¡¯s team get frustrated over the pile of complex diagrams.


    Eventually, they came to the Cook Strait again. Eleanor was still wondering how they were going to cross over to the southern island, but unexpectedly, Bai Yi¡¯s team had already had a solution. It was obviously not a problem for those who could fly, but for those who couldn¡¯t fly, Bai Yi got Momo to interact with the flying evolved lifeforms nearby and ask them for help.


    Eight years had passed, and the twelve-year-old Momo already became a bright and beautiful young girl. Due to Vala¡¯s education and her unique experience growing up in the Devil Isles, Momo had a kind of noble yet independent disposition to her.


    ¡°Momo can actually interact with the other lifeforms!¡± Eleanor said in shock.


    ¡°The activated cells can enhance the intelligence of lifeforms to the level of normal human, don¡¯t you know that?¡± Bai Yi replied.


    ¡°Of course, I know that! But no matter how much more intelligent they became, these evolved lifeforms had never lived in the human world, so they can¡¯t possibly know how to speak the human language. There¡¯s definitely something special about Momo¡¯s ability!¡± Eleanor said.


    ¡°It¡¯s good that you know,¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t explain.


    ¡°Bai Yi, have you thought about this before? If Momo can really communicate with evolved lifeforms, then you have such an enormous power behind you! At the very least, it would be easy to get a powerful evolved lifeform to be your pet.¡±


    Eleanor looked at Momo, at this time Momo was standing on the back of a gigantic bird. The bird looked just like the mythical phoenix with its bright red feathers covering its body and fire silently burning around it.


    Not only Eleanor had this thought in his head, but the others had so as well. Controlling something else had always been the desire of many people!


    ¡°It¡¯s just communicating. It¡¯s not submission or enslaving them. You¡¯re thinking too much,¡± Bai Yi said plainly.


    Eleanor saw that Bai Yi didn¡¯t want to continue on this topic and tactfully stopped talking about it as well. In the midst of traveling across the Cook Strait, Bai Yi stopped for a while and the rest of them in Bai Yi¡¯s team guessed that he went to look for the Sea Serpent Emperor. However, it wasn¡¯t like the two of them had some mysterious connection. The Sea Serpent Emperor didn¡¯t appear and was probably sleeping in some sea trench. Bai Yi flew around randomly for a certain distance before returning back high up into the sky to rejoin the others.


    ¡­


    The Cook Strait wasn¡¯t too big, and they reached the other end of it very quickly. Momo stayed behind and thanked the flying evolved lifeforms, while Eleanor and his team watched on in envy. These flying evolved lifeforms were all very powerful, and from the looks of it, most of them seemed to be archenemies to each other. Just what ability did Momo have to gather all these flying evolved lifeforms together so peacefully?


    Soul Charm!


    Any normal creature would subconsciously feel close to Momo when near her. That was Soul Charm. Over the last three years, Momo¡¯s attributes changed more and more, and new abilities emerged in her.


    Arriving at the southern island, Eleanor immediately led the way and the group of them headed to where Doctor Wang¡¯s student was staying.


    ¡°Wang¡¯s student is called Cheryl Andrea, a very talented girl. Due to her family background, her family more or less knew some things about the activated cells and stopped her from studying them. However, the girl couldn¡¯t stand being bored and built quite a few research labs with the help of her family¡¯s riches to study. Wang would occasionally give her information, though I don¡¯t know if that helped or harmed her,¡± Eleanor explained along the way.


    ¡°Cheryl!¡± Vala said in shock and floated to Momo¡¯s side.


    ¡®Teacher, you know about this?¡¯ Momo communicated with Vala through the soul, so the rest of them couldn¡¯t hear their conversation.


    ¡®En, I know. I taught her for a while. She really could be called a genius. If she was willing, she could turn into a true noble lady in an instant and be appear nobler than anybody else. Unfortunately, she was too active and loved researching, always making herself look messy and unkempt,¡¯ Vala communicated with Momo.


    ¡®Then?¡¯


    ¡®Then I stopped teaching her because our personalities didn¡¯t match. Everybody has their own unique personalities and interests. There was no need to be too obstinate and force her to become somebody else. Just like how I only taught you the basic qualities and didn¡¯t restrict your personality at all. But you seem to carry a kind of noble disposition from birth, maybe¡­¡¯ Vala didn¡¯t finish her thought and Momo didn¡¯t seem to pay attention to this either.


    The group of them walked for more than a month. Under Eleanor¡¯s lead, they finally found four of the mansions that originally belonged to the Andrea family. However, they ended up not finding anything at all.


    ¡°Where are they?¡± Bai Yi looked at Eleanor.


    ¡°Not around, but this place was indeed the mansion of the Andrea Family in the past. I even attended a dinner banquet here before. I was only guessing that Wang would go and look for Cheryl, but I don¡¯t know if he really did so or not.¡± After failing to find Doctor Wang, Eleanor started to look at the sky.


    ¡°This guy!¡± Bai Yi felt speechless, why didn¡¯t he realize that this Eleanor was so shameless before?


    Finding Doctor Wang was just a hopeful wish, but it was really difficult to say that they could find him. Furthermore, Eleanor really didn¡¯t guarantee them anything. Everybody looked at the mansion. It was indeed a mansion, but it had been covered by vegetation long ago and there were no traces of human activity around it.


    ¡°Go to Queenstown!¡± Vala suddenly said after floating over.


    ¡°Queenstown?¡± Everybody looked at Vala.


    ¡°Cheryl was very rebellious against the Andrea family. She basically never stayed at home but stayed elsewhere. She has a private estate in Queenstown that¡¯s extremely precious to her,¡± Vala explained.


    ¡°Queenstown¡­how did you know?¡± Eleanor asked in shock.


    ¡°Because I was her etiquette teacher previously.¡±


    In the midst of their surprise, the group of them continued to rush toward Queenstown. To think of it, they had almost journeyed across the entirety of New Zealand on foot. From the northern island to the southern island, and now they were heading to Queenstown. Queenstown was quite a famous place originally, a small town located north of Lake Wakatipu and surrounded by the Southern Alps. Due to it being located in a mountain range, Queenstown had the most arduous terrain but was also home to the most exciting area and beautiful scenery.


    However, nobody was in the mood to be a tourist now. After arriving in Queenstown, they immediately split up to search the entire area.


    After searching for two days, Bai Yi and a few others suddenly saw three people walking out from a canyon.


    The three of them held weapons and were apparently heading out to hunt for food. Once the three of them left the canyon, they happened to bump into Bai Yi¡¯s mini squad who were resting close by.


    ¡°Ah¡­!¡±


    The few people stared with their eyes wide-open; after searching for so long, they were actually staying in the opening by the side of the cliff? These three people tensed up the moment they saw Bai Yi¡¯s group, seemingly extremely nervous. At this time, Bai Yi had already spread his wings and flew over, discovering a crevice in the wall of the cliff. The opening of this crevice laid flat along the cliff wall and was impossible to find unless they viewed it from the correct angle.


    ¡°Who are you? Come down! You aren¡¯t allowed to go there!¡± One of the three people immediately pointed a strange gun at Bai Yi when he saw Bai Yi flying over.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t answer him but walked in directly. Momo remained motionless as three souls flew over to the three of them. In an instant, the souls wrapped around the three people¡¯s souls. The people immediately realized that they couldn¡¯t move anymore. There was clearly nothing on them, but they just couldn¡¯t move at all. Bai Yi walked a certain distance into the crevice and discovered that it was a man-made cave. The cave wasn¡¯t too deep and Bai Yi exited from it very quickly.


    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Bai Yi suddenly started laughing after he returned and looked at the three of them.


    Bai Yi could practically be certain that the cave was Doctor Wang¡¯s residence. Even if it wasn¡¯t that guy, the appearances of these three people were enough to make Bai Yi overjoyed. The three of them looked just like normal humans, but the special energy that flared as they struggled couldn¡¯t be concealed.


    ¡°Is Doctor Wang here? Or should I ask, how did you guys return to human form?¡± Bai Yi asked, gesturing for Momo to release the souls¡¯ binding.


    ¡°Who are you and how do you know about Doctor Wang?¡± The three of them were extremely shocked.


    ¡°I am Bai Yi. I have something to talk to him about; you guys can go and inform him first. His old friend Eleanor is here too,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°You wait here,¡± The leader hesitated for a moment before saying, hanging the strange gun behind his back and running back to the cliff wall.

 Chapter 236

    Chapter 236: Prototy Back


    Very quickly, Bai Yi¡¯s group managed to meet with the renowned Doctor Wang. He had the standard appearance of a Caucasian, wearing a white overcoat, looking somewhat skinny but his eyes contained a mysterious depth to it. After coming out of the research facility, this guy looked at Bai Yi and Eleanor. Even though he had hidden in this place, he had still heard of Bai Yi and Eleanor was his old colleague.


    ¡°Put this on. All of you,¡± Doctor Wang threw some simple bracelets to them.


    ¡°What is this?¡± Eleanor grabbed a bracelet.


    ¡°An interference device. I don¡¯t want this place to be exposed yet,¡± Doctor Wang said and walked into the facility before adding, ¡°Those with too large a size find another place to stay. My place was only built for normal human sizes.¡±


    Woolf and a few other guys who were too big in size shook their heads helplessly before holding the interference device in their hands and walking outside. As for Bai Yi and the others who hadn¡¯t had many changes in size, they followed Doctor Wang through the passageway. After entering, Bai Yi realized that the place was rather primitive. There were exposed rock in many places in this research lab. It wasn¡¯t like the neat and tidy passageways and floors of normal research facilities.


    ¡°Your place is really quite crude,¡± Eleanor said.


    ¡°Not enough resources, of course it is crude. It doesn¡¯t really affect my experiments,¡± Doctor Wang said. If he was greedy and wanted a complete research facility to conduct his experiments in, the United Nations would have found him long ago. How would he still be here?


    ¡°You guys are looking for me because of the drug to regain human appearance, right?¡± Doctor Wang said without waiting for Bai Yi and the rest to say anything.


    ¡°Yes. From your appearances, you have successfully developed this thing, right?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°I did create it, but why should I give it to you guys?¡± Doctor Wang turned around and said to them after they entered the simple living room. Bai Yi and the rest of them immediately went speechless. This guy had seemed so easy to talk to just now, why had his attitude change so much all of a sudden?


    ¡°What do you want?¡± Bai Yi held Eleanor who wanted to retort something back with his right hand.


    ¡°Smart!¡± Doctor Wang looked at Bai Yi. He was worthy of being the most famous person in the Devil Isles now.


    ¡°Help with my work for a period of time, and I¡¯ll give you guys the Prototy Back drug to regain your human forms as well as the chemical composition of the drug in detail.¡±


    ¡°Prototy Back drug!¡±


    ¡°Help you with your work?!¡±


    ¡°How long?¡±


    After Doctor Wang finished speaking, they immediately had various different responses, seemingly very shocked at Doctor Wang¡¯s simple request. Doctor Wang didn¡¯t mind them, filled a cup of water from the water dispenser, and waited for their reply.


    ¡°Why do we need to work for you? This guy! You even managed to develop the Prototy Back drug, what else are you researching now?¡± Eleanor looked at Doctor Wang hesitantly.


    ¡°There are too many things to research. The process of evolution is too mysterious. I don¡¯t have much manpower here, and their basic knowledge is poor, so they can¡¯t even be proper assistants to me. Although you haven¡¯t touched research for eight years, I think you should still do well as an assistant.¡±


    ¡°Assistant? Are you kidding me?! You are really pissing me off!¡± The thing that Eleanor couldn¡¯t stand most about Doctor Wang was his attitude as if he had already thought of and prepared for everything. Back when they were at the research facility together, Eleanor had been just a little bit inferior to Doctor Wang, and that tiny bit caused Eleanor to become very indignant.


    ¡°How long do we have to work for you?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°I can¡¯t be sure of this. I¡¯m currently researching something and happen to be at a bottleneck. I don¡¯t know how much time it will take. Why not we do it this way: we¡¯ll set three years as the limit. If the research is successful, then you guys are free. If not, three years is the maximum amount of time you guys have to work for me,¡± Doctor Wang said.


    Three years!


    Bai Yi pondered this and slowly sucked in a breath of air.


    ¡°I can agree to this, but you need to promise me one thing first.¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Give me the Prototy Back drug first. I need to deliver it to Tasmania and give it to the evolved humans,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°No problem, but you¡¯d better not expose the location of this place and don¡¯t take too long,¡± Doctor Wang nodded.


    ¡°One week will do, I¡¯ll return to Tasmania after you give it to me,¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°Bai Yi, you are heading straight to Tasmania?¡± Eleanor was slightly surprised.


    ¡°En, I have to deliver it to their hands directly,¡± Bai Yi nodded. It was better to deliver this thing to the hands of the evolved humans directly. If it was given to the United Nations, it might be used as a bargaining chip. The evolved humans might be able to obtain this drug in the future all the same, but they would definitely have had to agree to some of the United Nations¡¯ conditions.


    ¡°Then that settles it. Cheryl, go prepare a set of the Prototy Back drug and its related information,¡± Doctor Wang said.


    ¡°Yes, Teacher!¡± A blonde-haired beauty wearing a white overcoat as well walked away.


    ¡°Then that¡¯s that. There are a few empty rooms over there, just pick your own rooms. The Prototy Back drugs for each of you will be prepared as well. I have some things to attend to, so I¡¯ll leave first,¡± Doctor Wang said and headed outside.


    ¡°Hey! I haven¡¯t agreed to be your assistant, you asshole!¡± Eleanor scolded from behind.


    ¡°You agreed to his conditions to help him to work for three years so easily? What if this guy uses you as cannon fodder?¡± Eleanor looked at Bai Yi.


    ¡°Then what do I do? Snatch it from him? Or should I write everything out like in a legally binding contract? You should know that that¡¯s impossible. On the Devil Isles, what is needed for cooperation is the conscientiousness from each side,¡± Bai Yi said slowly, walking toward an empty room. He was probably going to stay place for a long time, so he had better pick a good room.


    Eleanor couldn¡¯t do anything but shrug his shoulders and follow him.


    Conscientiousness, huh? Based on Eleanor¡¯s understanding, it was fortunate that both Doctor Wang and Bai Yi weren¡¯t extremely demanding people. Otherwise, with this form of cooperation, it was bound to escalate into a bloody fight if they had any conflicts.


    ¡­


    On the next day, Doctor Wang brought over 50 tubes of the Prototy Back drug. Other than the ones that Bai Yi¡¯s group would use, the rest of them were for Bai Yi to bring back to Tasmania. In addition to the drug, there was also a microchip that contained the all of the information regarding the Prototy Back drug. As long as they had this, the outside world could produce their own Prototy Back drug.


    ¡°Will this thing have any side-effects?¡± Eleanor was purposefully looking for fault.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t like the sub-standard things you develop,¡± Doctor Wang said plainly, almost making Eleanor choke.


    ¡°This drug targets the genes. It can clean up the human genes and let the genes of other lifeforms that you fused with slowly become hidden. Your body will then slowly revert back to your original human appearance,¡± Doctor Wang explained after he retorted.


    ¡°Will taking the Prototy drug before influence the effects of the Prototy Back drug?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°No, it won¡¯t. Didn¡¯t we consume the Prototy drug as well before leaving the research facility?¡± Doctor Wang pointed at himself and Eleanor.


    ¡°Oh right, there¡¯s actually something,¡± Doctor Wang suddenly recalled. ¡°What I was talking about just now is the most common scenario, but in reality, the fusion of genes by lifeforms can be split into three categories.


    ¡°The first type: External Attachment. Although such lifeforms will display characteristics of the genes they fused with, the external genes are not truly fused into the original gene chain. In that kind of situation, it would be like adding an attachment on the gene chain itself, thus even if such a lifeform reproduced, it wouldn¡¯t pass on those externally attached genes to its offspring.¡±


    ¡°The second type: Gene Mutation. With this type of fusion, special changes appear in the original genes as well as the new external genes resulting in a mutation. Lifeforms like this usually don¡¯t even have a clear consciousness and could be seen as pure monsters.¡±


    ¡°The third type: Deep Level Fusion. Deep level fusion happens when the original genes and the new external genes have completely merged and formed a new complete gene chain. The genes resulting from this type of gene fusion would be passed on to the future generations during reproduction.¡±


    ¡°The Prototy Back drug is only effective against the first type of gene fusion. It has no effect on mutated lifeforms who have gone through the second type of fusion. In any case, such lifeforms aren¡¯t even conscious anymore, so I didn¡¯t bother to research a drug to reverse it. As for deep level fusion, the externally attached genes can be hidden, but the genes that have completely merged with the original gene chain can¡¯t be reversed.¡±


    ¡°So you haven¡¯t researched it completely,¡± Eleanor teased.


    ¡°What¡¯s so strange about that? The chances of deep level fusion were very small to begin with, and I only have a pair of experimental subjects here. In the end, they both died, and I couldn¡¯t be bothered to continue researching it after that,¡± Doctor Wang didn¡¯t get angry at all and said casually. ¡°Anyway, help yourself to the drugs. Work will start after you return from Tasmania. The quicker the better!¡±


    Bai Yi went speechless looking at the box of drugs and the microchip. No wonder he prepared everything so quickly, he wanted to get his workers started on work earlier!


    ¡°Let me arrange some things and I¡¯ll leave in the afternoon,¡± Bai Yi nodded. Honestly speaking, Bai Yi didn¡¯t feel there was much of a deal helping Doctor Wang for three years. This was already much easier than what Bai Yi¡¯s team had imagined originally, and most importantly he agreed to give advanced payment.


    ¡°Daddy, Yeye said that you seem to belong to deep level fusion,¡± Momo said softly.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, I haven¡¯t changed much anyway. Maybe the soft fur outside are all externally attached genes?¡± Bai Yi smiled.


    ¡­


    Everybody injected the Prototy Back drugs into their bodies. Afterward, Bai Yi took the remaining drugs and microchip to Tasmania.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t bring anybody else along with him but spread his wings alone and flew directly towards the sea. Without anybody around him, Bai Yi flew into the vast open sky and his speed became faster and faster. This was the first time that Bai Yi could fly so freely in the sky, and the vast and boundless scenery around him seemed to make even his heart feel free. Controlling the air around him to reduce the air resistance and increasing the propelling force, Bai Yi moved at an astounding speed through the sky as if there was no resistance against him at all.

 Chapter 237

    Chapter 237: People¡¯s Changes


    Bai Yi slowed down because it was difficult to control himself if he went too fast. With his visual range now, it would be easy to hit into something if he wasn¡¯t careful and went too fast. Even so, Bai Yi still arrived in Tasmania quickly. Nearly four years had passed since he had last been in Tasmania, and it had changed even more than he had imagined. New cities rose in many places, and the original urban district had become even more prosperous.


    A strange sense of familiarity!


    Bai Yi surveyed the layout of the city from the sky and felt a strange sense of familiarity, but he couldn¡¯t put a finger to it.


    Bai Yi landed and headed straight to city hall.


    In these few years, the status of Truman and the four others rose to become even higher, and the guards didn¡¯t even recognize Bai Yi now. Bai Yi almost wanted to kill the guards because of how annoying they were. In the end, Bai Yi directed his killing intent at the city hall, and everybody inside the building almost got frightened to death. The guards rushed out first, then the law enforcement squad, then the riot control squad. However, all that happened was that the grounds in front of city hall gradually filled with many injured evolved humans. Finally, an evolved human that recognized Bai Yi came out. Even the most unassuming person from back then had become the captain of the riot control squad over these few years.


    ¡°Bai Yi!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s you. Tell Truman that I¡¯m back and I have something for him,¡± Bai Yi looked at this man. He looked familiar, but he couldn¡¯t remember his name. After the man informed the higher-ups and another half a day had passed, Bai Yi finally saw Truman who arrived very slowly.


    ¡°Bai Yi!¡± Truman said in shock.


    ¡°It¡¯s really hard to meet you now,¡± Bai Yi looked at Truman.


    ¡°Hahahaha, it can¡¯t be helped. My status is already different from before, why didn¡¯t you go and look for me at my house?¡±


    ¡°You think that I didn¡¯t go? Who knows where you moved to?¡± Bai Yi said.


    With Tasmania¡¯s development, Truman¡¯s status also rose, and he no longer stayed at the house that he was allocated in the beginning. He had probably built a luxury mansion for himself at somewhere with a nice scenery.


    ¡°Get the other four to come too, I have something to tell you guys,¡± Bai Yi said.


    Truman heard Bai Yi¡¯s commanding tone and suddenly felt slightly dissatisfied. For the past few years, there had not been many people who spoke to him with this kind of tone. This Bai Yi, did he still think that he was the leader of the evolved humans? However, Truman didn¡¯t display his discontentment on the surface. The longer people sat in high positions, the faker they were and the deeper they hid their true selves.


    ¡°Sure, wait a while,¡± Truman said while trying to guess the reason why Bai Yi had returned to Tasmania.


    ¡°Let¡¯s head inside first, they¡¯ll arrive in a while.¡± Truman invited.


    After the two of them left, the injured soldiers outside the city stared at each other. Eventually, they miserably pulled themselves to their feet and started to clean up the battlefield. From how familiar that Bai Yi seemed to be with Governor Truman, they knew that they had taken a beating for nothing. The riot control squad helped each other up and occasionally grimaced in pain when their wounds came into contact with something.


    ¡°Captain, who is that person? He¡¯s so strong.¡±


    ¡°Bai Yi.¡±


    ¡°Bai Yi? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever heard of him. How strong is he compared to Captain?¡± A dumb soldier asked and his teammate beside him immediately pulled him back. He was as dumb as a pig, wasn¡¯t he scared of death? Didn¡¯t he see how Captain was nodding and bending his back in front of Bai Yi? He was really too shortsighted if he had to ask this kind of question.


    ¡°Hahahaha¡­!¡± The riot control squad captain patted his subordinate on the shoulder. ¡°There¡¯s no use even if a hundred of me went up against him, or I should say that the fact that you guys are still alive is him showing mercy.¡± The captain said to the soldier who still thought he was going to get a scolding.


    ¡­


    ¡°Bai Yi, why did you come back this time?¡± Truman asked after entering the parlor.


    ¡°I¡¯ll tell everybody when all of you arrive so that I don¡¯t have to repeat myself. To speak of it, this place seems to be doing very well,¡± Bai Yi looked at the city outside the window.


    ¡°It¡¯s still okay. The population has increased greatly. A lot of evolved humans immigrated here from other countries after accidentally coming into contact with fluids from evolved lifeforms and becoming infected. Controlling the activated cells seems to be getting harder and harder and the population of evolved humans in Tasmania is already at 1.1 million,¡± Truman said with an increasingly excited tone.


    Bai Yi glanced at Truman. The more evolved humans there are, the more power you as the governor have, right?


    The two of them chatted idly, but after a while, they both realized that they didn¡¯t seem to have any common topics anymore. Bai Yi realized that Truman had truly become a politician in a high position, and Truman felt that Bai Yi was still like a country bumpkin. Just when the two of them started to feel awkward, the other four finally arrived at this place.


    ¡°Hahahaha, I just got the phone call saying that you were back! Long time no see!¡± Housman¡¯s crude laughter came from the outside before Bai Yi could see the person.


    ¡°Bai Yi,¡± Lucretia was a lot quieter and only nodded at Bai Yi.


    When everybody finally arrived, Bai Yi did not beat around the bush and went straight to explaining the effects of the drug, ¡°This is Prototy Back: the drug to regain human appearance. Its effects are to clean up the human genes and later hide the additional fused genes. There are more than twenty complete doses here. You guys should choose how to distribute it yourself. This is the microchip with all the information regarding the production of the drug.¡±


    The five of them all stared at Bai Yi in astonishment. They never thought that the reason behind Bai Yi¡¯s return was to give them something so important.


    ¡°This thing is really effective?¡± The few of them couldn¡¯t maintain their previously calm appearances anymore.


    ¡°It¡¯s effective,¡± Bai Yi nodded. Bai Yi had examined this data before. Although Bai Yi wouldn¡¯t have been able to create the formula for this drug himself, it was still possible for him to understand this information with his current knowledge.


    ¡°Then why haven¡¯t you changed yet?¡±


    ¡°I only received and used it a few days ago. The changes obviously won¡¯t happen so quickly.¡±


    ¡°Bai Yi, where¡¯s your team?¡±


    ¡°They are still on the Devil Isles.¡±


    ¡°Why did not contact the United Nations but hand it to us?¡±


    ¡°Why do I need to explain this? It¡¯s just so that you guys have more bargaining chips on your hands to negotiate with the United Nations and acquire greater benefits for the evolved humans,¡± Bai Yi answered slowly.


    Bai Yi got slightly discontented inside his heart. He delivered something so precious to them, but what he received were their distrust and examining eyes. Bai Yi observed these five people closely; status really changed people. In just a few years, the people who were originally companions had turned into strangers. Bai Yi smiled faintly and did not ruminate on this issue anymore.


    ¡°That¡¯s all. You guys can distribute it yourself. Try to give it to all the evolved humans soon. As for how to deal with the United Nations, I think you guys are more familiar with that than me,¡± Bai Yi stood up.


    ¡°Bai Yi, you are?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m returning to the Devil Isles.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still going back?¡±


    ¡°You think that I got this for free? I still need to work for somebody else for three years,¡± Bai Yi turned his head and said when he reached the door.


    While the five of them were still surprised, Bai Yi had already left. At this time, the few of them then looked at twenty-plus tubes of drugs and the microchip. They couldn¡¯t hide the excitement in their eyes at all. As long as they had the drug, they would have much more bargaining power with the United Nations. Only Lucretia looked at direction Bai Yi disappeared in, holding a glass cup in her hands. She then looked at the faces of the four others and closed her eyes.


    ¡°How should we handle this?¡± Truman asked with a look of delight in his eyes.


    ¡­


    Bai Yi flew into the sky with a gloomy and quiet expression. Returning to Tasmania was too different from what he had imagined it would be. Bai Yi didn¡¯t even know if handing the drug to them was the best choice now. Lightly exhaling, Bai Yi abruptly accelerated and shot across the sky.


    Very quickly, Bai Yi returned to the Devil Isles and began the days of working for Doctor Wang.


    Doctor Wang didn¡¯t have a lot of manpower, just six people, and the conditions in which he had been working weren¡¯t too good. When Bai Yi returned, the group of them were immediately sent to collect various types of objects needed for the experiments. After finding out that they had taken Yeye out of the research facility, she was immediately put to work as well by Doctor Wang. Sunlight and Moonlight1 were complementary supercomputers. When they were together, their performance increased exponentially.


    When Doctor Wang knew that Yeye developed her own autonomous consciousness, his gaze turned strange and he seemed to want to study this further.


    However, when Momo saw Doctor Wang¡¯s eyes turn strange, an ember of the Soul Purifying Flame instantly flew into Doctor Wang¡¯s body with a flick of her finger. Doctor Wang stunned for a moment and looked at Bai Yi, but Bai Yi did not reply him and let Momo explain it herself.


    ¡°Soul Purifying Flame: it can purify souls and is beneficial to you. However, it¡¯s best that you don¡¯t do anything to anger me. Otherwise, I will kill you instantly. I know that you are extremely smart. I can tell from how you are able to develop so many things with such little manpower. However, it is useless. If you dare make any strange moves, I will kill you straight away,¡± Momo said seriously.


    Twice!


    She said that she would kill him twice!


    Doctor Wang looked at Momo in deep thought. Was this a child that grew up in the Devil Isles? The kind of education received was completely different from before. Apparently, Momo wasn¡¯t intentionally trying to threaten him, but just talking about something very normal and casual for her. Furthermore, he felt an immense sense of danger from Momo, even more dangerous than Bai Yi.


    ¡°I understand,¡± Doctor Wang replied seriously, suppressing his curious thoughts toward Momo.


    She wasn¡¯t joking. Against this girl, any schemes or plots were completely useless. If she felt threatened, she would definitely kill the threat first before thinking about anything else. As for what kind of consequences there would be and how to handle the aftereffects, Momo didn¡¯t consider these factors. For a schemer, this type of person was undoubtedly the hardest one to deal with, especially when the individual also possessed incredible strength.


    ***


    Translator Note:

 Chapter 238

    Chapter 238: Shortcoming Of Awareness


    Although Doctor Wang said that they would be free once the research was complete, Bai Yi never entertained the thought of being released early. What a joke, Bai Yi knew quite a lot about activated cells now, and he understood that every aspect of activated cells research was horrifyingly complex. Even if they tried to research and understand just one thing, many other more complex problems were bound to emerge in the process. To understand the entire system of evolution caused by activated cells truly, Bai Yi couldn¡¯t even estimate how much time was needed.


    Hence, it was impossible to be released before three years.


    However, they didn¡¯t feel that it was too bad working for Doctor Wang because he was truly a genius. By following him, they gained a lot more information and understanding about activated cells, and this was beneficial to them. Of course, they had to be on continuous guard with him in case he tried to trick them into becoming his lab rats.


    Doctor Wang¡¯s only research topic was eternal life!


    This was the origin of activated cells research and its final purpose. Of course, they still had a long way to go before reaching this mystical goal. Hence, Doctor Wang¡¯s main priority now was to figure out what exactly the LV3 stage was and how to reach it. Based on his insight, he felt that they might be able to touch the edges of eternal life if they continued to evolve.


    The direction of Doctor Wang and Bai Yi¡¯s team¡¯s research weren¡¯t too different as they regarded the physical body, soul, energy, awareness, and the absolute life field. These five aspects gradually changed during the Metamorphose Stage. Without shame, Doctor Wang made Bai Yi reveal all of his findings. Of course, Doctor Wang wasn¡¯t selfish and brought out all of his own knowledge. He consolidated their respective notes in order to form a more complete picture. If there was something that had already been thoroughly studied, there was no need to spend additional effort to study the same thing again.


    After compiling the data, everybody realized that their understanding of the LV2 Metamorphose Stage was really not trivial.


    They had basically understood the physical body and energy now, just that they weren¡¯t able to control the direction of the changes. They also knew more about the soul than the outside world because of Momo. What remained to be understood were the absolute life field and awareness.


    Based on Doctor Wang¡¯s theory, the absolute life field was the manifestation of a complete living thing. To put it simply, as long as the physical body, soul, energy, and awareness grew stronger in balance, the absolute life field would naturally become stronger as well. If any of the four was lacking, then the absolute life field¡¯s ability to grow stronger was limited no matter how hard one tried. Hence, consuming the Great Stink Bomb Fruit had initially enhanced the absolute life field of Bai Yi¡¯s team a lot, but when consumed again, the effects of it became very weak.


    ¡°I¡¯m not too clear what awareness is, but I have created a few scales of measurement for it: the strength, precision, and malleability of awareness,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Awareness, huh? My team named it mental power,¡± Eleanor said.


    ¡°I initially called it divine sense, but we can just label it as awareness. My forms of measurements aren¡¯t too different from Bai Yi¡¯s strength, precision, and malleability. From what I have observed so far, the thing limiting everybody from entering LV3 right now is awareness. Do you guys have anything to increase awareness?¡± Doctor Wang asked.


    ¡°Meditation!¡± Eleanor replied. It was a very standard thing in western magic systems.


    ¡°How do you meditate?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°You dare open your mouth when you don¡¯t know? You were still a researcher before, aren¡¯t you ashamed of speaking with substance to back you up?¡± Doctor Wang immediately lectured Eleanor.


    Doctor Wang continued, ¡°I initially labeled this emergent property of the consciousness as divine sense and also wanted to use some cultivation methods to enhance it. However, the main focus of my research was still on the physical body; this was the easiest change to observe after all and I didn¡¯t spend much time on the changes in our consciousness. I think that we¡¯re heading in the right direction now, we just have to figure out how to cultivate our awareness.¡±


    ¡°You! What¡¯s the difference between the meditation I talked about and the cultivation method you mentioned?¡± Eleanor countered angrily.


    Doctor Wang only rolled his eyes at Eleanor and didn¡¯t explain.


    The rest of them laughed at their interaction. At a glance, they knew that Eleanor couldn¡¯t win against Doctor Wang. It was expected since Doctor Wang had always been above Eleanor back at the research facility.


    With the two of them here, at least they didn¡¯t have to worry about the atmosphere becoming dry and boring. Although there were small arguments here and there, everybody still carried on with their research. Of course, they couldn¡¯t spend all their time theorizing about something as intangible as consciousness and awareness since research had to be done regarding the physical body, energy, and soul as well. It would be a lie to say that they understood more than a small portion of these elements.


    As for the fruit that Momo consumed, when everybody found out about its effects, they decided to name it the Provenance Fruit. The fruit allowed the lifeform¡¯s physical body, soul, and energy change in a particular direction. In reality, the ice attribute recipes and formulas that Bai Yi¡¯s team created on the snowy mountain had similar effects but were much weaker compared to the Provenance Fruit.


    Since they couldn¡¯t figure out how to cultivate awareness, their mission was to complete the attribute medicines that could change a lifeform¡¯s attribute in a certain direction first.


    ¡°Regarding this, you guys should go and pick a fruit for me,¡± Doctor Wang said.


    ¡°What fruit?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a special mutated fruit that grows on the mountain range next to the sea. I picked two of them last time. If the fruit that your daughter ate is called the Provenance Fruit, then this fruit should be called the No Attribute Fruit. This kind of fruit has no fixed attributes, but it contains the compounds needed for various attributes to form,¡± Doctor Wang said.


    ¡°You just thought of this name, right? You definitely came up with it on the spot!¡± Eleanor hooted.


    ¡°So what if it is? I initially wanted to give you some information about this fruit, but now you guys can just go and bring it back. The more the better,¡± Doctor Wang said shamelessly.


    ¡°Where is it?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°On the southern side of New Zealand on the inland portion of Dusky Sound. You guys will find it when you get there.¡±


    ¡°What kind of tree is it?¡±


    ¡°You will know when you get there,¡± Doctor Wang said and added casually, ¡°right, also, be careful. Last time twenty plus of my people died there. They basically got wiped out, but I believe that you guys will definitely be safe. No matter what, your strengths are already among the top in the evolved human community.¡±


    Bai Yi and Eleanor¡¯s eyes both squinted. This was probably Doctor Wang¡¯s true motive in dragging them to work for him.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Bai Yi said. No matter what, they were already on this boat and couldn¡¯t abandon it so simply.


    ¡­


    ¡°What do you think Doctor Wang¡¯s attribute is? I still can¡¯t believe that he could successfully research so many things,¡± Eleanor said to Bai Yi on the road.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve worked with him for many years. Based on my understanding of him, he couldn¡¯t possibly have successfully found out so many things. You must know, the equipment in the research facility back then was very abundant, and even then, the progress was very slow. With such crude conditions now, how could he manage to figure out so many things?¡± Eleanor said as he jumped from one tree to another.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Bai Yi wanted to say something; instead, he suddenly drew Red Kiss and swung it toward the ground.


    Eleanor immediately reacted as well, but even so, a black barbed vine still viciously pierced into his thigh. The rest of them were in a similar state, suffering the brutal attack at practically the same time. The black barbed vines instantly erupted from the ground, seeming like it would only stop when all of them were dead.


    ¡°Leave this place!¡± Bai Yi said as he grabbed hold of Eleanor and flew into the sky.


    Very quickly, the rest of them managed to escape from the range of the black vines as well. However, right after they managed to escape, the injured ones all collapsed onto the ground. Bai Yi suddenly recalled that right before leaving Queenstown, Doctor Wang had given him a kind of medicine. Apparently, that guy had long guessed that something like this would happen and gave Bai Yi the antidote in advance.


    Bai Yi immediately took out the antidote for them to use, but just when he passed the antidote to Eleanor, Sharpei barked loudly.


    ¡°WOOF!¡±


    ¡°Get up!¡± Bai Yi shouted and stabbed Red Kiss into the ground.


    Eleanor wasn¡¯t an idiot. The moment Bai Yi shouted he jumped up in spite of the pain. Sure enough, black vines erupted out of the ground that had been safe a moment ago. Bai Yi¡¯s Red Kiss hacked through the ground, but the black barbed vines that were about as thick as a thumb remained intact after Bai Yi¡¯s strike. The group of them then retreated a kilometer before stopping and panting for air.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Somebody asked after they came to the side of the river and rested on the exposed rocks nearby.


    ¡°Probably the plant that Doctor Wang was talking about,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°That damnable bastard Wang! He purposely hid the information about the plant from us, I almost died!¡± Eleanor yelled angrily. After drinking the antidote, Eleanor realized that his thigh looked like it had withered away and was missing a big piece. He was that close to death just now.


    ¡°He purposely didn¡¯t tell us about this. Marcia, come along with me to see what¡¯s going on,¡± Bai Yi said to Eleanor¡¯s team member who could fly. Marcia heard Bai Yi but looked at Eleanor first.


    ¡°Go with Bai Yi but be careful.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Marcia nodded.


    Bai Yi and Marcia flew into the sky and headed toward the place where they had been attacked. On the surface, the place looked like a very common mountain ridge and there wasn¡¯t anything strange about it. Otherwise, Bai Yi and Eleanor wouldn¡¯t have been caught so off guard. However, now that Bai Yi and Marcia came specially to look for clues, they realized that this place was extremely quiet. There were practically no sounds of any creatures at all.


    Marcia followed Bai Yi and flew in a big circle around the place. After a while, Marcia realized that Bai Yi was ascertaining the range of the black vines. In a range of twenty plus kilometers, there were practically no signs of any large creatures. However, there was a faint sweet smell in the air and Bai Yi suddenly felt like there was something delicious in the area.


    The temptation of taste!


    It was probably a large scale carnivorous plant!


    In the end, Bai Yi stopped above the marine trench called the Dusky Sound. Bai Yi and Marcia looked carefully before their gaze stopped on a tree that was more than twenty meters tall.

 Chapter 239

    Chapter 239: Understanding The Nature Of The World


    The carnivorous plant had a monstrous and well-developed root system. Within a range of twenty or so kilometers, this plant could hide its roots in the ground, ambush its targets, and absorb the fluids of its targets through the barbs on its roots. That was why there weren¡¯t any creatures in the area. Despite absorbing so many nutrients, the plant actually hadn¡¯t grown to look too special. It looked just like a normal fruit tree and was over twenty meters tall.


    Bai Yi could more or less guess that all the nutrients had gone into forming the fruits of the tree.


    After two days, they were finally able to pick this fruit and headed back to Doctor Wang. Since Doctor Wang needed them to work for him, he wouldn¡¯t intentionally harm Bai Yi and the rest. Although the carnivorous plant was very strong, it still wasn¡¯t a match for Bai Yi¡¯s group. However, it would have been troublesome if they hadn¡¯t been careful.


    When they arrived back at the research facility, Doctor Wang only gave them a ¡®you guys worked hard¡¯ and showed no other form of appreciation. Instead, he immediately gave them another location from which to to go and retrieve something. Eleanor immediately became unhappy; he was just treating them like cheap labor!


    ¡°This was my intention from the beginning, you should know that research requires many materials. I didn¡¯t have enough manpower before and they were all too weak; that¡¯s why I asked you all to work for me for three years. What else did you think I wanted you guys to do?¡± Doctor Wang said as bluntly as possible. Although it was the truth, it still made them very uncomfortable when they heard it. Fortunately, Bai Yi wasn¡¯t somebody who minded something like this.


    ¡°The injured stay behind. You will just drag us down if you go,¡± Bai Yi said and nodded.


    ¡°Of course!¡± Doctor Wang nodded.


    Following that moment, Bai Yi¡¯s group was tormented by running all over the isles to collect either animal or plant specimens. Things were fine if it was a plant because they could simply bring it back. If it were an animal, they usually needed a living specimen that was, ideally, unharmed. Fortunately, Momo had her Soul Charm which could charm most creatures to follow them, so it wasn¡¯t too troublesome.


    After more than a month of this, they got used to their life and things seemed easier to them. Over the course of the months, all of their bodies gradually changed back towards a human appearance. Bai Yi¡¯s colored fur receded quite a lot, and he would probably regain his true human appearance soon. The rest of them had changed as well. Those like Woolf who initially had large bodies had gradually begun to shrink; however, even though they had begun to shrink, their bodies seemed to compact and become more dense and solid.


    Occasionally, Bai Yi would ask Doctor Wang questions regarding the research. Through those conversations, Doctor Wang realized that Bai Yi had a decent amount of professional knowledge and could actually keep up with his research.


    However, these kinds of days only lasted until a certain night a month or so later.


    On a particular night, Bai Yi, Doctor Wang, and Eleanor were discussing some things when Momo suddenly entered the hall. She swept the room with her gaze, before finally stopping on Doctor Wang. Everybody raised their heads and looked at Momo as she suddenly drew her black sword.


    With a quick and sharp swing of her sword, the sword qi and floating souls instantly flew toward Doctor Wang.


    Bai Yi drew Red Kiss instantaneously and blocked the assault from reaching.


    ¡®DANG!¡¯ The sound of impact rang out!


    ¡®Kacha!¡¯ The sword qi sliced through the room with a great force and created a gash more than ten meters long in the hall. A half-meter-long wound appeared from Doctor Wang¡¯s face down to his abdomen almost splitting him in half. Although Bai Yi could stop the sword qi that came directly at them, he could not stop the floating souls that assaulted Doctor Wang. The floating souls started to bite and tear at his soul, and Doctor Wang immediately collapsed to the ground, clutching at his clothes and spasming in pain.


    At this moment, Momo had already rushed forward. Her black sword pointed straight at Doctor Wang, and the killing intent in her eyes was completely unconcealed.


    ¡°Bai Yi!¡± Cheryl shouted.


    ¡°Momo, stop first!¡± Bai Yi shouted.


    Hearing Bai Yi¡¯s shout, Momo finally paused. At that moment, the black sword just touched the center of Doctor Wang¡¯s brows. Momo¡¯s eyes were incomparably cold and abstruse, her pure pupils seemed like they were going to suck in all of their minds, making all of them shiver inside. At this moment, everybody suddenly recalled Momo¡¯s words from before.


    I will kill you straight away!


    Back then, nobody had really taken Momo¡¯s words seriously, but looking at this scene now¡­Eleanor¡¯s heart trembled. Just what kind of upbringing did this girl get?! She had really meant to kill him without the slightest hint of hesitation. If not for Bai Yi moving fast enough, Doctor Wang would have most probably already died. What had he done to invoke Momo¡¯s wrath?


    ¡°Momo, stop the attack of the floating souls first and tell us what exactly happened,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°He tortured those animals very badly,¡± Momo said.


    ¡°What? Be more specific. Even if you want to kill me, I must at least die knowing why!¡± Doctor Wang¡¯s voice trembled as he spoke, and even his words weren¡¯t too clear anymore.


    ¡°The creatures that I brought back using Soul Charm: you are torturing them,¡± Momo said.


    ¡°En?¡±


    ¡°I just saw the animals that I brought back. Dozens of them have already died. The ones who are still alive looked at me with eyes full of frenzied hatred. They were accusing me, accusing me of tricking them and abetting your cruelty toward them,¡± Momo said in an icy and severe tone. Momo¡¯s whole body trembled slightly as she spoke apparently very agitated over this. To Momo, it was as if she had deceived those animals. It was something her young and pure heart couldn¡¯t accept.


    Soul Rip!


    Bai Yi immediately grabbed onto Momo¡¯s left hand. If she had clenched her left hand, Doctor Wang would have died for real.


    ¡°Cough, cough!¡± Doctor Wang coughed twice and forced the blood in his throat out.


    ¡°So, it was about this. I thought that it was something big. What did you think I was going to do? Bring the animals back to keep them in cages and look good? What experiments don¡¯t need experimental subjects? Otherwise, how do you think the research data was gathered? From the looks of it, Bai Yi really protected you too well, you don¡¯t know about the true coldness and cruelty in this world at all,¡± Doctor Wang said to Momo in a mocking tone.


    ¡°What did you say?!¡± Momo looked at Doctor Wang in fury.


    ¡°Bai Yi, you explain this yourself. I¡¯ll forget about it and not pursue it this time,¡± Doctor Wang stood up and walked to the medical room with Cheryl¡¯s support. However, Momo had really dared to do it. Even he had thought that he was truly done for just now. That was why it was the hardest to deal with this kind of person. Regardless of what kind of open schemes or secret plots one may have, if the person just killed you before considering anything else then it didn¡¯t matter how monstrous a person¡¯s intelligence was.


    ¡°Oh right, do you really think that your Soul Charm makes other creatures feel close to you?¡± Doctor Wang asked as he was about to leave.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Even Bai Yi was surprised now.


    ¡°I let Sunlight and Yeye do a simulation based on her past changes. Momo really doesn¡¯t like these kinds of experiments, so I don¡¯t have a complete data set, but I still can make a general conclusion about her abilities. Soul Charm isn¡¯t an ability that lets her become close to other lifeforms, but it¡¯s just the temptation of the restful embrace of death that entices other lifeforms, tempting them to enter the home of the dead.¡± Doctor Wang said.


    Momo rejected it loudly, ¡°You¡¯re lying!¡±


    However, Bai Yi and the few others surrounding Momo went deep into thought. The peace of death¡­there really seems to be this possibility. Originally, the Soul Release Tree had the ability to make the souls so ecstatic that they felt that they were ascending to heaven. They couldn¡¯t be sure, but the Soul Charm might really be the temptation of the restful embrace of death. However, they couldn¡¯t be sure of this now and Momo definitely would not accept this.


    ¡°Momo, come over here. Let me explain some things to you,¡± Bai Yi patted Momo¡¯s little head. Momo was now 1.6 meters tall, so she wasn¡¯t much shorter than Bai Yi.


    ¡°Momo, do you know about the food chain?¡± Bai Yi asked Momo after bringing her to the lake outside.


    ¡°Food chain?¡±


    ¡°En. The food chain is a network of links in a food web that connects different groups of lifeforms. In the food chain, most of the lifeforms act as either a predator or a prey. This is the food chain in the natural world. A food chain exists in the human world as well and that kind of food chain is even more apathetic and cruel!¡± Bai Yi slowly explained seriously.


    ¡°I know that you love little animals, but it¡¯s impossible to live peacefully with every kind of creature. In reality, don¡¯t we hunt other animals and eat their flesh as well?¡± Bai Yi looked at Momo.


    ¡°I, I¡¯m not¡­!¡±


    ¡°My intention is not to let you become cruel and apathetic, but there¡¯s an old saying in China: the Way is heartless1!¡±


    ¡°This is an extremely difficult saying to understand, and most people don¡¯t actually have the time or interest to really ponder its true meaning. They only have a superficial interpretation of it, but not its fundamental nature or principles. I don¡¯t understand it very well either. China¡¯s ancient culture has always been very profound.¡±


    ¡°Listen to me. I don¡¯t mind you maintaining your current pure and kind personality, but at the same time, you must understand the cruelty of the natural world and of the human social sphere. Only when you understand the nature of this world deeply can you stand at a higher position and look at the world with greater insight and completeness. The choices you make in the future will then be your true intentions.¡±


    Bai Yi said a lot to Momo, but Momo didn¡¯t understand most of it. She was only twelve years old after all, and the education she had received was incomplete. Her worldview wasn¡¯t very complete, so her understanding of things like good versus evil and cruelty versus warmth were all very superficial. Although Bai Yi¡¯s words to Momo today were very impactful, how Momo was going to change was solely in her hands.


    ¡°Think about it seriously and do the things you want to do without regrets. Even if you go and kill Doctor Wang, I won¡¯t have any comments on it,¡± Bai Yi said and left after that. Vala and the other souls beside Momo didn¡¯t come out and say anything either, leaving Momo sitting by the lakeside to ponder in silence.


    Understanding the nature of the world, standing at a higher position, looking at the world with a more insightful and complete gaze?


    ***


    Translator Notes:

 Chapter 240

    Chapter 240: The First LV3?


    Nobody else came to talk to Momo because everybody knew that this wasn¡¯t something that could be fully thought through in a short period. Momo was different from the rest of them. All of them had grown up in the normal world and had already formed their worldview before the Devil Isles existed. It was a grey world they lived in, and even if they hadn¡¯t truly encountered the darker side of the world, they still had some understanding of it. However, Momo grew up in the Devil Isles. Everybody around her loved and protected her. She had never experienced the complexities of society and hence couldn¡¯t understand this kind of apathy and cruelty.


    The sky gradually grew dark as Momo sat alone on a rock by the lake and stared at her dim reflection on the water¡¯s surface. On a peak nearby, Bai Yi sat on top of a tree and silently watched Momo sitting by the lake. From even further away, Alodia, in turn, watched Bai Yi sitting on the mountain¡¯s peak.


    To protect!


    It really was a hard-to-describe feeling.


    This world was indeed grey, but it was a color born out of the mixing of two other colors. When one saw the black, they could also see the white bright world. Bai Yi¡¯s excessive doting on Momo, Alodia¡¯s secret love toward Bai Yi, and much more¡­ Bai Yi only said what he had to say without intending to influence Momo¡¯s actions or beliefs. Those should entirely be her choice; Momo should walk on her path based on her wishes, and not follow his wishes.


    After a long while, Alodia came up and asked Bai Yi, ¡°What will Momo change into?¡±


    After a moment of silence, Bai Yi said, ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡±


    In truth, not only was Alodia curious about this but the others were curious as well. If she were a normal child, Momo would have already known a lot about how complicated the world was. However, the unique environment of the Devil Isles made it so that Momo rarely had to face any issues regarding the human heart and nature. Now, her first encounter with this issue had become an extremely crucial crossroad because Momo wasn¡¯t a normal human. The more powerful somebody was, the greater the influence her choices would have on the world.


    A night passed in this way.


    Momo continued to sit on the rock by the lake looking at her own reflection. The Momo in the reflection was very unfamiliar to her because she had already fully regained her human appearance and looked extremely adorable now. However, what Momo was more accustomed to was her non-human appearance because she¡¯d had it for a long time. Without noticing, Momo slowly went into a daze as she stared at her reflection in the lake. Slowly, the water in the lake started to ripple, and in Momo¡¯s heart, the reflection in the lake became her original non-human appearance.


    The image changed continuously in Momo¡¯s head, transforming into countless other images as her emotions changed.


    Calm: the peaceful daily life!


    Warmth: daddy¡¯s excessive love and everybody¡¯s care and concern!


    Joy: teasing Sharpei and Pupu and playing around carefreely with Chinchilla!


    Pride: the first time she beat her daddy and received his praise.


    Fear: the immense impact on her immature heart seeing the many different monsters.


    Sadness: Sara and Teacher Vala dying right in front of her, and her only being able to wail helplessly to deal with that sorrow.


    Loathing: the dislike toward Yu Han that came from the bottom of her heart. It was he who had caused so many people to be separated by life and death.


    Wonder: the first time seeing the vast beautiful world, the first time smelling the Great Stink Bomb Fruit, the first time¡­


    Guilt: when she saw that the animals she brought back had been subjected to experimentations and their eyes full of hatred directed at her, the immense guilt that grew deep in her heart.


    Anticipation: ¡­


    Various emotions seemed to project clearly on her reflection in the water and manifest in Momo¡¯s mind. Without noticing, Momo¡¯s eyes had already gone out of focus. The only thing on her mind right now was the image of her original appearance. As for the reflection of Momo, it continuously changed and merged in her mind as it slowly fused everything and formed Momo¡¯s most true self.


    Momo continued to sit motionlessly on the rock by the lake into the next day, and everybody felt that something was wrong by now. It couldn¡¯t be that a problem like this had been able to make Momo this dispirited, right? Everybody was incredibly concerned about this, but since Bai Yi didn¡¯t say anything, it wouldn¡¯t be appropriate for them to interfere.


    In truth, Bai Yi was also confused. His daughter couldn¡¯t be that fragile, right? It couldn¡¯t have been that she was still struggling with this problem?


    Bai Yi stood up. Just when everybody thought that Bai Yi would go and console Momo, he just stopped there and stood motionlessly on the peak, and watched Momo from afar.


    By the end of the second day, the sky had turned dark and it had started to rain.


    On the third day, the rain poured even heavier, and it had become freezing cold. It was then that Bai Yi thought that something had happened to Momo. However, at that moment 21 floating souls came out from Momo and danced around her. Their dim and eerie light carried through the stormy night and Bai Yi suppressed his urge. Vala and the others were still with Momo. If something had really happened to Momo, Vala would have definitely come to inform him. However, Bai Yi didn¡¯t know that at this time, Vala and the others seemed to be under an invisible pressure and weren¡¯t able to appear at all.


    The natural subservience and fear that souls had toward Momo!


    ¡°Uncle Bai, you should go and take a rest. I¡¯ll keep watch here,¡± Alodia tried to persuade Bai Yi.


    ¡°No need. I¡¯ll continue to stay here,¡± Bai Yi shook his head. Bai Yi didn¡¯t know if he was making the right choice. Perhaps, something abnormal had happened to Momo long ago and he should have woken her up, but he hadn¡¯t and just allowed things happen naturally. Since he chose to let Momo change freely, he also chose to stay by Momo¡¯s side to guard her without taking a single step away.


    The fourth day¡­


    The thirtieth day¡­


    The second month¡­


    The sixth month¡­


    By now, everybody knew that Momo was definitely undergoing some sort of change, but they didn¡¯t know what kind of change it was exactly.


    Momo sat by the lake quietly for half a year, and Bai Yi also guarded Momo from the mountain peak for half a year without ever leaving. For half a year, Momo and Bai Yi didn¡¯t eat a single thing nor sleep a wink. Everybody thought that Bai Yi had gone crazy, but Doctor Wang was extremely curious about Momo and Bai Yi¡¯s strange state now.


    Even if they were evolved humans, their bodies still became extremely weak. Their bodies had greedily absorbed the precious dew of every downpour and every sunshine. However, what nobody noticed was that over the half a year, Bai Yi¡¯s eyes had become more and more abstruse, while Momo¡¯s eyes seemed to lose their focus and turned empty.


    Another torrential downpour came. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck the surface of the lake with a ¡®BOOM!¡¯. The lightning bolt seemed to wake Momo out of her trance, and her eyes finally moved as she slowly stretched out her right hand.


    ¡®WHIZZ!¡¯ A loud buzzing sound filled the air!


    Something seemed to break through Momo¡¯s body and unleashed itself! Her clothes that were already very worn turned to dust instantly. Momo¡¯s petite and skinny body floated into the sky as her hair waved about in the air. At this time, the two Soul Release Wood necklaces around Momo¡¯s neck suddenly broke. All the souls inside flew out, turned into the floating soul form, dancing and circling around Momo continuously. At the same time, with Momo as the center, all livings things started to die and wilt around her.


    Immediately, everybody in the research lab felt something sweeping over them and looked in Momo¡¯s direction in alarm.


    All of them immediately ran outside and what awaited them was a shocking scene. In a radius of a few hundred meters, countless floating souls danced and circled around Momo. It seemed incredibly beautiful, yet, within this range, not a single trace of life could be seen as if life itself was banned from the area. In the center, was the naked Momo, but nobody had any profane expressions on their faces but only extreme astonishment. All of them could only stand stunned in place.


    The dance of the dead was poignant, beautiful, and deathly silent!


    ¡°Daddy!¡± Momo said softly when she saw Bai Yi on the peak before falling towards the ground. The countless floating souls rapidly entered Momo¡¯s body as if they were going back to their home.


    Bai Yi had long stood up when the changes in Momo had begun. When she called him, he dove from the peak to catch her as she fell. Bai Yi looked at Momo and realized that although her face had become skinny from the long period of starvation, her face had a serene air to it.


    ¡°Uncle Bai!¡± Alodia swiftly ran over and passed him a shirt to wrap around Momo¡¯s body.


    ¡°Take care of her!¡± Bai Yi said as he finished wrapping Momo and collapsed on the ground.


    Seeing Bai Yi collapse, Alodia immediately panicked and hurriedly tried to help him. The rest of them moved quickly and brought Bai Yi and Momo back into the research facility. Out of all of them, only Doctor Wang and his student Cheryl still remained outside. Doctor Wang looked at where Momo had fallen. Deep in thought, he walked over to the wilted plants and examined them carefully.


    ¡°LV3? How did she break through?¡±


    That¡¯s right, anybody could tell with a look that Momo had broken through and entered LV3. As for how she broke through and what LV3 meant, those weren¡¯t questions that could be figured out so quickly. It couldn¡¯t be that they had to sit silently by a lake for half a year? It obviously couldn¡¯t be that simple, but these questions had to wait for Momo to wake up to be answered.


    ¡­


    When Bai Yi and Momo fainted, Nancy immediately fed the two of them the nourishing medicine that she had prepared long ago. After more than half a year of starvation, it was easy to imagine just how frail their bodies had become. If not for them having already entered LV2 and no longer being normal humans, they would have probably died dozens of times over by now.


    At this time, Betsy hurriedly sent the others out to collect all sorts of ingredients. From the looks of it, Momo and Bai Yi¡¯s appetite would definitely be monstrous when they woke up.

 Chapter 241

    Chapter 241: The Third Obstacle: Blossom


    They initially thought that Bai Yi and Momo would sleep for a long time. After all, Bai Yi and Momo hadn¡¯t drunk, eaten, or slept in half a year. Unexpectedly, they woke up in just one day and immediately dashed to the dining hall following their noses. Fortunately, Betsy and Bellamy had already prepared many nutritious and suitable dishes for their famished stomachs while waiting for Bai Yi and Momo to wake up.


    ¡°You guys starved for too long. You have to let your stomachs get used to food again slowly.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t eat too much. Nurse yourself for two days first,¡± Betsy said.


    Bai Yi and Momo were both obedient even though their bodies were crazily demanding food. Betsy was a professional chef, so she was the best person out of all of them to advise on nutritional matters. Nancy came over and performed a physical check up on Bai Yi and Momo. After that, both Nancy and Betsy agreed that they should slowly let their bodies get used to food for three days first before letting them eat to their hearts¡¯ content.


    Even though they already knew that their appetites would definitely be shocking, everybody was still frightened when they saw how much Bai Yi and Momo ate after three days.


    Shit, are they even human?! Even their appetites during the Binging Stage couldn¡¯t be compared to now!


    Fortunately, Betsy had already started cooking when Momo woke up. Otherwise, there definitely wouldn¡¯t have been enough food. It was too scary; Bai Yi and Momo¡¯s appetites were too good, they didn¡¯t just devour the normal food but even the bones weren¡¯t left behind.


    In the end, Betsy and Bellamy cooked so much that they almost died from exhaustion.


    After an unknown amount of food, Bai Yi and Momo finally felt full and burped. However, they still looked very frail now and their bodies were skinny like sticks, but their energy seemed decent.


    ¡°Finally alive again!¡± Bai Yi exhaled a long breath.


    ¡°You deserve it for not taking care of your own body,¡± Alodia lectured Bai Yi.


    ¡°Daddy¡­¡±


    Momo walked over and hugged Bai Yi. She stuck very close to him and didn¡¯t let go. When Momo entered that strange state, it seemed as if she had fallen asleep but also as if she had entered a deep level of meditation. She had been very aware of everything that happened around her and knew that Bai Yi had guarded her from the nearby peak for the full half a year.


    ¡°Although it¡¯s not very appropriate for me to disturb you guys at this time, I still must ask. Did Miss Momo enter LV3?¡± Doctor Wang asked as he walked in from the outside. Everybody had also been very interested in the answer to that question ever since the day Momo woke up.


    Momo turned around to look at Doctor Wang when she heard his voice. The iciness in her eyes instantly caused Doctor Wang to tense.


    ¡°Last time, daddy told me to think about what I should do!¡± Momo said.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t understand it at the time. Daddy said that my experiences are very different from a normal person¡¯s and that my understanding of the world is very superficial. Daddy didn¡¯t tell me to change, and I don¡¯t want to change either. I still dislike the kind of apathy you have toward life. Although I have killed many living things as well, I can feel that we are completely different. However, since daddy stopped me at that time I have decided not to pursue that matter anymore,¡± Momo said.


    A different kind of apathy toward life? Eleanor slowly closed his eyes. The kind of collected calmness that researchers had while dissecting a living thing was indeed incomparable to even a murderer.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do this then. We¡¯ll talk about the issue of LV3. There¡¯s no need for any tests. Miss Momo can just sense the changes in your body and let us know what is so different about LV3.¡±


    Doctor Wang didn¡¯t mind Momo¡¯s words just now at all and was seemingly completely in the dark about how he almost took a tour of hell. No, it wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t know, he simply didn¡¯t care. From the understanding of Doctor Wang they had gathered over time, he was a researcher through and through. Exploring the unknown was the only thing that interested him. In the process of exploration, things like whether what he did was moral, legal, or ethical were completely outside his range of consideration.


    ¡°I need to carefully sense myself first!¡± Momo replied.


    Doctor Wang nodded. It was already very good that the girl agreed. These were separate issues. Since she had already said that she wouldn¡¯t pursue the matter of the experimental subjects just now, Momo wouldn¡¯t tangle with him over the issue as long as Doctor Wang didn¡¯t encroach on her bottom line again.


    ¡­


    Bai Yi and Momo rested for a month, and their bodies gradually became healthy again. Over this month, Momo also described her experiences as the only LV3.


    ¡°Blossom?¡± Bai Yi asked in confusion.


    ¡°En, how should I describe it? Back then, my absolute life field and awareness both strengthened to a boundary point, and I just happened to be able to control all the special energy in my body at once. In that instant, my absolute life field naturally broke through the restriction of my body, extended out, and unleashed itself onto the world like a blossom,¡± Momo seriously recounted the process.


    ¡°What about now? Do you feel any different?¡±


    ¡°Within the range of the extended absolute life field, I can freely control my own energy, and I also seem to be assimilating and absorbing heat energy from the air. Right, I also seem to be able to sense everybody¡¯s souls.¡±


    Momo carefully felt the changes in her body and stretched out her hand toward Bai Yi. Bai Yi suddenly felt a palpitation as if something had tugged at something inside him.


    ¡°Ah!¡± Momo suddenly shouted.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I seemed to be able to control daddy¡¯s soul just now,¡± Momo said in shock. In reality, Bai Yi was the one who was more astonished. Had that palpitation been Momo touching his soul?


    ¡°Controlling the soul?¡±


    Bai Yi immediately recalled the battle against the normal soldiers previously. He and Rose had both discovered that they could control the components inside a normal human during that battle. After a few experiments, they realized that it was indeed true, but they had to do it through the extension of their absolute life fields into the soldiers¡¯ bodies. Now that Momo¡¯s absolute life field could be unleashed beyond her body, didn¡¯t that mean that Momo could control other people¡¯s souls in a large area?


    They immediately looked for a few small creatures that were recently born on the Devil Isles on which Momo could experiment. Sure enough, Momo could pull out their souls within a range of nearly a hundred meters. However, for those who entered LV2 and had an absolute life field, it was much harder for Momo to control their souls.


    ¡°Oh, right. What happened exactly when I saw those souls all entering your body that day?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°It was that fruit. It seems to have a large space suitable for souls to live in inside just like the Soul Release Wood. If the Soul Release Wood only has a small space, then the amount of space in this fruit is incredibly large. Oh, right! Daddy, the butterflies are inside as well. They didn¡¯t die! Not long ago, the six butterflies that had been with me went back and rejoined their clan,¡± Momo said and raised her right hand.


    Everybody looked over and saw the countless butterflies as they flew out from Momo¡¯s right hand and danced about in the sunlight. Momo immediately ran over to laugh and jump around with the little butterflies. Bai Yi looked on from behind and laughed. Momo was really still just a little kid.


    Very quickly, all the data was compiled and the process of entering LV3 from LV2 was called: Blossom!


    LV3 was also named: Life Field Stage!


    ___________________________________________________


    ¡ô¡¾Third Obstacle: Blossom]!


    Blossoming was the process of the absolute life field breaking through the limitations of the body and extending itself beyond the body.


    The conditions for blossoming were that the absolute life field and awareness both had to be strengthened to a certain degree. There was no direct way of measuring the absolute life field and awareness, so the criteria for judging whether the absolute life field had reached the requirements for blossoming was when the strength of the absolute life field and awareness were strong enough to support an individual to control all of the energy in the person¡¯s body at once.


    Blossoming only had to do with the strength of the absolute life field and awareness, so it could be done regardless of whether the individual had reached the metamorphosis limit or not.


    Of course, normally speaking, a lifeform would definitely be able to undergo blossoming once they reached the limit of metamorphosis. This was a natural process in a lifeform¡¯s evolution and growth. Those who tried to undergo blossoming by force while having deficiencies in their metamorphosis would definitely be inferior to those who blossomed after reaching the limits of metamorphosis. This inferiority would be in the level of their life fields.


    ¡­


    Life Field: The extension of the absolute life field beyond the body.


    Through the absolute life field, a lifeform could actively control the special energy within its body. However, once this special energy exited the body the lifeform would no longer be able to control it and it would dissipate into its natural state. Blossoming was the way to unleash the absolute life field and act as the medium for the transfer of energy so that the lifeform could control their energy even outside of their bodies.


    Lifeforms with lower levels of metamorphosis would have a small life field, a slow energy transmission speed, and only be able to control a lesser amount of energy at a time.


    The uses of the life field were as follows:


    1. The control of matter control


    Just like how a ferrous metal would experience a magnetic force within the range of a magnetic field, an evolved lifeform could control certain matter within the range of its life field. Due to the differences in each lifeform¡¯s life field, the type of matter it could control differed.


    Examples of general matter control would be the ability to control earth, liquids, air, sand, rock, metals, blood, etc. Examples of fine matter control would be the ability to control a single element like iron, nitrogen, etc.


    Regardless of whether it was general or fine matter control, both consumed the special energy within one¡¯s body. Even though things appear to be very magical right now, controlling matter still followed the law of the conservation of energy. Thus, in order to do the work an equivalent amount of energy had to be consumed.


    Matter control usually only worked on free matter and wasn¡¯t effective on the matter within a person¡¯s absolute life field. As its name implied, the absolute life field meant that the body was absolute and inviolable though there were always exceptions.


    The matter that Momo could control were souls!


    2. The transmission and control of energy


    The transmission of energy required a medium, and the presence of the life field allowed evolved lifeforms to transmit their energy through it and control the energy outside of their bodies.


    For example, if fire attribute evolved lifeforms released their energy outside of their bodies, it would turn into a burning fire, but if they tried to control and manipulate the energy, they could shape the fire into unnatural forms like a ball or a bird.


    3. The assimilation and absorption of energy


    Previously, the conversion of activated cells was the only source of special energy. However, after the life field extended out of the body, the life field would be able to assimilate energy from the outside world and absorb it into the individual¡¯s body. The closer the energy¡¯s attribute was to the individual¡¯s energy attribute, the faster the absorption.


    The lifeform would usually have all three of these abilities, but there would be more or less some bias towards some aspects rather than others. However, it was precisely due to these biases that made combat even more flexible and exciting.

 Chapter 242

    Chapter 242: Unrestrained Visualization Technique


    Although they finalized the meaning of Blossom and LV3, there were still other fundamental things that they had to address such as how to achieve Blossoming. What exactly happened to Momo in those six months? Half a year ago, Momo¡¯s awareness hadn¡¯t been on par with her changes and she couldn¡¯t control all the energy in her body at once, yet now Momo had managed to break through the boundary point. Her awareness couldn¡¯t have increased due to her not sleeping or resting because Bai Yi¡¯s awareness hadn¡¯t increased by much over the period.


    ¡°I saw myself in my head,¡± Momo said.


    ¡°You saw yourself?¡±


    ¡°En, I was deep in thought over the problem that daddy tried to explain and went into a trance while staring at my reflection in the water. I don¡¯t know what happened then exactly, but the only thing on my mind was the reflection in the water. The reflection then turned into my original appearance, displayed different emotions and expressions, and even turned into different appearances. I can still remember all of this clearly in my mind.¡±


    Momo closed her eyes.


    ¡°Can you draw what¡¯s in your mind?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°No, I can¡¯t. It¡¯s very clear in my mind, but I wouldn¡¯t know where or how to start drawing. Also, daddy, I don¡¯t know how to draw at all!¡± Momo shrugged, she didn¡¯t learn any of the finer arts.


    ¡°Ah, ok,¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡­


    Soon after, most of the people inside the research facility went to zone out beside the lake in an attempt to learn from Momo¡¯s actions and achieve a similar effect. Although it seemed that their efforts would definitely be wasted, who would know whether it would work or not without giving it a try? If they managed to figure out something through this, they would be a big step ahead of other people. Furthermore, Woolf and a few others replicated Momo exactly and sat silently by the lake without eating a single thing as well.


    En, it was good to have such determination, but just after three days, Woolf was the first one to give up. He discovered that hunger was actually too hard to endure.


    Meanwhile, Doctor Wang, Bai Yi, and a few others seriously analyzed and studied Momo¡¯s changes. Bai Yi couldn¡¯t leave all of the research to Doctor Wang because many times the research results had to be applied to an individual. If he didn¡¯t do it himself, he would definitely be held back in the future. After such a long time of throwing himself into studying with absolute focus, Bai Yi had built a strong foundation of knowledge for himself.


    In the end, the things that Bai Yi and the rest discovered were unexpectedly similar, and after much discussion, they named the thing as ¨C Visualization Technique!


    Focusing your mind and visualizing a certain thing in your head, this was a technique to cultivate the awareness.


    In reality, regardless of whether in Buddhism, Taoist, or even in western magic, there were similar cultivation techniques. It was just that nobody in any society had ever succeeded before, so even if such a cultivation technique appeared occasionally, most people probably thought of it as an occult practice. However, the evolved humans were different. What used to be useless before may be useful to humans now.


    Very quickly, Doctor Wang produced a few pictures out of nowhere. There was one of each of the Eight Demigod and Semi-Devil Races1 from Buddhism, the Three Pures from Taoism, the Heavenly Demon, the Milky Way Galaxy, Western Magic Meditation, a Fantasy Devil, and a War God! These images were all illustrated in very a fantasy-like style. At a glance, there seemed to be nothing special about them, but if one looked at it carefully, there seemed to be something slowly changing in the images.


    Only heaven knew where Doctor Wang got all these pictures.


    Everybody chose a picture. Although Doctor Wang didn¡¯t tell them to do any experiments, Bai Yi knew that they would succumb to their overwhelming curiosity and eventually try using the pictures for the Visualization Technique. Even Bai Yi had the intention to give it a go. This was obviously not something they could test on white mice, it had to be humans who tried this themselves.


    There were many images, and none of them knew which to pick. However, in the end, two-thirds of them actually picked the image of the Milky Way Galaxy.


    This wasn¡¯t strange at all. Up until now, humans could still only observe a corner of the universe and that was why they felt a great reverence for the universe. In everybody¡¯s eyes, the image of the Milky Way Galaxy was the most profound, and they might even have some relation to the entire universe through it. Although this kind of thinking was extremely¡­OK, fine. It was too difficult to describe, but many of them had this thought in their heads.


    Bai Yi¡¯s choice in the end was ¨C himself!


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t choose any of the images and chose to visualize himself, just as Momo had coincidentally with the reflection in the lake. Before any results came, nobody knew what the outcome would be. However, very quickly, Bai Yi and the rest were able to confirm that they had found the correct method.


    One of the dumbest members of Eleanor¡¯s team, Berthelot, had actually increased his awareness stably after a period of visualization. However, as to how it happened exactly, he couldn¡¯t put it into words.


    Aside from Berthelot, no one had a similar experience, so they all decided to use the same picture Berthelot used to visualize. It was of the very famous entity Asura of the Eight Demigods and Semi-Devil Races from Buddhism. However, Berthelot wasn¡¯t the only one who chose the Eight Demigods and Semi-Devil Races, Marcia who chose the Gandharva in the same image didn¡¯t experience any changes.


    At this time, many of them couldn¡¯t help but want to try changing to another picture.


    However, Doctor Wang suddenly dropped a bomb on them.


    ¡°Only the Milky Way Galaxy is real. The other images were all forged by Sunlight and Yeye based on their database, just that some elements of fantasy and color were added to it to make them look very exotic.¡±


    Doctor Wang really had no qualms about lying to them for his own purposes.


    Momo¡¯s eyes immediately turned cold, but Bai Yi shook his head. Bai Yi knew what Momo wanted to do. However, the reality was that Doctor Wang didn¡¯t ask any of them to cultivate the visualization technique, it was just them who couldn¡¯t resist their curiosity. From all these things so far, Bai Yi knew that Doctor Wang was an extremely dangerous person. In his eyes, he only saw the exploration of the unknown and never minded what kind of impacts his actions would have in this process.


    However, Bai Yi was a man of his word, so he had to stay for three years; no matter what, he had already received the Prototy Back drug from Doctor Wang. Bai Yi would abide by the agreement, work for Doctor Wang for three years, and then just part ways. Of course, within these three years, Bai Yi believed that he and Momo would definitely learn a lot, whether if it¡¯s in knowledge or about human nature.


    ¡°Fake?¡±


    ¡°Of course, they¡¯re fake. Other than the Milky Way Galaxy, all of the other pictures are all of mythical entities. How could they be real? Even if you searched the world for them, could you ever find real photos of these entities? It¡¯s impossible. Just from the production method, the few images I have here are more profound than the images circulating on the internet,¡± Doctor Wang explained.


    The truth was indeed so, otherwise, they would have suspected something after they received the pictures. All of them had thought that they were photos that were already in the database.


    ¡°The rest of us haven¡¯t experienced any changes. If it¡¯s not something special about the Asura image, then it must be that Berthelot¡¯s Visualization Technique is different from ours. Are you willing to cooperate with me to research it?¡± Doctor Wang asked Berthelot.


    ¡°Sure, it¡¯s good to be able to help everybody else,¡± Berthelot smiled and replied.


    ¡°The concept of a species is deeply imprinted in the genes of any lifeform, so when we have a choice, we always use other lifeforms for experimentation. However, many times, white mice can¡¯t be used to solve problems because they are of a different species than humans and we are unable to communicate with them. Do you think that I am cruel? But any new discoveries can¡¯t be made without the price of experiments and sacrifices; otherwise, everybody will only stand still without advancing,¡± Doctor Wang said to Momo after seeing her look at him and Berthelot.


    After hearing Doctor Wang¡¯s words, Momo was left somewhat speechless.


    ¡°He¡¯s right. New discoveries cannot be made without the price of experiments and sacrifices,¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°Then was what I did before wrong?¡± Momo asked in puzzlement.


    ¡°No, you aren¡¯t wrong either. Human beings are very complex lifeforms. It¡¯s the multitude of emotions that we have that make us appear profoundly alive. You don¡¯t have to mimic anybody else; you just have to find your own position in this world. In truth, if you were like him and placed everything on a scale for consideration, you would be overly cold, just like an emotionless beast,¡± Bai Yi said to Momo.


    ¡°We can¡¯t jump to conclusions as to whether something is right or wrong. Many times, what we think of as wrong is just because it goes against our beliefs. That was why I told you previously to see through the nature of the world so that you can stand at a higher position and look at this world with greater insight,¡± Bai Yi continued again.


    Momo heard Bai Yi¡¯s words, but Doctor Wang who hadn¡¯t left completely also heard him, but he didn¡¯t pause his steps in the slightest.


    What an objective and rational way of looking at the world.


    The rest of them pondered Bai Yi¡¯s words along with Momo.


    ______________________________________________________


    After metamorphosis, lifeforms could truly sense the existence of the soul; however, to all lifeforms, the soul was still something extremely unfamiliar, thus figuring out how to cultivate the soul was an extremely difficult problem.


    The Unrestrained Visualization Technique was the process of visualizing oneself as a powerful and eternal existence inside the mind, using that imagery to influence the soul to change gradually.


    On the surface, the mechanism behind the Unrestrained Visualization Technique seemed to be a powerful form of self-hypnosis. People ¡®believed¡¯ due to ¡®belief¡¯. The soul could produce great power if influenced by the consciousness and raise the lifeform¡¯s awareness.


    However, the real reasoning behind it was¡­!


    ¡­


    Of course, they hadn¡¯t even managed to come to a superficial understanding yet.


    ***


    Translator Notes:

 Chapter 243

    Chapter 243: Three Years


    Three years!


    Three years passed in a flash, and all of them gained a lot. All of them had developed a set of the LV2 attribute cultivation diagram tailored to their bodies. However, the level of completion of these diagrams was limited by their levels of understanding and amount of knowledge. Other than that, the Visualization Techniques that could increase the strength of the awareness and soul in LV2 also reached the preliminary stages of completion. The only thing left to do was to merge the two together to form a true Cultivation Method.


    At the same time, they had also made great progress with their tonic cuisine recipes and attribute medicine formulas.


    However, the most important change was probably that five of them had entered LV3: Momo, Bai Yi, Pupu, Doctor Wang, and Berthelot. It was understandable for the rest of them to be able to enter LV3, but nobody expected the lazy and slovenly Pupu would also manage to enter LV3. Furthermore, even when Pupu entered LV3, they still hadn¡¯t figured out what exactly his energy attribute was, or perhaps he didn¡¯t have an attribute at all.


    Three years passed by and they finally completed their period of labor for Doctor Wang. After interacting with each other for three years, Bai Yi and Eleanor could be considered friends, but their relationship with Doctor Wang could at most be considered to be familiar colleagues.


    ¡°We plan to leave. What about you guys?¡± Bai Yi asked Eleanor.


    ¡°En, we plan to go back too,¡± Eleanor nodded.


    All of them had regained their human appearances and bodies by now, so they wouldn¡¯t attract people¡¯s attention even if they returned to human society as long as they didn¡¯t use their powers.


    ¡°Then, we¡¯ll see you again,¡± Bai Yi nodded and walked outside.


    ¡°Goodbye!¡± Eleanor said.


    Very quickly, Bai Yi and his team arrived at the seaside. Momo stretched out her right hand and more than a thousand Spirit Devouring Butterflies scattered into the surrounding area. Not long after, the Spirit Devouring Butterflies brought back five flying type evolved lifeforms that each had a wingspan more than twenty meters long.


    Soul Charm!


    Doctor Wang was right. Momo¡¯s Soul Charm wasn¡¯t something that let other creatures feel close to her, but something that hoodwinked them into walking toward death. In her current state, Momo could easily separate a soul from the host body and let the lifeform move on to the netherworld. However, everything could be done in moderation. As long as Momo didn¡¯t do so, it wasn¡¯t much different from closeness with animals.


    Everybody had regained their human forms, so they didn¡¯t summon anymore flying evolved lifeforms. Bai Yi¡¯s team just sat on these huge strange birds and flew toward Tasmania.


    After such a long time, what would it be like now?


    ¡­


    When Bai Yi¡¯s team left, Eleanor also planned his team¡¯s departure. Although they couldn¡¯t entice other evolved lifeforms like Momo, they also had their own methods.


    ¡°Wang, what are you doing?¡± Eleanor looked at Doctor Wang who packed up his things as well.


    ¡°Leaving!¡±


    ¡°You are leaving too?¡± Eleanor said in shock.


    ¡°En, the research data from LV0 through LV3 is basically complete already and the evolution after that can¡¯t possibly be researched so soon. If that¡¯s the case, there isn¡¯t much purpose in continuing to stay here. Most importantly, without your help, the progress will definitely come much slower. The conditions here aren¡¯t good either, so changing to another location is the best choice,¡± Doctor Wang explained.


    ¡°Then where do you plan to go?¡± Eleanor asked in confusion.


    Doctor Wang looked at Eleanor and shook his head. Eleanor laughed and didn¡¯t care whether he didn¡¯t want to say or he didn¡¯t know. In either case, Eleanor didn¡¯t plan to pursue the matter.


    Before returning, everybody thought about a lot of things including what kind of life they wanted to lead when they returned to the human world. Eleanor didn¡¯t want to be a researcher anymore. It had been extremely tiring living on the Devil Isles for the past eleven years. If possible, Eleanor wanted to live peacefully for a period of time when he returned. As for his team, the structure of the group wasn¡¯t suitable for modern society, so they would definitely disband. However, they were companions that had experienced life and death situations together, so their bond was completely different from that of normal friends.


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll leave first. Maybe we¡¯ll see you again in the future by some chance,¡± Eleanor said.


    Quickly, everybody left the research facility in Queenstown. The evolved lifeforms that had avoided the area due to their presence slowly returned, and it gradually returned to its wild and primordial environment. From then on, there was practically nobody living on the Devil Isles anymore. Once they heard about the Prototy Back drug, most evolved humans had gone to Tasmania leaving only a small evolved human population on the Devil Isles.


    New Zealand truly became an uninhabited Devil Isles, islands where only evolved lifeforms thrived!


    ¡­


    Bai Yi stood on the head of the flying evolved lifeform and started to zone out. Eleven years! Eleven years had passed by just like that. After experiencing countless dangers and struggles along the way, this day had finally come.


    With things like this, we should be able to return to the normal world, right? Bai Yi thought, but he couldn¡¯t help but feel uneasy as if he didn¡¯t know what was awaiting them.


    Momo came to Bai Yi¡¯s side; the fifteen-year-old Momo grew up tall, reaching a height of 1.65 meters. She wasn¡¯t considered too tall but could be seen as slender and elegant. Momo stood quietly by Bai Yi¡¯s side, and even her black sword was kept inside the White Underworld. Her entire person appeared to be serene and reserved like a true young noble lady.


    The White Underworld was a strange space that Momo created after entering LV3. Its source was the Provenance Fruit that she had consumed. This space contained all the souls, vengeful spirits, and Spirit Devouring Butterflies from the Ghost City Wellington previously. Other than that, there were also many souls of various animals, and it practically became a world for the dead. Momo acted as the entrance and exit to the White Underworld.


    From the looks of it, Momo actually had a whole complete space in her body. However, Momo still had very little understanding of the world inside her, and it wasn¡¯t suitable for normal lifeforms to inhabit. Anything that entered the White Underworld was quickly tainted with the White Underworld¡¯s aura. This was very suitable for Momo but fatal for normal lifeforms.


    ¡°Daddy, what are you worrying about?¡± Momo asked.


    ¡°No, nothing much,¡± Bai Yi shook his head. That¡¯s right. What was he worried about? What hadn¡¯t they experienced on the way to now? It was time to return to the normal human world now, wasn¡¯t this his wish all along?


    After a few days, Bai Yi¡¯s team finally arrived in Tasmania. Apparently, it was a first for these flying evolved lifeforms to fly such a long distance.


    ¡°Thank you guys very much!¡± Momo thanked them as she stroked two of the flying evolved lifeforms on the head with each hand. ¡°Oh, you guys are very tired and plan to stay here for a while? Sure, just be careful!¡± Momo nodded and said her goodbye to the flying evolved lifeforms.


    Actually, Momo wasn¡¯t worried about the safety of these flying evolved lifeforms. The speed of evolution of the evolved lifeforms on the Devil Isles was more than a little faster than those on Tasmania, and the average level of activated cells was also a lot higher.


    After entering Tasmania, Bai Yi¡¯s team walked through the city and prepared to take a good look at the newly developed autonomous region. They arrived at the seaport quickly and found that there were many people working there. However, at a glance, it was obvious to Bai Yi that most of them still displayed physical characteristics of animals.


    Didn¡¯t he give the Prototy Back drug to Truman and the others long ago? Why were there still so many people with abnormal features?


    Bai Yi and his team looked just like normal humans, so it was likely that their original friends wouldn¡¯t recognize them now; hence, they didn¡¯t look for Truman and the others immediately. Instead, they planned to personally understand the situation in Tasmania as well as the world at large.


    They found out very quickly that t the Prototy Back drug was actually very famous among the evolved humans.


    After Bai Yi delivered the drug, news of it was released not long after and all the evolved humans and United Nations quickly got to know of this. However, the drug wasn¡¯t easy to obtain due to Tasmania¡¯s strict control of it. It had become more than just a bargaining chip to negotiate with the United Nations, but also a tool to control the other evolved humans.


    Who didn¡¯t want to regain their human appearances? After hearing of the drug, the evolved humans from the northern half of the Devil Isles swiftly came to Tasmania. All of them had very decent strength, so the Prototy Back drug was the best thing to pull them over to their side.


    There was also news circulating among the masses that the upper echelons were controlling the circulation of this drug. Not just the upper echelons of Tasmania, but also the United Nations and the upper echelons of various countries. None of them allowed this drug to be distributed easily.


    After the appearance of the Prototy Back drug, the activated cells became a complete and organized system from LV0 to LV3. A normal human could very well become a new human that possessed special energy in a short period of time. In this world, who hadn¡¯t dreamed of becoming superman or of being superior to others? Regardless if it was to ensure the stability of the country or to maintain their rule, the drug couldn¡¯t be distributed in large amounts.


    This was the outcome, huh?


    Bai Yi seriously considered the pros and cons of this after learning this information. Although it was very selfish, Bai Yi also understood the benefits of doing so from a rational point of view. If the drug was released in mass, it would actually cause the world to fall into chaos.


    The activated cells had the ability to reinfect other lifeforms, so they weren¡¯t difficult to obtain. If the Prototy Back drug was easy to obtain as well, then undoubtedly a storm of desire to become an evolved human would sweep across the world. Nobody would be able to bear seeing other people possessing powerful strength so easily and not do anything.


    Powerful strength always brought about great ambition. A rebellious mindset was very common in the world now.


    Although controlling the drug like this was rather selfish, Bai Yi could still understand their reason for doing so.


    After understanding the situation from the public, Bai Yi and the rest prepared to look for Lucretia and learn about the situation of the world now. They could only get a little information from the lower strata because the people who dictated how the world changed were always the few at the top.

 Chapter 244

    Chapter 244: Flaw And Wrong Road


    Bai Yi¡¯s team didn¡¯t draw much attention as they walked around in the city. Although there weren¡¯t a lot of people with pure human appearances in the city, there were still some of them. After all, this was Tasmania, it was much easier here to obtain the Prototy Back drug than it was to obtain it in the outside world. Bai Yi didn¡¯t wish to create havoc at the city hall like last time, so they slowly walked around to get to know this city. However, Bai Yi still felt that he made a mistake; he should have asked the five of them for a means of communication before he left last time.


    However, Bai Yi didn¡¯t mind this too much. Anyway, they weren¡¯t in a hurry so he gestured for them to walk around as they pleased.


    ¡°Split up and take a stroll.¡±


    ¡°En,¡± all of them nodded.


    They didn¡¯t have to worry about losing each other because they had each bought a phone when they returned to the city. The outside world was still intact after all, and after more than six years of governance and assistance from the United Nations, the facilities of Tasmania had been rebuilt. Other than that, they didn¡¯t have to worry about money to spend either, at least not in the short term. The currency couldn¡¯t have changed in these six years, and they¡¯d had a lot of money in their bank cards when they came to Tasmania for the first time.


    I wonder if the people up there will notice the changes in the funds of the bank card? Bai Yi thought randomly as he walked around.


    The funds on their bank cards were definitely being monitored; Bai Yi and his team weren¡¯t normal people. However, the funds hadn¡¯t changed for more than six years and wouldn¡¯t be discovered so quickly. And when they got discovered¡­


    ¡°Bai Yi¡¯s back!¡±


    ¡°En, we can begin!¡±


    ¡­


    Not long after they arrived, Bai Yi¡¯s team found Lucretia. She was still shocked when she saw Bai Yi¡¯s team. Who on earth were these people? However, after seeing Sharpei, Lucretia could ascertain that this group of people were Bai Yi and his team. They had changed back to their human forms, but Sharpei and Pupu hadn¡¯t changed much.


    ¡°You guys are, Bai Yi!¡± Lucretia was very shocked but also had a sense of joy from reuniting again.


    ¡°Long time no see, Lucretia,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Long time no see, you guys are finally back. How did you recognize me?¡±


    ¡°Tasmania¡¯s Minister of Medicine and Health, why would it be hard to recognize you?¡± Bai Yi laughed and said.


    ¡°That¡¯s true, come in first,¡± Lucretia said and invited Bai Yi¡¯s team into her villa. Tasmania didn¡¯t lack land space at all, and Lucretia was also one of the people in power here, so she definitely had her own residence, a very wide and spacious residence at that. After entering this place, what they saw first were a lot of staff and also a few maids. However, Lucretia immediately dismissed all of them from the hall.


    ¡°Something to drink?¡±


    ¡°A cup of water will do,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Water? Seriously, should I say that you are very minimalistic or modest? The things to drink are all in the fridge. Help yourself. There are also some mutated fruits in there and they all taste pretty good,¡± Lucretia said and pointed to them. Lucretia herself then really poured a cup of water for Bai Yi and sat opposite him.


    ¡°Now that you are back, don¡¯t tell me you are going to head to the Devil Isles again?¡± Lucretia asked.


    ¡°Under normal circumstances, we won¡¯t go back anymore. That¡¯s why I wanted to ask you about the current situation.¡±


    ¡°What situation?¡±


    ¡°The situation of the entire world. Is Tasmania still an isolated autonomous region?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be considered an isolated autonomous region anymore. There¡¯s some interaction with the outside world, but normal humans won¡¯t have the opportunity to come here. It can be considered a half closed-off autonomous region now. However, things are quite stable here, and after the appearance of the Prototy Back drug, this place became even more stable. Overall, it¡¯s quite good staying here. There is a lot of land, a very small population, and there are many new plants and animals,¡± Lucretia said.


    In truth, Lucretia¡¯s villa was really nice; located on top of a small mountain next to a small lake, it had incredibly beautiful scenery.


    ¡°So it¡¯s like this,¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. The experiences on the Devil Isles are already over. We have to look forward and not be continuously immersed in the sorrows of the past,¡± Lucretia nodded.


    ¡°Oh right, Truman and the others will know of your arrival very quickly and probably prepare a welcome banquet for you guys. Other than that, I can arrange a residence for you if you guys intend to stay in Tasmania. No matter what, all of the evolved humans received a great favor from you,¡± Lucretia added.


    ¡°We can put that aside for now. I want to ask: can we return to the normal human world?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°You want to go back to China?¡±


    ¡°En,¡± Bai Yi nodded.


    Bai Yi hadn¡¯t forgotten that he¡¯d promised the Progenitor to find her daughter. Based on her age, the Progenitor¡¯s daughter would be 21 years old now. Bai Yi didn¡¯t know whether he could still find her or not, but he couldn¡¯t give up and ignore it just like that.


    ¡°That will be very difficult, but it¡¯s possible. Because we are evolved humans, it is very dangerous to return to the human world. Not just because of our powerful strength, but also the chain infection capability of the activated cells. With just a bit of carelessness our body¡¯s fluids may infect normal humans with activated cells,¡± Lucretia explained.


    ¡°En,¡± Bai Yi nodded. If they really couldn¡¯t, then they just had to use illegal means.


    ¡°To think of it, congratulations on entering LV3!¡± Bai Yi congratulated Lucretia.


    From the moment they met, Bai Yi and Momo could sense that Lucretia had entered LV3. Although her aura felt a bit strange, it was indeed the aura of an LV3.


    ¡°You realized it? I entered LV3 not long ago actually. Our people found a strange plant in the Devil Isles called the Blossoming Petal Flower. We recently used this plant as the main ingredient and developed a new drug called the Blossomy drug. This drug allows somebody enter LV3 and unleash the absolute life field outside of the body, which allows one to control matter and energy in the outside world. This is the other big bargaining chip that we have with the United Nations other than the Prototy Back drug,¡± Lucretia said excitedly.


    ¡°Oh really?¡± Bai Yi was taken aback.


    He thought that Lucretia had broken through on her own. He hadn¡¯t expected that it was through the help of external influences. Bai Yi finally understood what that strange feeling was. Although Lucretia had entered LV3 as well, her life field wasn¡¯t too stable and was much weaker than Bai Yi and Momo¡¯s.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t intend to brag, but he and Momo had both undergone perfect metamorphosis when they entered LV2 and was already much stronger than Lucretia and the others then. Since then, they also had their experiences on the Devil Isles, various tonic cuisine, self-adjustments, cultivation diagrams, and the Unrestrained Visualization Technique. Although these things were far from being complete, they still allowed them to pull away even further from Lucretia. From their personal experiences, Bai Yi could confirm one thing: evolution was a kind of natural process. When every part was done to the best, it would be easier to enter the next stage and wouldn¡¯t leave behind any flaws.


    Unfortunately, Lucretia and the others were completely absorbed by the concept of ¡®LV¡¯.


    From all this, Bai Yi could easily sense the gap between himself and Lucretia. Even ten Lucretias wouldn¡¯t be able to be his opponent. It wasn¡¯t through his Reverse Flower Eyes or the ability to trick the five senses, but just from his basic stats as an LV3.


    ¡°I see that only you and Momo entered LV3 here, do you guys want the Blossomy drug? If it¡¯s you guys, you can get it for free,¡± Lucretia looked at Woolf and the others.


    ¡°There¡¯s actually such a drug?¡± The rest of them hadn¡¯t completely zoned out. Woolf, Betsy, and a few others were still listening carefully.


    ¡°En, we found it through a coincidence,¡± Lucretia said.


    ¡°Lucretia, do you want to spar?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°Spar?¡± Lucretia looked at Bai Yi in confusion.


    ¡°Forget about it. I¡¯m not combat personnel, and is there a need to test your combat strength? I admit defeat,¡± Lucretia said.


    ¡°What I mean is -¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, let me take this phone call,¡± Lucretia said and went to a quiet corner with her phone.


    Bai Yi looked at Lucretia walking away and shook his head slightly. What Bai Yi meant was to let Lucretia experience for herself the difference between them as LV3s, but unexpectedly Lucretia had actually rejected him so simply. Bai Yi could be sure that Lucretia and the others had walked down the wrong road and he wanted to show them the truth. However, fate just seemed to interrupt Bai Yi¡¯s words intentionally.


    ¡°Truman and the others already know of your return. They organized a welcome banquet for you at Aune Hotel along with our old friends,¡± Lucretia said, long forgetting what Bai Yi said about a spar.


    ¡°Sure!¡± Bai Yi nodded and didn¡¯t continue on the topic.


    ¡­


    Not long after, Truman and the others learned of Bai Yi¡¯s return to Tasmania and received them warmly along with many of their old friends. In the welcome banquet, Truman and the few of them gave Bai Yi¡¯s team plenty of guarantees and said that they didn¡¯t have to worry about their lives in the future. Tasmania was their territory now. Even the United Nations didn¡¯t have much power to intervene in their governing. However, from how things appeared, they just seemed to be treating Bai Yi¡¯s team like they had just returned from the countryside and were trying to curry favor with them.


    How greatly everybody had changed!


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t respond to Truman¡¯s promises and only smiled at him.


    Truman noticed how Bai Yi responded and didn¡¯t push the topic. Anyway, it was good enough that their thoughts had been conveyed. The world was different from before. Tasmania had already regained its stability, so it wasn¡¯t like before where the one who had the most power was the strongest one among them.


    You were the leader of the evolved humans previously, but now you¡¯re just a slightly powerful normal guy. You really can¡¯t be considered to be worth much anymore.


    The rest of them judged the situation from Truman¡¯s behavior. Those that initially wanted to build relations with Bai Yi started to distance themselves and only bothered to nod at him.


    That¡¯s right. The world was already different and Bai Yi couldn¡¯t give them benefits or status now.


    Moreover, looking at Bai Yi¡¯s team, only Bai Yi and Momo had entered LV3 and the rest of them were still at LV2. Even from the point of view of strength, they didn¡¯t have to be wary of them anymore.


    The welcome banquet was still very lively, so lively that it didn¡¯t feel real anymore. Bai Yi went to the balcony on the third floor of the villa and looked out into the night.


    So this is society?

 Chapter 245

    Chapter 245: The Wind Starts


    The welcome banquet passed by with the main character of the banquet, Bai Yi, being ostracized just like that. The so-called welcome banquet was actually just a networking session. The members of the upper echelon of Tasmania happened to need to a place to network with each other. Bai Yi looked upon everything with a calm expression, just like an external observer. This was a complete society, fickle yet luxurious, with everybody fighting for power and benefits.


    And now, was Bai Yi going to become one of them?


    Bai Yi looked at the stars outside and smiled candidly; perhaps he would really have to do so. If Bai Yi wanted to go to China through the normal route, he had to request the current governor of Tasmania Truman to help him. It was obvious why everybody was always striving for power and trying to curry favor with the powerful.


    Bai Yi downed the remainder of his red wine in one gulp and headed toward Truman.


    Bai Yi asked Truman if he could help him return to China, and the request satisfied both of Truman¡¯s need to keep up appearances and his ego. This incidentally thoroughly proved the status of both sides right now. Bai Yi was just a common peasant now, no matter how strong he might be, it wasn¡¯t possible for him to gain authority through brute force in this peaceful world. After promising Bai Yi that he would definitely help him, Truman appeared to be in even greater spirits.


    ¡­


    After the welcome banquet, Bai Yi¡¯s team returned to their new residences. Their original residences were all occupied now, so they were allocated a new place. However, from how these people did things, it seemed more like they were doing charity for the poor. Bai Yi rubbed the teacup with his palm at his home and stared at the street outside, thinking of what he would do next.


    Although he personally didn¡¯t like the so-called upper echelons, the world now hadn¡¯t reached the stage that Yeye predicted where individual strength would completely dominate over any authority granted by the masses. To live a good life, the pursuit of power and benefits was still the main goal of the world now. Even if he didn¡¯t like it, Bai Yi didn¡¯t want Momo to live a hard life where she had to appease and be subservient to others.


    ¡°Is Bai Yi here?¡± Truman¡¯s voice came from the outside.


    ¡°I¡¯m here, just come in,¡± Bai Yi said, and his voice seemed like he was speaking right beside Truman¡¯s ear. Hearing Bai Yi¡¯s voice, the two bodyguards beside Truman looked inside the house in dissatisfaction. Just who did this Bai Yi think he was? The governor came personally to deliver something, and he didn¡¯t even come and receive him? This guy really had no manners and put on such airs!


    ¡°Don¡¯t get angry, Bai Yi is the one who made major contributions in helping the majority of evolved humans walk out of the Devil Isles,¡± Truman said hiding the dissatisfaction in his heart.


    Inside his house, Bai Yi easily heard their conversation outside.


    Smiling lazily, Bai Yi relaxed on the sofa. Why? Just because he didn¡¯t have any status now, he had to talk to them in a small voice and try to get into their good books?


    Truman walked in and immediately saw Bai Yi sitting on the sofa. All of sudden, the slight unhappiness that Truman felt inside disappeared into thin air when he saw Bai Yi, and he even gulped down his saliva carefully. What happened? Under the Bai Yi¡¯s gaze, he seemed to be facing the king of the entire world and even felt a slight sense of fear from the bottom of his heart. All the things that he held so much pride in suddenly seemed to be worth nothing in that instant.


    ¡°Is there something?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    Truman¡¯s body shook lightly, and his mind came back into focus feeling incomparably strange inside.


    Weird, just what happened just now? Was that feeling just now just a hallucination?


    ¡°Nothing much. I¡¯m just here to give your team a few of the Blossomy drug. With it, it would be easy to successfully Blossom and allow the absolute life field to expand outside of the body. The increase in strength from this isn¡¯t a small amount,¡± Truman shook that strange feeling outside of his head and said to Bai Yi. No matter what, Bai Yi gave the Prototy Back drug to them so generously, so he should do something in return as well so as to not lose face.


    ¡°Oh, thanks. I never thought that you guys would be able to develop something so useful,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing much. A large part of it was due to luck,¡± Truman said pushing a small box toward him. There were 30 tubes of Blossomy drug inside the small box and nothing else. It wasn¡¯t like what Bai Yi did previously when he gave them the formula and production method. However, Bai Yi didn¡¯t mind this at all, he never actually expected Truman to give him the formula in the first place.


    Bai Yi was thinking about another issue now. Blossom, Blossomy drug, this was the term that Bai Yi and the others had coined in the Devil Isles. Why did Truman use the same exact name? There couldn¡¯t have been such a coincidence in this world, right? The only reason must be that the name spread from someplace first and got adopted by the others after that. Although Bai Yi wasn¡¯t willing to think about this, he still thought of a likely truth.


    ¡°Many thanks, otherwise I don¡¯t know when Woolf and the rest would be able to enter LV3 Life Field Stage,¡± Bai Yi said as he looked at Truman.


    ¡°No need for thanks, it¡¯s what I should do,¡± Truman didn¡¯t seem to find anything strange at all when he heard ¡®Life Field Stage¡¯.


    The two sides chatted for a while and Truman eventually headed out again. Bai Yi then examined the Blossomy drug. It was a pink solution, placed inside small tubes of reinforced glass and extremely exquisite and pretty. Although Bai Yi felt that Woolf and the others didn¡¯t need such a thing, the drug still had its uses.


    ¡­


    The days passed by just like that, but there was still no news regarding the matter of returning to China. Bai Yi didn¡¯t know whether if it was really that difficult to get approval or whether Truman was intentionally dragging it out, but it was also a good time for Bai Yi to relax, so he didn¡¯t mind it. One day, Bai Yi and Alodia went out and wanted to take a look outside. After walking around for some time, Bai Yi bumped into Ulisses.


    ¡°Bai Yi!¡± Ulisses waved from a distance away.


    ¡°Oh? What are you doing here?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to drink at the bar over there. Let¡¯s go together,¡± Ulisses invited. Bai Yi hesitated for a moment but Ulisses immediately added on, ¡°Let¡¯s go, the ambiance at that bar is pretty good,¡± Bai Yi couldn¡¯t help but nod his head, he really didn¡¯t have any place that he wanted to go anyway and was just walking around.


    ¡°The bar is a bit far away, we should take a car, or we would have to walk through the minor roads,¡± Ulisses said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s walk then, no need for a car,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Sure, over here. To speak of it, I¡¯m really envious of you, how good is it to be able to fly? It would be so convenient to go anywhere you wanted,¡± Ulisses said, his voice carrying a sense of politeness and envy. Bai Yi glanced at Ulisses, smiled, and didn¡¯t say anything. If he wanted to be envious, did he have to wait until now? He had already been on the team for quite a few years. Ulisses suddenly felt that Bai Yi seemed to be suspecting something; his heart skipped a beat but he still appeared to be calm as he brought Bai Yi and Alodia forward.


    The so-called ¡®taking a minor road¡¯ of course meant walking to a remote place, and very quickly they came to a place that looked like a slum.


    Bai Yi looked Ulisses leading the way in front with an indifferent expression.


    Have you changed after you came back to Tasmania, or were you like that all along? Just what have you prepared in wait for me up ahead?


    ¡°I really never imagined that a slum-like area would appear so quickly in Tasmania. Bai Yi, if you were the one in power in Tasmania, what would you do?¡± Ulisses said as he looked at a guy that looked like a beggar by the side of the street.


    ¡°Me? I don¡¯t know,¡± Bai Yi went along with Ulisses¡¯ question.


    At this time, the beggar suddenly raised his head and stared right at Bai Yi¡¯s group. What did that person say just now? Bai Yi? Was that really Bai Yi? The beggar had lost both of his legs. His body was as thin as sticks and even one of his arms was missing. On his face were countless dried up wounds, but at this time, that pair of incomparably dim eyes suddenly displayed an unimaginable light as he stared directly at Bai Yi.


    The body shape of this man was the same as the Bai Yi in memory, just that this man didn¡¯t have the fur that had been on Bai Yi¡¯s face! However, recalling that there¡¯s already the Prototy Back drug, this wasn¡¯t something strange at all. Most importantly, this beggar saw Bai Yi¡¯s treasured sword Red Kiss on his waist.


    I can¡¯t be wrong. This is Bai Yi. The real Bai Yi!


    Red Kiss was Bai Yi¡¯s treasured sword, all the evolved humans who were more familiar with Bai Yi would never recognize it wrongly.


    The beggar immediately crawled toward Bai Yi, calling out his name in a strange voice. ¡°Bai Yi, Bai Yi wait!¡±


    The beggar crawled miserably on the ground, moving toward Bai Yi as if the figure up ahead was his last hope. It must be! It must be heaven giving him a chance! If it¡¯s Bai Yi, then he definitely could rescue all his original companions!


    ¡°You are?¡±


    ¡°Bai Yi. Sir Bai Yi, I am Bach. Bach Gerard, do you remember me? I am one of the 800 evolved humans that survived back then,¡± the beggar said in a hoarse voice.


    Bai Yi looked at this beggar in shock and carefully observed him. Bai Yi wasn¡¯t familiar with all 800 plus evolved humans that survived after the battle in Australia, but he would never be unable to recognize the comrades that fought with him in a life and death battle. After a careful look, Bai Yi immediately confirmed that the beggar was really Bach.


    ¡°Bach, how did you become like this?¡± Bai Yi supported Bach.


    ¡°Sir Bai Yi, please save all of our brothers-in-arms! Otherwise, we really wouldn¡¯t be able to die in peace!¡± Bach¡¯s withered hand clutched tightly onto Bai Yi¡¯s sleeve with an agitated and sorrowful expression.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Bai Yi asked seriously.


    ¡°Truman and the others aren¡¯t human at all. They really aren¡¯t human! For the sake of fighting for power, the few of them tried to pull the initial 800 plus comrades to their side because we were the strongest at that point in time. However, we weren¡¯t interested in their power struggles. Some of us even loathed it, so we didn¡¯t participate. However, we never imagined that they would actually turn us into experimental subjects. Experimental subjects!¡± Bach denounced them in a severe tone.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Why? What other reason could there be? Because it¡¯s only by subjecting LV2s like us to experiments could they figure out the changes in the Metamorphose Stage, prevent themselves from going down the wrong path and make mistakes, and even avoid death!¡± Bach exclaimed in fury and hatred.

 Chapter 246

    Chapter 246: It Starts


    Hearing Bach¡¯s words and seeing what he looked like now infuriated Bai Yi, but he didn¡¯t let his rage consume him. Everything that happened was too much of a coincidence in relation to some of the things that Bai Yi had pondered.


    ¡°How did you get out of there?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°They thought I was dead. I crawled out from the corpse burial grounds,¡± Bach¡¯s expression was full of mourning. Tears streamed down his face as he described the process of his escape to Bai Yi. Bai Yi tried his best to suppress the anger in his heart, calmly listen to Bach tell his story, and evaluate his story for discrepancies.


    ¡°Where is it?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a total of three research facilities, they are¨C¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m talking about the corpse burial grounds,¡± Bai Yi interrupted.


    Bach was apparently taken aback. He thought that Bai Yi would ask where the research facilities were and immediately head over to rescue their old companions, but he told Bai Yi where the corpse burial grounds were anyway. Bai Yi waved his hand through the air and Bach floated into the air. The four of them ran toward the place that Bach described quickly and nimbly, and every step that they took covered more than ten meters.


    Following Bach¡¯s directions, they soon arrived at an abandoned treatment facility. There were very obvious ¡®no entry¡¯ signs outside, but Bai Yi paid them no attention.


    ¡°The research facilities in the early days weren¡¯t too well-equipped, so the corpses were all moved here. That was how I managed to survive and run away,¡± Bach explained.


    Bai Yi jumped into the abandoned treatment facility and landed on the ground hard. The air trapped inside the soil exploded and threw a thick layer of soil up into the air exposing the mass of skeletons messily buried. Bai Yi looked at the skeletons quietly as the stench of rotting corpses filled the air.


    ¡°Are you suspicious of my words?¡± Bach had guessed the reason why Bai Yi wanted to see the corpse burial area. ¡°Sir Bai Yi, you will definitely find something if you head to the research facility now! Of course, you can¡¯t give them any time to prepare. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t be able to see anything at all.¡±


    Bai Yi looked at Bach and then towards the research facility hidden in the mountain cave nearby as Bach floated in the air.


    ¡°Do you want to take a look?¡± Ulisses asked.


    Bai Yi looked at Ulisses and nodded: ¡°En, let¡¯s take a look.¡±


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t know what kind of role Ulisses had to play in this incident, or if he purposely arranged this encounter with Bach; however, from Bach¡¯s appearance now, it really didn¡¯t seem to be fake. If things really were how Bach described, Bai Yi would definitely have to do something for his own heart and conscience.


    The four of them arrived outside the research facility and encountered a guard.


    Reverse Flower Eyes!


    This wasn¡¯t the time to bother reasoning with them. As Bach said, they wouldn¡¯t discover anything if they gave them time to prepare. However, Bai Yi maintained a sense of calm because everything felt like it had been purposefully arranged. Even if he forced his way in like this, it was still possible that everything he saw would be a lie.


    ¡­


    Meanwhile, Momo strolled along on the empty streets on the other side of the city with a bag of snacks. For this walk, she only brought Chinchilla along since Chinchilla was still quite small. Sharpei and Pupu would have been too frightening. Suddenly, Momo turned and looked at the empty street in confusion. Where did Chinchilla go? She had only looked away for a moment and Chinchilla had disappeared.


    ¡°Chinchilla! Chinchilla, stop hiding and come out!¡± Momo walked toward the darker corners of the street as she called for Chinchilla.


    After a few minutes, Momo went back to the streets again and frowned. Although Chinchilla was usually very playful, this had never happened before. Momo stretched out her right hand and countless multi-colored transparent butterflies flew out and dispersed into the surrounding area.


    Some of the people nearby looked at Momo in surprise. She and the butterflies were so beautiful! Even though the people living in Tasmania were all evolved humans, they had never seen somebody as special as Momo.


    After a few minutes, a few of the butterflies returned. Momo immediately looked toward the east and her expression turned cold. Somebody actually had the guts to kidnap Chinchilla! Chinchilla had just entered LV2 and could be considered the weakest on the team, but Momo couldn¡¯t figure out why anybody would abduct him.


    Momo stepped into the air and flew. Her body had gained more and more properties of a soul since entering LV3. Even though she still had a physical body, the effects of gravity were greatly reduced on her. Momo flew gracefully in the air and the dispersed Spirit Devouring Butterflies congregated around Momo as if they were returning to their nest. They formed a gorgeous streamer that billowed behind her.


    The evolved humans in the city stared at the long stream of beautiful butterflies stretching through the air and the bright beautiful girl in wonder. The sight of her countless Spirit Devouring Butterflies dancing created a commotion large enough to alarm everyone in the city, especially the people in power.


    Truman¡¯s subordinates reported the incident to him and he identified the girl as Momo.


    Wasn¡¯t this Momo? So, she can actually fly and make it appear so beautiful too! No, no, no¨C that¡¯s not the main point. What is she trying to do by flying through the sky in such a grand manner? And the direction she¡¯s heading in is one of the research facilities¡­


    Truman grew nervous and stood up abruptly.


    By then, Momo landed and stopped right outside of this research facility. The guards had already noticed her due to the way she flew there without making any attempt to conceal herself. The guards attempted to stop Momo as she walked towards them, but Momo was nothing like Bai Yi. If Bai Yi considered the consequences of his actions first, then, unfortunately for them, thoughts like that never crossed Momo¡¯s mind. Chinchilla was abducted and taken to this place by somebody, so Momo wouldn¡¯t hold back.


    ¡°Young Miss, please stop.¡±


    The guards were quite smart. From the grand way she flew here, they knew that there was no way that Momo was a weakling.


    ¡°Get out of my way!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but please show your identification pass.¡±


    Soul Restriction!


    A few floating souls flew out and wrapped themselves around the guards. Momo continued on her way into the research facility. Actually, these guards weren¡¯t that weak, but they had never seen somebody with abilities similar to Momo, and they also hadn¡¯t expected her to attack without hesitation. Before they had the chance to react, all of them had been immobilized.


    Momo arrived at the front door of the research facility and realized that she needed a password to get inside.


    Momo didn¡¯t know the password, so she clenched her right hand. Black transparent ripples appeared in the air next to her as if a hole was being formed in space. A bunch of floating souls and Spirit Devouring Butterflies appeared in the center of the ripples carrying her black sword out of the hole. Momo then swiftly grabbed the black sword and swung it at the door.


    The metal alloy door was sliced apart by the sword¡¯s swing, broke off from the frame, and flew inside. The sword¡¯s powerful qi also almost split the exterior of the research facility in half. The impact caused ear-piercing alarms to ring but Momo just walked inside the research facility casually.


    A bunch of guards rushed out. At first, they were confused about Momo¡¯s identity. It was only when she walked right up to them did they take out their weapons and attack her. It was clear to them that this wasn¡¯t a police apprehension scene. There was no need to give a warning when it was clearly an invasion.


    When they launched their attack against her, they strummed the chord named ¡®danger¡¯ in Momo¡¯s heart. She unleashed her life field and clenched her left hand in front of her.


    Soul Charm: Sleep!


    In the next moment, all the guards and researchers collapsed to the ground as Momo proceeded to walk pass them. After this happened a few times, everybody inside the research facility understood that they were just cannon fodder facing up against Momo. Eventually, some LV3s who served as the main pillars of defense for the research facility came to stop Momo.


    ¡°Miss Momo!¡±


    They were shocked when they realized that the intruder was Momo. Momo looked at these guards but didn¡¯t recognize them. It would have been strange if she could recognize them as they had all regained their human appearances.


    ¡°It¡¯s me. One of the 800-plus evolved humans that survived back then!¡± A man said.


    ¡°Oh, where¡¯s Chinchilla? Why did you guys abduct him and bring him here?¡± Momo asked.


    Since he was an acquaintance, Momo wouldn¡¯t act immediately.


    ¡°What Chinchilla? We don¡¯t know, but Miss Momo, what are you thinking barging in here like this?¡±


    ¡°I saw Chinchilla being taken to this place. Where are you guys hiding him, and what is your purpose?¡± Momo asked.


    ¡°We really don¡¯t know about Chinchilla! Miss Momo, your actions are really putting us in a difficult position,¡± they said again.


    Suddenly, a painful cry came from a passageway nearby. Everybody was stunned as Momo stared at them icily. She immediately ran towards the passageway.


    ¡°Miss Momo!¡±


    ¡°Scram. If something happens to Chinchilla, I will make all of you go to hell with him.¡± Momo spoke in an arrogant and overbearing tone.


    The group of them were stunned and felt anger rising in their hearts. They had heard that Bai Yi was just a normal human without any status now. Their respect for Momo was just out of habit from long ago and they had no need to gain her favor. Realizing this, they stood in front of Momo and blocked her path.


    The corner of Momo¡¯s lips lifted slightly and an ice-cold killing intent flashed in her eyes. Momo had only incapacitated people so far and hadn¡¯t intended to kill anyone yet.


    ¡­


    Without knowing how, a strange smell spread across the city. The scent gradually agitated everybody who breathed it in, causing their emotions to become chaotic.


    It starts!

 Chapter 247

    Chapter 247: Plot With A Hundred Holes


    Momo¡¯s common sense was completely different from that of normal people. When the four of them continued to block her path, Momo gripped her black sword tightly. She hadn¡¯t been too worried in the beginning because she didn¡¯t why was secretly brought to this place. However, hearing Chinchilla¡¯s cries of pain just now told her that something bad had obviously happened to him. Hence, Momo¡¯s attitude now completely changed.


    Momo stared at the four people in front of her as she swung the black sword from behind her. The edge of the black sword looked like it tore a long black gash across space itself and gave all of them a shock. Momo intentionally slowed down her attack so that the four of them had a chance to escape, but none of them realized that Momo was giving them one last chance. Instead of retreating, they chose to counterattack.


    All four of them were LV3s. Two of them had the most common attribute of fire, one of them could control metals, and the last one had gentle healing energy. Their hearts tensed when they saw Momo swinging her sword. Everybody knew about the sword prowess of Bai Yi¡¯s team. Due to the fantasy of being a swordsman and herd behaviour, many evolved humans had chosen to use swords as well. The moment Momo started swinging her sword, the four of them moved as well.


    High-temperature flames burst from two of the evolved humans and turned the entire passageway into a burning oven. The metal controller raised his hand and more than a hundred specially forged crescent-shaped swords floated into the air. Behind the three of them, three transparent energy threads stretched out from the fingers of the last guy and connected to his teammates.


    Bursting Flames!


    Thousand Scattered Edge!


    Countless crescent blades hid in the flames and closed in on Momo. The passageway cracked open and was burnt black by the flames and blades. At this moment, Momo lowered her head. She wasn¡¯t admitting defeat, but relinquishing any qualms she had left.


    Purgatory Sword: Gluttonous Evil Spirits!


    Momo¡¯s moderate movement accelerated and sent the black sword slicing through the air. Everybody reacted quickly. Momo¡¯s attack was a vertical strike, so the four of them dodged to either side. The black sword qi drew a thin line through the air, flew more than ten meters from Momo¡¯s position, and impacted the back of the passageway.


    However, the black line didn¡¯t disappear after the attack was finished. Instead, space itself seemed to split open where Momo¡¯s strike landed. The thin black line gradually cracked open and dark transparent flames started to burn on the sides of the line. From this crack, countless vicious floating souls rushed out. Each of the floating souls had a slightly red tinge to them. They pounced on the flames and voraciously devoured the burning fire while the sharp crescent blades passed through the floating souls harmlessly and disappeared into the crack. The four of them were stunned as the countless floating souls charged towards them and greedily starting biting and tearing on their souls.


    ¡°AHHH!!¡± The four of them screamed miserably.


    Looking into Momo¡¯s eyes, the four of them knew that they had really evoked Momo¡¯s sense of danger and she really intended to kill them.


    ¡°Shit! I will drag you down with me even if I die!¡± The guy controlling metal bore the pain of his soul being devoured as he said viciously.


    He struggled to break free from the restriction on his soul and his palms slowly closed together. Since they were LV3 as well, they had a certain amount of resistance to Momo¡¯s soul control. When his palms touched, all the things made of metal in the passageway seemed to be attracted by a powerful force and started to twist and warp.


    Metal Burial!


    ¡®Kacha!¡¯


    A breaking sound came from on top of Momo. To dodge the suddenly collapsing passageway, Momo quickly skipped backward. However, Momo realized that she misjudged. The entire passageway collapsed in on her from the front to the back and countless metal parts flew straight toward Momo.


    Spinning around with her black sword, Momo parried and blocked all the metal parts headed toward her. The walls of the entire passageway were destroyed and countless steel bars rapidly shot toward Momo to twist and wrap around her. Momo squinted and jumped toward the four people in front.


    Butterfly Flash Step!


    The other three people knew that they would be dead for sure if they let Momo come out of the passageway. Gritting their teeth and bearing with the intense pain coming from their souls, the two fire controllers moved to seal the passageway opening and released a great amount of energy. Great flames gushed inside the passageway from the opening and the four of them watched as Momo was buried inside the twisted metal and hot flames through the gradually closing gap of the passageway. Finally, the passageway opening closed with a ¡®kacha!¡¯, but what remained in their minds was Momo¡¯s calm expression at the end.


    How could she be so calm?!


    ¡°What are you guys waiting for?¡± A voice suddenly came from beside them.


    The four of them instantly jumped in shock and realized that Momo had moved behind them for a while now. The four of them wanted to retaliate, but they felt their bodies turning colder and colder. The countless malicious spirits had completely consumed their souls. In the end, they looked at the huge metal burial ball crushed together in disbelief and watched the countless beautiful Spirit Devouring Butterflies gently flying out of it.


    Momo raised her right hand and the countless butterflies passed through the thick walls to search for Chinchilla. The butterflies found Chinchilla quickly and Momo¡¯s expression turned icy before she ran toward the other side of the passageway. When Momo left, the dark transparent flames burning on their bodies slowly died and left no mark.


    ¡­


    Momo ran quickly because Chinchilla was being dissected. Momo couldn¡¯t figure out the reason behind it, and there seemed to be no reason. Although Bai Yi¡¯s team didn¡¯t occupy a high status, their status wasn¡¯t so low that their members would be abducted for experiments. No matter what, the higher echelons of Tasmania still had to give Bai Yi face. Momo swiftly ran through the passageway following the lead of the Spirit Devouring Butterflies and floating souls. There wouldn¡¯t be any mistake.


    After passing through another passageway, Momo finally reached the location and placed her hand on the door handle. The instant she grabbed the handle, an acidic corroding sound came from her hand and she immediately jerked her hand away. Poison! Momo smiled coldly as she flicked the poison on her hand away. Her hand remained clean and smooth and not even a small trace of poison had successfully invaded her body. She kicked the door and sent it flying to slam into the wall on the other side of the room.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re here. I didn¡¯t think that the poison would be completely ineffective toward you. The data said that the special energy would automatically protect the body even when you guys were sleeping; I didn¡¯t expect that it would actually be true. Is this the benefit brought about by perfect metamorphosis and perfect blossoming? Something like this didn¡¯t happen with other evolved humans ¨C ¡± a man wearing a white overcoat turned around and said to Momo slowly. His expression was one of complete control.


    Wasp¡¯s Sting!


    Momo directly appeared in front of him by using the Butterfly Flash Step and stabbed the black sword through his brain. The man¡¯s expression was one of shock and disbelief. Meanwhile, the people observing the situation through the surveillance cameras were stunned speechless.


    Is there something wrong with your head?! How can you kill him without a single word?!


    In their predictions, Momo would have been at least somewhat curious about what was going on in the facility. As long as Momo spoke to Luke to relieve her curiosity, Luke would be able to bait and lead Momo around with his intelligence and sly words. However, Momo actually ignored him completely and killed him with a single strike!


    Among this group, one of them almost suffered an internal injury from holding in his laughter.


    He told them long ago that any schemes would be useless against this girl and that she was best at ¡®kill first, think later¡¯. If not for this personality of hers, why would the person that Doctor Wang disliked to see the most be Momo? Although Romain laughed, it was a very bitter laugh. He was a traitor to Bai Yi¡¯s team now regardless of the reasons behind his actions.


    ¡°Romain, what is this?!¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t I say this long ago? You¡¯re just smacking yourself in the face by doing something like this. Momo is angry now. Be prepared to receive her fury,¡± Romain said. ¡°My mission was just to lure her here. Since it¡¯s completed, I will leave first.¡±


    Romain then left as if running away. As for whether Romain simply didn¡¯t want to face Momo¡¯s wrath or didn¡¯t dare face Chinchilla¡¯s pained and puzzled eyes, nobody knew for sure. Chinchilla¡¯s intelligence wasn¡¯t low. Why would he have been abducted by somebody so easily? It was obviously because Romain was somebody familiar to him.


    Momo pulled out the black sword and ignored the man who died in obscurity and looked at Chinchilla who was still tied to the operating table. In such a short period, Chinchilla¡¯s body had already been dissected. Furthermore, iIt was the kind of operation that happened while he was still conscious and breathing. Although Chinchilla hadn¡¯t died, the injuries he had suffered were already extremely serious.


    ¡°Meow~, Momo!¡± Chinchilla cried out for Momo painfully.


    ¡°En, it¡¯s fine now. Don¡¯t make any sound. I¡¯ll help you treat your wounds.¡±


    Momo carefully undid Chinchilla¡¯s bindings, took out an external injury potion they commonly used, and applied it to Chinchilla¡¯s wounds. Nobody else could see it, but the fiery wrath in Momo¡¯s eyes was filled with the intent to massacre everyone in the facility in cold blood. Beside Momo dark colored ripples slowly spread out in multiple circles as footsteps came from the outside and a bunch of people appeared by the door.


    ¡°Momo, why are you here? Isaac looked at Momo in shock.


    Momo turned her head and looked at the bunch of people in front of her. Isaac! The leader of this group was the ex Minister of Research back in New Christchurch! He wasn¡¯t considered strong, but he was more or less familiar with Bai Yi¡¯s team.

 Chapter 248

    Chapter 248: Meeting Again Like This


    Even an idiot would feel suspicious over this very strange situation. The people in the secret surveillance room racked their brains for a way to save the situation. Without Luke¡¯s persuasive abilities, it would be a lot harder to make Momo kill the people inside the research facility. Suddenly, the leader of these people recalled Romain¡¯s words. You don¡¯t have to use any schemes, it¡¯s enough as long as Momo feels hurt. Even if Momo knows that there¡¯s a huge scheme going on, she wouldn¡¯t tolerate it. She¡¯d explode and destroy the entire research facility.


    ¡°Kill the cat!¡± They ordered.


    One really had to give it to Romain. His judgment was spot on. After all, he had interacted with Bai Yi¡¯s team for quite a few years now and had watched Momo grow up. However, while Momo would definitely not think so much and unhesitatingly destroy the whole research facility if provoked, what Romain didn¡¯t tell them was that Momo was not an idiot. Since she knew that there was a scheme going on, she would definitely pursue the mastermind behind this incident.


    They would be mistaken if they thought if they had successfully manipulated Momo. In reality, this was just Momo¡¯s way of doing things.


    ¡­


    ¡°Jimmy1! Doctor Jimmy!¡±


    Quickly, the attention of Isaac¡¯s group was diverted away from Momo to the man in the white coat lying on the ground. One of them ran over to check on the man they called Jimmy, but how could he be alive after being stabbed in the head?


    ¡°Research Director, Doctor Jimmy is dead.¡±


    ¡°Just what happened here? Momo, why are you here, and why is Jimmy dead?!¡± Isaac asked.


    ¡°Isaac, you tell me why I am here!¡±


    Momo¡¯s tone was extremely cold. Suddenly, the man checking Jimmy took out a few scalpels. Although he took Momo by surprise, the black sword still sliced through the air in a crescent and knocked the scalpels away. However, Momo turned her head around and realized that a scalpel had been stabbed into Chinchilla¡¯s head in exactly the same manner as she had stabbed Luke.


    Momo gritted her teeth and her body trembled. Vala and the others wanted to intervene, but Momo sent all of them back to the White Underworld.


    Vala, Heloise, and Mavis couldn¡¯t do anything but smile bitterly at the closing space. This was going to be a big issue. Momo wasn¡¯t stupid, she definitely knew that there was a plot going on here, but she would never take it lying down. This was Momo¡¯s personality. If somebody offended or threatened her, she would kill the person first then look for the real mastermind and cause even greater destruction.


    Sure enough, Momo pulled Chinchilla¡¯s soul into the White Underworld. Other than Chinchilla, there were still two other souls that Momo restricted and pulled into the White Underworld. One of them was Luke, and the other was the guy who used the scalpel to stabbed Chinchilla. The souls being restricted and thrown into her world increased rapidly as she unleashed her wrath. It was apparent that Momo¡¯s anger had erupted in full as their souls were imprisoned by Momo.


    ¡°Meow, damn it! How did I die?¡± Chinchilla¡¯s body landed on the ground and rolled a few times while his soul flew out and looked around in shock.


    ¡°Chinchilla, what happened exactly?¡± Vala asked.


    ¡°I was just strolling with Momo on the streets. Then, I met Romain while Momo was buying food somewhere. That guy suddenly knocked me out and the next thing I knew I was tied to an operating table when I woke up,¡± Chinchilla patted his head when Vala asked the question, but his spiritual body suddenly warped and gave him a scare.


    ¡°Romain!¡± Vala and the two other souls exclaimed.


    ¡°We must tell Momo!¡± Heloise looked at the dark sky anxiously.


    This was the White Underworld; it was the world formed from the Provenance Fruit and had a suitable environment for souls to live in. Since the fruit had fused with Momo after she consumed it, Momo was now the entrance and exit to this world and no amount of anxiety would help if Momo didn¡¯t want to let them out.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. A lot of Momo¡¯s attacks have to do with the soul. No matter if she uses the Spirit Devouring Butterflies or floating souls later, we just have to follow them out,¡± Vala said.


    At this time, Momo stabbed her sword through Isaac¡¯s heart completely ignoring the man¡¯s fearful look and miserable screams.


    ¡°This really has nothing to do with me! It¡¯s really not my fault!¡± Isaac screamed in pain and begged.


    ¡°I know that you are just an unlucky guy that got framed, but you still must die because I want to kill you,¡± Momo said coldly.


    Momo let the Spirit Devouring Butterflies and floating souls scout the way and they had seen a lot more than just Chinchilla being restrained on the way. In this research facility, many of the experimental subjects were real evolved humans. However, Momo was too worried about Chinchilla just now and had neglected them.


    ¡°W-why?¡± Isaac didn¡¯t understand at all and continued to beg as his lifeforce rapidly drained away.


    Even after Isaac¡¯s death, Momo didn¡¯t answer his question. After killing everybody there, Momo stretched out her right hand and a black halo opened behind her. A swarm of Spirit Devouring Butterflies and floating souls immediately shot out and flew magnificently through the entire research facility. Vala and the others flew out with the strange force acting that shot through the entire building.


    This is¡­!


    Momo was using the special characteristic of passing through matter that the Spirit Devouring Butterflies and floating souls had to swiftly search the entire research facility.


    A bunch of Spirit Devouring Butterflies rapidly shot through the secret surveillance room, and the five people inside immediately jumped in shock. Sure enough, Momo tilted her head to look diagonally downward at them, as if there weren¡¯t obstacles in between.


    Damn it! There are so many people in the research facility but she found us so quickly!


    They still thought that Momo was very dumb from how she killed Isaac right away, how did this happen?


    ¡°She¡¯s coming.¡±


    ¡°En, I know. Release the information of Isaac¡¯s death first. Let the upper echelons of Tasmania know about it,¡± the leader said, being the calmer one in this group.


    ¡°Attention everyone! Attention everyone! Intruder discovered. Her name is Bai Momo. She¡¯s currently at B block basement level 3-2 dissection room. All guards prepare for attack!¡±


    ¡­


    At this time, Bai Yi and a few others barged into another research facility. Although Bai Yi¡¯s methods were tough, he didn¡¯t cause any casualties. Instead, he made all of them fall asleep. However, the more he saw, the harder it became for him to suppress the killing intent in his heart. Just like at the beginning at the research facility in New Zealand, there were many humans used as experimental subjects here, and Bai Yi even found a few familiar people inside.


    The three of them stopped at a processing room. This was where they kept all the discarded experimental subjects. The people here were all either dead or close to death and had completely lost all value or use.


    Bai Yi stood outside looking at the bloody bodies, and his gaze turned ice cold. However, Bai Yi¡¯s eyes flashed for a moment seemingly unsure. While everybody was still reeling in shock, Bai Yi broke the wall with a punch and instantly appeared in front of a disabled experimental subject. The experimental subject stared into blank space with dead eyes as if she were already dead.


    Bai Yi placed his hand on this person and injected his special energy inside. The body that was initially close to death received the stimulation from the injection of special energy. Gradually, color returned to the pair of dead eyes and slowly focused on Bai Yi. Upon seeing Bai Yi, the pair of eyes paused for a moment and hope blossomed in them.


    ¡°Un¡­Uncle Bai?¡± The voice was extraordinarily hoarse but filled with emotion. There was an unconcealable impulse of hope in it.


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk. I¡¯m going to save you now.¡±


    This disabled experimental subject was somebody very familiar to Bai Yi: Bailey Khina. One of his companions from Waikato University. Due to their different choices, they ended up walking different paths. The incidents in the past rapidly flashed through Bai Yi¡¯s mind and a hint of nostalgia rose. However, Bai Yi didn¡¯t understand why would Khina appear here, but it wasn¡¯t the time to be thinking about that now.


    ¡°Uncle Bai, I¡¯m sorry,¡± Khina apologized after her surge of emotions. Tears fell from her eyes.


    For a countless number of nights, the incident from their past replayed in Khina¡¯s mind tormenting her with incomparable guilt. If not for her blind pleading then, there wouldn¡¯t have been so many tragedies up until now. Many times, Khina wanted to look for Bai Yi and apologize to him. However, Khina never had the will to follow through with it because she knew how empty and worthless her apology would be. Other than tearing open the scars in their hearts again, there would be no meaning to her apology. However, after being kidnapped and brought to this facility, it had become Khina¡¯s greatest regret.


    ¡°Why are you saying all this now? I¡¯m going to save you.¡±


    Although Bai Yi said that he was going to save Khina, Bai Yi himself knew that injuries like these weren¡¯t wounds left behind from battles. Khina¡¯s entire body was ruined. It wasn¡¯t possible to save her.


    ¡°Uncle Bai, this is my final request. Please¡­Please¡­!¡±


    Khina pointed at her own stomach. The three of them looked over and realized that there was an unnatural swelling in her abdomen as if she was pregnant. No, it wasn¡¯t as if she was pregnant. She really was pregnant! Khina lost her breath and found it difficult to even say a single word. However, she still struggled on, slowly saying the words one by one.


    ¡°It¡­is¡­not¡­Yu Han¡¯s!¡±


    Khina didn¡¯t say what she wanted Bai Yi to do but managed to finish speaking her final five words. After she said Yu Han¡¯s name, Khina eyes remained wide open in a stare as she finally passed away. Of course, it couldn¡¯t be Yu Han¡¯s as he had died years ago, but Bai Yi knew why Khina insisted on saying those five words before she died. She was worried that Bai Yi wouldn¡¯t be willing to protect the baby in her womb if it was Yu Han¡¯s.


    Bai Yi raised his head slightly, sucked in a deep breath, and endured the pain in his heart.


    ***


    Translator Notes:


    1. I don¡¯t know he¡¯s called Jimmy here, I¡¯m guessing it¡¯s a fake name he had in front of the others. Luke and Jimmy are the same person.

 Chapter 249

    Chapter 249: Difference


    Bai Yi exhaled deeply, took out a Soul Release Wood necklace, and placed it on Khina¡¯s body. Fortunately, the death of the physical body didn¡¯t mean complete death now, so although Bai Yi was still very sorrowful inside, it was still bearable for him. However, the iciness in Bai Yi¡¯s eyes became more and more severe, and even Ulisses felt his body starting to stiffen. Khina was just an accident. Even he hadn¡¯t expected to find Bai Yi¡¯s old friend here, and from the looks of it, they had a good relationship.


    Bai Yi placed the Soul Release Wood necklace on Khina¡¯s head and slid his fingertips across Khina¡¯s abdomen.


    ¡®Swish!¡¯


    Bai Yi cut open Khina¡¯s abdomen with a wind blade to reveal the small baby inside. Bai Yi carried this small curled up infant in his arms with eyes full of tenderness and affection. However, very quickly Bai Yi started to frown. The vital signs of this infant were abnormally weak as if she was going to die at any moment. It was easy to imagine what kind of gruesome things happened to Khina here; when her entire body was already ruined, how could the baby be alright? If not for Khina protecting her baby with all her strength, this baby would have probably died long ago.


    ¡°Tell Nancy that there¡¯s a baby from a Cesarean section that¡¯s very weak and to prepare for treatment,¡± Bai Yi instructed.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Alodia nodded and called Nancy.


    Just when Alodia started to get worried, Nancy finally picked up the call after a few rings.


    ¡°Be careful. We¡¯re getting surrounded here!¡± Nancy said anxiously before Alodia could speak and hung up immediately after speaking.


    Alodia blanked for a moment and looked at Bai Yi solemnly. The voice on the phone wasn¡¯t loud, but with their level of hearing, they still heard it clearly. Bai Yi¡¯s eyes were extremely calm and reassured Alodia not to worry. From the looks of things now, everybody in the team had probably met with some difficulty by now. As for those who hadn¡¯t met with anything, they probably had a different role to play compared to the other members of his team.


    Bai Yi carried the baby and took out a tube of Material Cream. It was a kind of essence that Bai Yi¡¯s team created from the plants and animals in the Devil Isles. It could be very easily absorbed to replenish their energy and boost their vital signs. Bai Yi dripped a drop of this solution into the baby¡¯s mouth and closed the tube. For a baby, just a drop of this was enough to sustain them for a few days.


    Quickly, the guards in the research facility rushed to where they were and attacked them. Bai Yi turned his head slightly and swept his hand before him. A transparent ripple of air spread in front of him and all the attacks was stopped outside the air shield. There were a lot of guards who came and all of them were at least LV2. There were even six LV3s among them. The research was really going well huh? They almost turned the evolution system into a production line at a factory. However, these were just a bunch of hastily created products. What was the use of just having the LV?


    Bai Yi¡¯s clenched his right hand tightly, and everybody suddenly felt powerful gusts of wind blowing and gathering toward the center. In the next moment, Bai Yi¡¯s right hand pressed downward.


    Air Impact!


    The huge volume of air that gathered toward the center exploded instantaneously, and with a ¡®boom!¡¯ the powerful blow hit the entire area. Within a range of twenty plus meters, countless cracks appeared on the walls of the research facility. The LV2s were instantly sent flying from the impact and only stopped when they collided with the wall, blood spurting out from their mouths immediately afterward from the devastating impact. Only the six LV3s had erected their defenses in time and got pushed back only a small distance.


    ¡°LV3: air control!¡± One of them looked at Bai Yi and said coldly.


    ¡°What a coincidence. I¡¯m also an air controller. I heard of Team Leader Bai Yi¡¯s great name long ago. Why don¡¯t Team Leader Bai Yi give me some pointers? By the way, I am Stephen. Remember my name.¡±


    A man stood out and exhaled some smoke from his cigarette forming a circle of smoke in mid-air. This circle of smoke didn¡¯t dissipate in the air but flew toward Bai Yi when he flicked the ash off the cigarette.


    At this moment, Bai Yi didn¡¯t mind this circle of smoke but looked at Khina. He already knew from Momo that the soul would leave the body from one to thirty minutes after death, but since Bai Yi couldn¡¯t see souls, he decided to wait for the full thirty minutes.


    Stephen obviously felt that Bai Yi took him lightly and accelerated the circle of smoke he was controlling. However, this circle of smoke suddenly dissipated when it reached five meters away from Bai Yi.


    Eh?


    What ignorance, how can a hastily created LV3 compare with Bai Yi? Although both of them are LV3s that can unleash their life fields outside of their bodies, there are still differences in strength. They both have the ability to control air, but with just this level of strength, how can he overpower Bai Yi¡¯s air control? Ulisses thought while watching them.


    After that, Ulisses looked at the woman among the six of them. As long as she dies, his mission would be completed.


    ¡°Bastard!¡±


    Stephen became enraged when he saw that Bai Yi hadn¡¯t even turned his head. Raising both of his hands horizontally in front of his body, the air between his hands started to spin crazily and a faint white color started to appear in the compressed air. The air ground against itself and gave off a high-pitched roaring sound.


    Roaring Wind Bullet: Rapid Fire!


    In the blink of an eye, countless transparent wind bullets shot out from various directions and trajectories toward the three of them. This was the power of an LV3: the ability to control external matter and energy within their life field. However, Stephen seemed to be just wasting his effort because Bai Yi¡¯s group didn¡¯t shift at all. Countless wind bullets shot toward Bai Yi from multiple trajectories, but the moment they reached within five meters of Bai Yi they lost its form and dissipated.


    After dozens of seconds of attacking in full force, the people on Bai Yi¡¯s side were still relaxed and casual. The initially fierce attacks would just dissipate into nothingness the moment they arrived close to Bai Yi.


    Soon enough, Stephen stopped and panted.


    At this time, the rest of them could tell that Stephen and Bai Yi were on completely different levels. Although they were both LV3, the differences were incomparably huge when it came to the strength, level of control, and the range of their life field. Even with the same abilities, Stephen didn¡¯t seem to have any ability to resist Bai Yi. If Bai Yi wanted to, he probably could rob Stephen of all of his air control and leave him without even the slightest amount of air.


    ¡°We should attack together. Our opponent is Bai Yi after all!¡± One of them said after patting the dispirited Stephen.


    Bai Yi looked at the Soul Release Wood necklace. Ever since entering the research facility, Bai Yi had been tolerating everything. He could tell that everything had been intentionally planned by somebody. Bai Yi didn¡¯t want to get tricked by others. However, Bai Yi had to admit that, no matter how others plotted against him, the fact that Truman and the others were using evolved humans as experimental subjects to complete the system of evolution was an indisputable truth. Bai Yi¡¯s fury and killing intent had already reached its limit after seeing Khina.


    The energy from the six of them flared and pulsed as they carefully approached Bai Yi.


    At this time, Bai Yi looked at Khina¡¯s wide open eyes and his right hand gently closed them for her.


    Bind: Formless Prison!


    The six of them who just stepped into Bai Yi¡¯s range immediately felt a powerful pressure on their bodies and it became incredibly hard to even lift up their feet. Five of them realized that they couldn¡¯t breathe at all as if the air around them had completely stopped and wouldn¡¯t move into their lungs. Among the six of them, only Stephen with the ability of air control fared slightly better. Although his life field was many times weaker than Bai Yi¡¯s, he more or less could still snatch some control from Bai Yi close to his body to slowly move and breathe.


    However, Stephen didn¡¯t run away but stayed in place along with the other five. He understood that at a time like this, it was best to not stand out. If he tried to escape by force now, he might very well become the first target.


    Shit! How can the difference be so big?


    An air prison wasn¡¯t difficult to imagine as he had used this move before too. However, usually, it was only effective on LV2s and the effect was very weak on LV3s.


    Quickly, the faces of five of them rapidly turned red. Apparently, the air in their lungs was running out. Although evolved humans had already become a lot stronger, it wasn¡¯t like they had evolved to the point where they could live without oxygen. However, Bai Yi didn¡¯t seem to pay attention to this at all and only quietly waited for the time to pass.


    Many more people ran to this place from all over the research facility, but they all waited outside without advancing. None of them dared to move when they saw a bunch of LV2s collapsed along the corridor vomiting blood and suffering from concussions. Furthermore, looking at the red faces of the LV3s and how all of them struggled with all their might but still remained immobile, things looked anything but reassuring.


    Who would go in and ask for death?


    After thirty minutes, Bai Yi retrieved the Soul Release Wood Necklace and stood up. Bai Yi¡¯s group couldn¡¯t see souls, so they chose to wait for the full duration to ensure that the soul had been sucked into the Soul Release Wood. By then, the eyes of five of them had already rolled upward to show the whites and they had already fainted. Only Stephen looked at Bai Yi grimly. He continuously clenched and unclenched his right hand in nervousness.


    Then, Bai Yi stretched out his left hand and made a hand seal!


    A few breaking and cracking sounds could be heard and the five people who had initially fainted awoke from the pain. An immense pressure had crashed down on their bodies and crushed their bones and muscles to pieces. Bai Yi carried the little baby girl and walked outside. Behind Bai Yi¡¯s group, the six of them laid on the ground unmoving like a pile of rotten meat. At this time, somebody else happened to enter from outside. The two sides stared at each other from opposites ends of the room.


    ¡°Amy!¡± Rose suddenly turned her attention to the unmoving woman on the ground and ran over.


    ¡­


    The ten fingers are connected to the heart, and the hands are an extension of the inner self. Hand seals make use of the hands to guide an individual¡¯s awareness and simplify the difficulty of the Computation Routine and increase the level of control.


    The Computation Routine will be explained next time!

 Chapter 250

    Chapter 250: Merry Bride


    ¡°Amy!¡±


    Rose ran toward the girl on the ground with no regard to any potential attack from Bai Yi. It was obvious to everybody how anxious Rose was over this girl. Bai Yi stopped and looked at Rose without a trace of guilt in his eyes. If somebody should be guilty, it was them.


    Rose turned around and glared at Bai Yi viciously.


    Both of them were very familiar with each other and had met again during the welcome banquet. Rose had been one of the important team leaders among the evolved humans back on the Devil Isles. Bai Yi gazed at Rose for a moment before turning around and leaving. There wasn¡¯t much to say to Rose. The most important thing now was to gather all the members of his team since Bai Yi didn¡¯t know who the masterminds behind this were and what they were plotting. Moreover, proper arrangements had to be made for the baby. Otherwise, any small confrontation would end the fragile life of the baby.


    ¡°BAI YI!¡± Rose roared loudly and clenched her right hand in front of her.


    ¡®BANG!¡¯


    All the water pipes in the area suddenly burst. The water that gushed out formed sharp blades and shot toward Bai Yi¡¯s group. Rose¡¯s expression was incredibly vicious. She thought that Bai Yi would give her an explanation, but she never expected that he would completely ignore her.


    The sharp water blades came at them from all directions, and this time Bai Yi focused rather than remaining nonchalant.


    Rose had been a powerful team leader on the Devil Isles. Her growth after that wasn¡¯t too different from Bai Yi¡¯s team. Even though she used the Blossomy drug to enter LV3, she was still very powerful.


    Bai Yi raised his right hand and surrounded his group in a rapidly spinning sphere of air about three meters wide. The air sphere and water blades collided fiercely. The sound of impact and grinding rang continuously until a sudden ¡®BOOM!¡¯ forcefully propelled all the water away. The explosion of water hit the unfortunate people who couldn¡¯t dodge in time and many of them fell with cries of pain.


    Rose was pushed back slightly as well, but in the next instant she accelerated and overtook Bai Yi to stand before him and block his path. Water continuously flowed and gathered in the passageway. The surging water mixed with the fresh blood of the injured and turned an eye-catching shade of red. Under Rose¡¯s control, all the water gathered and circled around her like a red water dragon.


    ¡°Step aside!¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Do you know who she was to me?¡± Rose¡¯s expression was ice cold.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± Bai Yi shook his head.


    ¡°SHE WAS MY SISTER!!¡± Rose screamed at Bai Yi savagely.


    Rose had always thought Amy had died on the Devil Isles, but somehow, she managed to survive and even managed to get to Tasmania. It was easy to imagine just how happy and emotional she had been when they were reunited. However, Rose never expected that Amy would survive the Devil Isles and arrive safely in Tasmania only to be killed by Bai Yi.


    ¡°China has an old saying: those who kill will be killed sooner or later,¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Kill? Who do you think you are?! This is a peaceful and lawful world!¡± Rose shouted at Bai Yi furiously.


    ¡°Peaceful world? HAHAHA! So this is the peaceful world you are talking about? Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t know who they were. Even if you weren¡¯t on the same team or familiar with them, they were still our comrades-in-arms! Yes, you guys are all in high positions now and you feel that with such power you are above the rest. For your own power and interests, you can even treat your previous comrades this way!¡± Bai Yi pointed at the room behind him where countless corpses still lay.


    Ever since coming back to Tasmania three years ago, Bai Yi felt that his once familiar friends had all changed from sitting high positions for such a long time. However, Bai Yi didn¡¯t mind it too much since pursuing power and self-interest was just human nature. Even Bai Yi himself thought about how he was going to live in Tasmania in the future. After all, he couldn¡¯t always rely on his strength to take whatever he wanted. However, Bai Yi always felt that he had a line in his heart that he would never cross. Seeking and desiring power wasn¡¯t wrong. What was wrong was that Truman and the others had abandoned that line.


    ¡°Always like this, ALWAYS LIKE THIS! AS IF YOU¡¯RE A SAINT! Yes, we should all be grateful to you. You did a lot for everybody back on the Devil Isles, but things are different now! This world has always been separated into many different classes.¡±


    ¡°What right or basis do you have to interfere with what we do?! In the end, how are you different from us? If you really treated all people equally, then how can you kill others so easily? Your actions are even lower than ours because it didn¡¯t produce even the slightest bit of value!¡± Rose retorted while staring severely at Bai Yi.¡±


    Didn¡¯t produce even the slightest bit of value!


    Bai Yi couldn¡¯t even give her a mocking smile at this time. So her so-called value was to use their friends as stepping stones to develop a fast and safe path of evolution? So that they could advance safely? Power and interests were really the things that corrupted people the most, and it had only been a few years.


    Core values!


    At this moment, Bai Yi quietly examined his own core values; he would never lose his heart.


    ¡°Step aside, while I don¡¯t plan to act,¡± Bai Yi couldn¡¯t be bothered to say anymore.


    The water dragon surrounding Rose roared loudly into the sky and charged ferociously toward Bai Yi. Apparently, even if Bai Yi didn¡¯t intend to act, Rose would not let Bai Yi leave. For Rose whose sister had just been murdered, her hatred for Bai Yi had reached inconsolable levels. This was also an end result that a particular group of people wanted. With this as bait, they could set Bai Yi¡¯s team and the current people in power over Tasmania against each other and even wipe each other out.


    Bai Yi instantly drew Red Kiss and swung the sword.


    ¡®Clang!¡¯


    A large hole appeared in the center of the water dragon, but its speed didn¡¯t decrease as it continued to surge toward them. The water dragon was just the form that Rose manipulated it to occupy. It wasn¡¯t a real living thing, so it couldn¡¯t possibly have any vital parts. Bai Yi looked at the water that continued to gush from the pipes.


    So this was your plan? The more water that flowed out, the more advantageous it was for you, huh?


    Reverse Flower Eyes!


    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes immediately started spinning, but Rose had already closed her eyes and closed her palms together.


    Life Field Sensing!


    Practically everybody knew that Bai Yi had the Reverse Flower Eyes, how would they not prepare countermeasures against it? The life field that extended beyond the body could not only control matter and energy but also act as a sort of sixth sense to sense their surroundings. Under Rose¡¯s control, the faint red water all around swirled and crashed over Bai Yi¡¯s group trapping them inside.


    ¡®Boom!¡¯


    The giant red water dragon closed in on itself completely, wrapped around and crushed them. The ground tore from the immense water pressure. The waterspout spun and ground crazily, but Rose stopped what she was doing and looked at the center.


    Without her noticing, the flowing water had started to crystallize from the center. With a few splashing sounds, the remaining flowing water crashed to the ground and revealed a beautiful crystalline hurricane sculpture at the center.


    Crystallization Energy!


    Alodia slowly retracted her right hand from the center of the crystallized waterspout.


    ¡°Help me carry her,¡± Bai Yi passed the baby to Alodia.


    High-speed movement and acceleration were both extremely dangerous to the fragile baby. Due to the baby being too weak, Bai Yi hadn¡¯t tried dodging at all since the beginning. However, from the looks of things, he had no choice but to act for real.


    Alodia took the female baby and carefully cradled her in her hands. The baby was born from a Cesarean section and looked wrinkled and ugly, but also represented the hope of a new life.


    Bai Yi swung Red Kiss forward. With a ¡®ding!¡¯, a crack appeared on the crystallized red waterspout and fell to the ground in two. Seeing that Bai Yi¡¯s group wasn¡¯t injured in the slightest, Rose¡¯s expression turned turn dark. She raised her right hand again and all the remaining water started to gather.


    Shit!


    This place was really unsuitable for her abilities. If she was near a river or the sea, she wouldn¡¯t be so passive in this battle.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to say it for the last time: step aside!¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Not unless you make Amy come back to life!¡± Rose said viciously.


    That was impossible. Even though they had a method of preserving the soul now, it was still far from revival.


    ¡°Then, I¡¯m sorry!¡± Bai Yi said and took a step forward ¨C Flash Step!


    ¡­


    Bai Yi and Momo were both baited into their own incidents when they stepped inside the research facilities. The rest of their team met with various problems as well. Just as Bai Yi guessed, there were some people who were trying to lure Bai Yi¡¯s team into a conflict with the upper echelons of Tasmania. At the same time, a restless atmosphere spread throughout the entire city and made all the evolved humans slowly become agitated until only a spark would set everybody into a frenzy.


    ¡°Are the preparations done?¡± A person asked in a secret location.


    ¡°Everything¡¯s prepared, and everybody is in place. We will definitely record the truth of everything that happens here,¡± a young man replied.


    Everything from the satellites to the surveillance equipment inside the city was fully ready.


    ¡°Are you dumb? The higher-ups don¡¯t want the truth. It¡¯s good that it¡¯s real footage, but we still need to cut and edit it, or else how are we going to show this to the world and achieve our goals?¡± Another guy asked lazily while eating a bag of chips.


    ¡°Ray, what exactly are the higher-ups¡¯ objectives?¡±


    The man called Ray munched on his chips with a crunching sound and said in a relaxed tone, ¡°That I won¡¯t tell you. It¡¯s not good for you to know too much.¡± What are their motives? They actually have three objectives. Doesn¡¯t China have an old saying? Kill three birds with one stone, right?


    ***


    Translator Notes:


    I don¡¯t know why the title is ¡°Merry Bride¡±, *shrugs* but I don¡¯t think I translated it wrong.

 Chapter 251

    Chapter 251: Personally


    One had to admit that Doctor Wang, Rose, and Truman¡¯s methods were ¡®correct¡¯. Only by conducting experiments on others could they protect themselves from the risks and dangers of the trials and errors of developing new things. Nothing ever appeared out of thin air. Even the Flash Step that Bai Yi used had only been achieved through countless trials of various methods to control the explosive force of special energy. He had injured himself at least a hundred times over the development process.


    Special energy resided in every cell of the body and every part of the soul. Methods like circulating energy through certain meridians had no effect on the control of the special energy at all.


    To control the explosive force of special energy, they needed to use a Computation Routine to arrange and organize the energy.


    A Computation Routine is a method by which special energy was arranged and organized in order to effectively make use of its power and perform various kinds of skills. Computation Routine was what Bai Yi¡¯s team named this method back on the Devil Isles after a bunch of them argued the name¡¯s merits over the other candidates like ¡®Spell Chant¡¯, ¡®Incantation¡¯, etc. for over half a day.


    Every Computation Routine had a certain calculation method that had been developed over a long period of trial and error, but all they had to do now was to follow the prescribed steps when using these Computation Routines.


    The control of the body and the special energy inside the body were both awareness intensive activities. For example, if you asked a great painter to paint ten different masterpieces, he would find it extremely tiring no matter how good of a painter he was. However, if one could just photocopy the same ten paintings, it would be incredibly easy by comparison. Coincidentally, special energy also had this ¡®memory effect¡¯. As long as one could make use of this ¡®memory effect¡¯ of the special energy itself, one could ¡®photocopy¡¯ the process of using each skill and greatly reduce the strain on awareness.


    Replicating was always easier than creating something new!


    Even so, the Computation Routine was still extremely complex because it was a type of detailed energy use calculation. Hence, Bai Yi¡¯s team gradually created ¡®hand seals¡¯. The saying went, the ten fingers were connected to the heart and were extensions of it. Thus, hand seals could direct the individual¡¯s awareness to a certain extent and reduce the difficulty of the Computation Routines.


    Ancient humans created and developed many things that many people thought useless, but they weren¡¯t actually useless. Future generations have simply lost the essence of their ways and speak from a scientific perspective to say that the ancient people¡¯s creations were all useless. What they didn¡¯t know was that they simply didn¡¯t have the ability to understand their ways.


    A good Computation Routine could produce a great qualitative change in the power of a skill!


    For example, both graphite and diamond are made of carbon. However, due to the difference in the arrangement of the carbon atoms, the former was almost worthless while the latter was greatly coveted.


    A Computation Routine precisely arranged and organized the energy inside one¡¯s body which resulted in a qualitative change. However, the arrangement of energy was extremely complex. It was much more complex than arranging a physical structure because the energy was always flowing and changing. Hence, it was extremely difficult to develop an effective way of using the Computation Routines. So far, Bai Yi¡¯s team had only started to make a little headway that couldn¡¯t even be considered to be at the entry level, and they hadn¡¯t reached a level of qualitative change yet. This kind of groping around in the dark came with a huge element of risk, and any carelessness would result in¡­!


    ¡­


    The Flash Step was a kind of footwork they created by chance while on the Devil Isles and it allowed a person to accelerate explosively in an instant. It was not suitable for long-distance travel, but in a short distance, one could almost avoid somebody¡¯s line of sight such that normal people¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t capture their movements. Using the Flash Step required a special Computation Routine that arranged the special energy inside the body to produce an explosive force.


    Bai Yi stepped with a Flash Step and instantly disappeared from Rose¡¯s eyes.


    Rose didn¡¯t have time to react, and the next thing she knew, Bai Yi stood right in front of her with Red Kiss pressed against the center of her brow. Rose stared at Bai Yi with a dumbfounded expression, while Bai Yi¡¯s eyes just contained a cold indifference.


    ¡°Step aside!¡±


    Rose¡¯s eyes flashed. Her lips cracked open and she seemed to remember the experiences on the Devil Isles where danger was at around every corner and her life was constantly at risk. At that moment, her body¡¯s natural instincts awakened. She had really been living too well over the past few years and had forgotten the time living on the Devil Isles. She was foolish enough to treat a battle like a child¡¯s game, and a battle with Bai Yi at that. In the next moment, Rose¡¯s right foot pushed down forcefully, and with a ¡®CRACK!¡¯, countless water geysers broke through the ground and destroyed their footing.


    Bai Yi¡¯s Red Kiss pressed forward, but the moment he pierced through Rose¡¯s skin a small stream of blood flowed out from the wound and wrapped around his sword.


    Rose¡¯s life field could control water, but in truth, what she could control best was her own blood.


    In that instant, Bai Yi felt an unimaginable resistance from that small stream of blood.


    ¡®BOOM!¡¯


    The gushing water erupted around Rose, burst through the research facility itself, and formed a gigantic geyser shooting into the sky. A huge water dragon rose from the research facility and crashed down. At the same time, all the air in the research facility was pulled towards them and spun at a frenzied rate. As the two attacks continued to ravage the surrounding area, another loud ¡®BOOM!¡¯ sounded and the research facility exploded from the struggle between the hurricane and the water dragon.


    ¡®Whoosh!¡¯


    Three spherical balls of air shot out from the chaotic water hurricane, and Bai Yi floated in the sky with Alodia and Ulisses.


    At this time, Rose stood on the tail of the water dragon, and a stream of blood flowed from the wound between her brows into the water. The blood didn¡¯t dissipate in the water but spun slowly. It circled around Rose in tiny streams and protected her. Rose lifted her head. All the water that had erupted rejoined the water dragon and enlarged it. It turned its head toward Bai Yi. However, Bai Yi only glanced at it before flying away with Alodia and Ulisses.


    Rose¡¯s expression turned dark for a moment before she collapsed the water dragon and returned the blood to her body. After that, Rose touched the wound between her brows. Bai Yi wasn¡¯t an opponent that she could face alone. To take revenge for Amy, she wasn¡¯t anywhere near enough. Rose jumped out of the research facility swiftly and ran toward a certain direction. In the lowest area of the research facility, water continued to gush out of a huge water pipe.


    ¡­


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you kill her?¡± Ulisses asked.


    Bai Yi glanced at Ulisses and landed. After asking, Ulisses suddenly realized that he was too reckless with that question. Bai Yi¡¯s goal wasn¡¯t to kill Rose in the first place. He just wanted to leave the research facility and make arrangements for the little baby girl. Furthermore, Bai Yi cared more about how the people in his team were doing now, not fighting a life and death battle with once-familiar people.


    ¡°Ulisses, we have known each other for many years, right?¡± Bai Yi asked Ulisses.


    ¡°En, it¡¯s already been more than eight years,¡± Ulisses nodded.


    He was one of the evolved humans that had gone berserk in New Christchurch that Bai Yi saved. Afterward, Bai Yi wanted to construct a resting place in which to pass the Hypersomnia Stage and invited him to join the team. Ever since then, Ulisses stayed on Bai Yi¡¯s team.


    ¡°Eight years, huh? Even after so long, I still didn¡¯t know the true you.¡±


    ¡°Team Leader, I don¡¯t know what you are talking about,¡± Ulisses denied.


    ¡°Talk. What motivated you to start this incident? What is your true identity?¡± Bai Yi asked and stared at Ulisses.


    Ulisses froze to the spot and didn¡¯t dare to move as if he were a toad being stared at by a snake. As Bai Yi¡¯s teammate for eight years, Ulisses understood Bai Yi¡¯s decisiveness and coldness deeply. He heard that Bai Yi wasn¡¯t this way before. Previously, he was just a normal human and even a very kind person at that. What caused Bai Yi to change was a very deep and heavy past.


    ¡°I¡¯ll talk!¡± Ulisses spoke two words.


    ¡°I¡¯m a sergeant in the American army who was sent here after the activated cells broke out in New Zealand. My mission was just to collect resources and materials here, but after getting infected by activated cells the higher-ups ordered me to stay on the Devil Isles to observe and get close to people worth getting close to like you, Truman, and any other evolved human with prestige on the Devil Isles. My mission was to deliver anything useful out for my country to use and research.¡±


    ¡°After coming back to Tasmania, I received a new mission. The mission was to lure you so that you could see the dark side of the city and push you into conflict with your original friends,¡± Ulisses finished speaking and looked at Bai Yi.¡±


    ¡°Motive!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Did you think I would l know the true objective behind all this with my status? The only thing I know is that the higher-ups ordered me to do so,¡± Ulisses said and shrugged.


    ¡°Who else on the team?¡±


    ¡°Romain. He belongs to Germany and had a similar mission to me. We found out each other¡¯s identity by chance one day, but we didn¡¯t expose each other and agreed to not hinder each other¡¯s movements. After all, it wouldn¡¯t benefit either of us if we got exposed.¡±


    Ulisses didn¡¯t bother hiding all this. Since he was already exposed, he wouldn¡¯t try to cover for his rival. Although their missions were quite similar, they weren¡¯t on the same team.


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡±


    Bai Yi started laughing. Seriously, he thought all along that it was strange that they rarely saw people from other countries when there were so many of them. Apparently, it wasn¡¯t that they hadn¡¯t gone to the Devil Isles, but they had infiltrated it long ago. More than likely, only the first batch of people had survived the Devil Isles since the people who were sent there later couldn¡¯t do much. By then, the creatures of the Devil Isles had already become too powerful, so sending normal humans there was just the same as sending them to their deaths.


    ¡°How loyal!¡± Bai Yi commented and ceased his laughter.


    ¡°I also have my own reasons even though, in the beginning, the only condition for selection was absolute loyalty,¡± Ulisses replied after a period of silence.


    ¡°You can be loyal to your country to the very end then!¡± Bai Yi said lightly.


    Ulisses was extremely shocked. He didn¡¯t think that Bai Yi wouldn¡¯t let him go even though he revealed everything. Ulisses circulated the energy in his body desperately and tried to run away, but an intense pain spread through his body and robbed him of all his strength.


    Bai Yi wouldn¡¯t make the same mistake again. Even if it was against a familiar teammate, he would turn his heart to ice and do what needed to be done personally!

 Chapter 252

No content

 Chapter 253

    Chapter 253: Family


    Bai Yi flew away with Alodia in search of the rest of his teammates. At the same time, Bai Yi pondered the motives and objectives of the people behind this entire incident. Even though he was deep in thought, Bai Yi didn¡¯t lower his guard. Suddenly, Bai Yi turned his head and a bolt of lightning shot past about a meter away from him.


    Bai Yi looked toward the direction it came from and saw an Asian-looking young man.


    That attack had obviously been just a greeting rather than an intent to harm Bai Yi, so Bai Yi decided to land and meet the man. The man was at least thirty years old. He smiled, but it seemed rather cold and distant. The two sides stared and assessed each other thoroughly. The man opposite Bai Yi had probably been in a position of power for a long time. Even a simple and quiet stare down like this usually gave people a feeling of pressure. However, it had little effect on somebody without many desires or fears.


    ¡°Your daughter is over in that direction, but the location of the others isn¡¯t clear,¡± the man said and pointed in the direction. The man observed that Bai Yi still seemed very calm and added with a smile, ¡°Your family members are doing very well too.¡±


    Bai Yi¡¯s expression finally changed slightly, but at this moment, that man had already turned around and left.


    ¡°Uncle Bai!¡± Alodia looked at Bai Yi worriedly. The ¡®family members¡¯ that that man mentioned at the end was obviously not a reference to Momo.


    ¡°En, I know,¡± Bai Yi said heavily. The man spoke in Chinese and mentioned the family members that Bai Yi had never mentioned before. From that, it wasn¡¯t hard to deduce the identity or motive of the man.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I won¡¯t give in to a hostage situation. Although my parents are just normal humans, they are very open-minded and will definitely support my choice. After all, they were the ones who taught me to be this way,¡± Bai Yi said to Alodia.


    Alodia just started to let out a sigh of relief, but suddenly felt strange. There was something strange in Bai Yi¡¯s tone.


    ¡°Uncle Bai¡¯s parents are very amiable, right?¡±


    ¡°En, very gentle. My family opened a small restaurant. My old man is a bit plump, but don¡¯t people always say ¡®the wider the heart the larger the body¡¯? There was never much that could make him upset or angry. My mom is a normal housewife that used to nag at me all day, but it was only out of concern for me¡­¡±


    Bai Yi started to tell Alodia about the things that happened in the past with a nostalgic expression on his face. While on the Devil Isles, Bai Yi initially never said much about his family because he didn¡¯t know if he would be able to survive. After gaining a certain amount of power, Bai Yi had still kept quiet about them because he had long thought of the possibility that his parents would be used against him.


    Apparently, he was right.


    ¡­


    While Bai Yi and Alodia flew towards her, Momo also sensed the location of some people through the Spirit Devouring Butterflies and headed toward them without any hesitation. Undoubtedly, those people had to be the masterminds behind this whole incident. Momo wasn¡¯t an idiot. She killed Isaac because she wanted to, and she wouldn¡¯t let these people off either.


    Soul Devour!


    Countless Spirit Devouring Butterflies and floating souls surrounded and swarmed the five people.


    One of them waved his hand through the air and conjured a stream of flames to cover his body. The other three people also set up their own defenses. They were all apparently very familiar with the Spirit Devouring Butterflies and floating souls. At this time, the man in the center suddenly put his palms together and a ripple spread from his body. With a ¡®buzz!¡¯, all the Spirit Devouring Butterflies and floating souls stopped in the air as if frozen in time.


    ¡°Move! Don¡¯t waste time here!¡± The man shouted and ran outside.


    Momo rushed to where these people were in the research facility; on the way, many guards appeared and attacked Momo. Within a short while, various types of attacks exploded and wreaked havoc on the research facility, threatening to tear the entire building apart.


    ¡°SCRAM!¡±


    After a few times of this, the guards had thoroughly aggravated Momo.


    Soul Charm: Peaceful Rest of Death!


    Momo floated into the air. Her hair waved behind her as gravity seemed to stop working on her body. She appeared to be incomparably peaceful and sacred, but this was the sacredness of death!


    Death Seal!


    Momo made a hand seal with her right hand. Her life field pulsed, and everybody who had been attacking Momo suddenly felt something passing through their minds. Their eyes slowly lost their focus. The guards gradually walked toward Momo, but all of them collapsed, one after another before they could even take a few steps, yet their souls still continued to walk toward Momo and were seemingly unaware that their bodies had already fallen. Soon, their souls disappeared into the White Underworld, and their bodies lay on the ground without any signs of life.


    Among the guards, only the few who entered LV3 could resist Momo. The survivors had already run far away in fear. The difference in strength was too large! Furthermore, Momo¡¯s ability had to do with the mysteries of the soul. After more than a hundred people dying at one time, those who had entered LV3 didn¡¯t dare to obstruct Momo¡¯s path.


    Numerous corpses lay on the ground, but Momo didn¡¯t land. Instead, she continued to fly after her targets. The five people ran out of the research facility through a secret exit and found Momo floating in the air waiting for them. Before they could express their shock, Momo swung her sword.


    Purgatory Sword: Gluttonous Evil Spirits!


    A line of black light flashed, and the man who at the front of the group felt a coldness in his chest just before his upper body separated from his lower half. Although the remaining four behind dodged the attack, they were still scared by the close encounter. The black crack in space that led to the White Underworld burned with a dark transparent flame, and countless floating souls swarmed out from it. The remaining four were still in disbelief that Momo had managed to intercept them, but they had no time to think about it. They enacted a counterattack.


    Immobilization Field!


    The leader of the team, Barzel, clasped his hand together, and all the Spirit Devouring Butterflies and floating souls came to a standstill in the air instantly. By his side, the fire user, Boll, made a few hand seals and fiercely pressed down with both hands.


    Sphere of Fire!


    With Boll at the center, a gigantic sphere of flames wrapped around them and rapidly extended outward. The Spirit Devouring Butterflies and floating souls trapped in the Immobilization Field were instantly submerged in the flames.


    ¡°Do I need to prepare?¡± Schmitt asked.


    ¡°Prepare!¡± Barzel said.


    Schmitt heard Barzel¡¯s words and cut a small wound on his chest. He then took out a small bottle and dripped the blood from inside the bottle onto his wound. The blood was rapidly absorbed into Schmitt¡¯s body the moment it came into contact with the wound, and his body pulsed.


    Purgatory Blade: Great Shockwave!


    Without waiting for them to finish their conversation, Momo swung her blade again and the dark-colored White Underworld Purgatory Flames turned into a ripple and shot forward. However, the remaining woman, Octavania, rushed out and swung a long snow-white sword. The sword qi from both blades collided in midair violently. With a ¡®buzz!¡¯, an intense shockwave ravaged the surroundings. White Underworld Purgatory Flames silently burned around Momo. On the opposite side, the surroundings were frozen by frost qi.


    Extreme cold energy¡­.


    Momo didn¡¯t care about that. What she paid attention to was the sword technique that the woman had used.


    It was also the Great Shockwave!


    Momo¡¯s gaze went icy. The sword techniques that Bai Yi¡¯s team used had never been shared with outsiders. Only the people in the team would know them. Momo had felt that something was wrong for a while now.


    Although Chinchilla was only LV2, he was even stronger than they had been while they were at LV2 because he had a very smooth and perfect evolution. They had already thoroughly studied the process of evolution, so Chinchilla didn¡¯t have to make any mistakes in the process. So, how could he have been kidnapped so easily without resistance?


    So it was like this. A traitor on the team, huh? No¡­I should say that the person was actually an undercover agent in the first place.


    At this time, the floating souls of Vala, Heloise, and Mavis came to Momo¡¯s side and secretly said something. Momo¡¯s eyes flashed for a moment, so it was like this!


    Romain!


    ¡°You learned the Great Shockwave quite well!¡± Momo said plainly.


    The expressions of the people opposite changed a few times, while Octavania flicked her long snow-white sword and cold energy circled her body.


    ¡°Thanks for the praise, but I¡¯m still inferior to Miss Momo.¡±


    The collision of their sword qi left marks on the ground, and Momo¡¯s Great Shockwave had completely suppressed Octavania¡¯s so that there was only a small circular area protecting her team members.


    ¡°I always believed that I had developed my sword technique to a very high level. Why is there still such a large difference? Unless I haven¡¯t learned the full thing?¡± Octavania looked at Momo in suspicion.


    ¡°HAHAHAHA!¡±


    Momo was confused for a moment but suddenly burst out laughing. She laughed boisterously, but it didn¡¯t seem brash at all. Instead, it contained a noble disposition. At the very least, that was what the four of them felt since they didn¡¯t feel affronted in the slightest by her laughter.


    ¡°Not having learned it in full? You mean to ask if we hid the true sword techniques from Romain.¡±


    Octavania was stunned for a moment before saying, ¡°Romain. So you guys knew after all.¡±


    The meaning of her words was obvious. Since they knew that Romain was a spy, the sword techniques he brought back couldn¡¯t possibly be complete. If that was true, it made sense why the power of her Great Shockwave was inferior to Momo¡¯s.


    ¡°A lowly mind!¡±


    ¡°Romain knew the complete sword technique. We shared everything with everybody on the team without prejudice and without withholding anything. Your Great Shockwave isn¡¯t weak at all, so apparently, Romain gave you guys the complete technique. The fact that it¡¯s weaker than mine is because of a difference in personal strength. There¡¯s no need to find any excuse for it. If I knew that Romain was a spy, I would have never let him bring back any information and would have killed him on the spot,¡± Momo said in a proud manner with a look of hatred on her face.


    Momo spun her black sword and slid her hand over its surface. Although she had an energy inclination and could use other methods to attack, Momo still favored using the sword.

 Chapter 254

    Chapter 254: Death Blood Bond


    Momo brushed her left hand over the body of the blade and raised her head slightly. She looked down at them loftily. Momo didn¡¯t really mind other people learning their sword techniques because even if it was the same technique, the power of the technique differed between individual users. Furthermore, in the later stages, the power of the technique depended on personal understanding. However, it was still quite annoying for an enemy to learn their sword techniques and use them against her in battle.


    ¡°Now then, are you ready?¡±


    ¡°Ready?¡±


    ¡°No matter what you are planning, death is the only outcome for you. Other than that, I¡¯m also taking back the things you got from Romain,¡± Momo said as if stating a fact.


    Their hearts skipped a beat as Momo spoke and pointed the black sword at them.


    Purgatory Sword: Break: Great Shockwave!


    The technique used the same starting motion as the Great Shockwave, so Octavania immediately lifted her own sword as well. Barzel watched their movements and felt his heart pause.


    Shit! Why is Momo using the same attack?


    The two of them swung their swords at the same time and because Octavania really wanted to win this clash against Momo she swung the sword even faster and with more force than previously. However, Momo¡¯s attack rapidly broke through space, and the power of the Great Shockwave multiplied.


    ¡°Be careful!¡± Barzel shouted anxiously, his body moved faster than his voice and held both his hands out in front.


    Immobilization Field!


    The Immobilization Field was a unique transformation of the life field. Within Barzel¡¯s Immobilization Field, any physical or energy attack gradually came to a standstill. Some experts hypothesized that, when the Immobilization Field was at its full strength it could stop the movement of even atoms and subatomic particles, as if freezing time itself.


    The two Great Shockwaves collided and Momo¡¯s attack broke through Octavania¡¯s. Octavania¡¯s eyes were filled with shock. The Immobilization Field appeared as Octavania was about to be killed by Momo¡¯s attack. In Momo¡¯s eyes, it seemed as if her sword qi had come to a stop in mid-air. Although it didn¡¯t stop completely, the sword qi was slow enough to be seen by the naked eye. Barzel and Octavania took advantage of the pause and dodged the blow.


    ¡®Buzz!¡¯


    The Great Shockwave regained its speed, flew out, and destroyed everything around it with a devastating shockwave.


    Fire Fist!


    The moment Barzel and Octavania escaped, Boll jumped up into the air. A large volume of flames burst from his body and fiercely charged toward Momo in the shape of a gigantic fist. The gigantic fist filled Momo¡¯s vision and rushed towards her. The ground around her began to break from the heat of the fire fist.


    At that moment, Momo¡¯s expression turned into a slightly brash smile!


    Butterfly Flash Step!


    Momo disappeared and reappeared right below Boll. However, the moment Momo disappeared, Boll had already put up his guard. He wasn¡¯t like the three men in the research facility who had died without knowing how Momo managed to escape from the sealed corridor.


    The black sword collided with Boll¡¯s gauntlets, and a loud ¡®clang!¡¯ rang through the air. Boll couldn¡¯t imagine how Momo¡¯s small body could contain such massive strength. The two different colored flames smashed together upon impact of the two weapons. Although the dark-colored soul flames didn¡¯t have any heat, they instantly overpowered and devoured the red-colored flames.


    ¡®BOOM!¡¯


    A huge shockwave sent Boll flying back with dark flames raging over his body. At this time, Momo spun her black blade and began the starting movements of the Wasp¡¯s Sting.


    Immobilization Field!


    Ice Sword: Wasp¡¯s Sting!


    Barzel and Octavania who had barely dodged the Great Shockwave attempted to rescue their teammate. All of them had seen Bai Yi¡¯s team¡¯s sword techniques of Bai Yi¡¯s team. It had only been Octavania who chose to learn them in the end. Wasp¡¯s Sting was the strongest single point piercing sword technique Bai Yi¡¯s team had. The two Wasp¡¯s Sting collided. The small sharp tip of their blades met each other with such a force that space itself seemed to twist for a moment before the blades recoiling from one another.


    Momo suddenly stretched out her left hand at them.


    Soul Draw!


    Romain had told them all to be extremely careful if they faced Momo. If they were just a bit careless, they might not even know how they died. Hence, after seeing Momo¡¯s actions, their hearts palpitated, and they quickly unleashed their powers. Flames, ice, and the Immobilization Field burst outward and disrupted Momo¡¯s life field and broke Momo¡¯s draw on their souls. The shockwave from the outburst pushed Momo back a distance. She backflipped and smiled in excitement.


    So strong!


    They were so different from the few opponents she had before. If she was right, the three of them had all entered LV3 through the normal manner. After getting the information from Romain, nobody would want to use the Blossomy drug to enter LV3 if they could help it. No wonder they were a lot stronger than those people she met earlier. After the massive outburst, the four people on the other side hadn¡¯t stabilized themselves, but they noticed that Momo had stopped in mid-air.


    What?


    The four of them were quick and immediately discovered that black cracks had appeared in their surroundings. Frightened, the four of them quickly tried to escape. The black cracks were of the White Underworld formed from Momo¡¯s Provenance Fruit. Regardless if was the qi or the departed souls inside the White Underworld, neither of them was good news for them.


    Grand Burial: Departed Souls of the White Underworld!


    Momo clasped her hands together, and countless transparent floating souls swarmed out from the cracks around them. The floating souls eddied around the four of them and continued to gather and circle around them. The souls lit up the entire area in a magnificent glow. However, this wasn¡¯t anything good for them. Spiritual bodies and normal lifeforms clashed in general. Every encounter with the souls drained the energy of the four. When their energy was completely drained, their souls would be next.


    Momo stretched out her left hand, but suddenly, she changed movements and pulled her hands apart. Countless floating souls immediately dispersed.


    ¡®BOOM!¡¯


    A pillar of intermixed red and blue light broke into the sky, and all the floating souls that hadn¡¯t managed to dodge in time were all stuck in the pillar of light as if frozen. This pillar of light immediately started spreading, and all the floating souls that encountered this pillar came to standstill and became motes of light. With a ¡®buzz!¡¯, the pillar of light abruptly expanded and created a gigantic circular shape on the ground. Momo was blown far away before the shockwave finally receded.


    Momo stared at them in astonishment. At this time, Momo discovered that Barzel, Boll, and Octavania had formed a triangle formation. Schmitt stood at the center of the triangle, connected to each of them by a limb.


    Interesting!


    When her astonishment passed, Momo started laughing. Everybody started to have different energy attribute inclinations after they entered LV2, and their absolute life field also started to change. However, during that attack, the life fields of the three of them actually managed to fuse together completely! The extremely cold air, high-temperature flames, and the Immobilization Field had merged into one. There were even two types of energy commonly known to be opposing to each other inside, but they had actually managed to fuse together harmoniously. It was definitely only possible because of Schmitt standing at the center.


    The world outside the Devil Isles was indeed very entertaining. The kinds of changes and cooperation by humans were superior to those evolved lifeforms on the Devil Isles.


    Momo smiled and stretched out her hand again.


    However, Schmitt who had his head down all this time suddenly raised his head and looked at Momo. Momo stiffened. Somehow, Schmitt¡¯s had changed his appearance to be identical to Momo¡¯s and that frightened her. Schmitt then did a hand seal on the area around his heart. In the next moment, Momo reeled backward. She felt her life field become strange as if there was a mirror between her and Schmitt so that they were reflections of one another.


    ¡®Ba bum¡¯, ¡®ba bum¡¯, ¡®ba bum¡¯¡­


    Momo seemed to be able to hear their hearts beating in sync and feel the changes in their life field.


    What¡¯s going on?


    Momo raised her hand again, but suddenly Schmitt stabbed a knife into his own stomach. Momo instantly felt a piercing pain coming from her stomach as blood gushed out from the wound. In that instant, Momo¡¯s life field pulsed and pierced her own body without warning.


    Mirror: Death Blood Bond!


    Using the blood Romain gave them, Schmitt could synchronize and fuse their life fields so that he was a ¡®mirror¡¯ of Momo. Through damaging himself, he could cause the same damage to Momo. Evolved humans usually used the life field to control various attacks, but Schmitt directly used the life field¡¯s influence on the human body to attack itself.


    ¡°Momo!¡± Vala and the other souls immediately grabbed hold of Momo.


    Life Field!


    Although Momo didn¡¯t know what was going on, she could tell that Schmitt¡¯s ability had to do with the life field. The harmonious fusion of their life fields just now and the mysterious damage she suffered definitely had to do with the life field. Schmitt stabbed the knife into his stomach again, and Momo felt another piercing pain in her own stomach. Seeing the knife in Schmitt¡¯s hands, a sense of seriousness flashed past Momo¡¯s eyes.


    Equal damage!


    Did that mean that if her opponent stabbed his own vital areas, then she would suffer the same injury? Momo didn¡¯t dare to bet on whether her opponent dared to commit suicide. She wiped away the blood on the corner of her lips, and her eyes turned bright!


    She formed a hand seal, and all of the floating souls and Spirit Devouring Butterflies were sucked back into the White Underworld so that not even Vala had been left outside. Momo¡¯s hair began to float in the air, and her initially brown-ish hair began to turn silver-white. All human emotion seemed to disappear from Momo¡¯s eyes. The sky dimmed as if another world was overlapping with this one. That world was the world inside of Momo: the White Underworld!


    Momo was now the princess of the White Underworld!

 Chapter 255

    Chapter 255: White Underworld Princess


    When Momo was very little, she said that she wanted to be a princess, but everybody thought that Momo had simply been caught up in childhood fairytales. After entering LV3, the declaration that they thought had been a joke became reality. In this world of the dead named the White Underworld, Momo was the princess of all departed souls and possessed absolute power.


    As if the entire world turned dark, the White Underworld overtook the world without warning. Under the dark sky, countless shadows of spirits flickered about, and the aura of the White Underworld flowed into this world. All the living things in the surrounding area felt their environment change; their bodies suffocating. The White Underworld was purer than any Underworld formed by chance, and it was completely unsuitable for any living existence.


    ¡°Schmitt!¡± Barzel shouted to Schmitt.


    ¡°I know.¡±


    Schmitt took a deep breath and stabbed the knife into his heart.


    ¡®Puchi!¡¯


    He had created a huge hole in his heart. His initially healthy heart halted. After piercing his heart, Schmitt¡¯s body trembled and blood flowed out from his wounds as he gradually turned back to his original appearance.


    The moment Schmitt stabbed himself, his life field had merged with Momo¡¯s. Just like a mirror, Momo heard a ¡®Puchi!¡¯ sound coming from her heart and she knew that her heart had been pierced as well. However, Momo¡¯s lips cracked into a wide grin as her gaze became increasingly icy. She pressed her hands together.


    Descend: White Underworld!


    ¡°Tear through it!¡± Barzel roared loudly and pointed at a place.


    From the information Romain gave them, they were done for it they were pulled into the White Underworld. Unexpectedly, Schmitt¡¯s attacks on both of their vital areas hadn¡¯t stop this girl¡¯s actions. Momo was truly someone who had survived on the Devil Isles. She was ruthless and savage when fighting for her life.


    Schmitt placed his hands on the three of them again ¨C Life Field Fusion!


    The four of them unleashed all their power. The pillar of red and blue intertwined light merged with the Immobilisation Field and managed to break through the opening before the White Underworld had completely descended. The four of them immediately rushed through the crack. Behind them was an utterly dark and endless world. Inside the dark world, they could see countless warped spirits and shadows. It was the world of the dead that had once only existed in humanity¡¯s imagination.


    ¡°So close!¡± Barzel exhaled a long breath and panted heavily. If not for Momo pausing for a moment due to her heart being punctured, they probably would have ended up staying in that world forever.


    Inside the overlapped world, Momo floated in the air silently. Her initially closed eyes suddenly opened, and death tattoos appeared on her face.


    ¡°Momo!¡± Vala, Heloise, and Mavis shouted at Momo as they appeared in front of her and tried to stop her. However, Momo ignored them completely and swept them aside.


    ¡°MOMO!¡±


    The three of them flew back towards her and shouted agitatedly at Momo. Hearing their desperate screams, a trace of human emotion finally appeared in Momo¡¯s eyes.


    Vala immediately started to persuade her, ¡°Stop chasing them! Even though you don¡¯t have any real vital areas in your form now, the injuries won¡¯t automatically heal once you exit this state! Stop chasing them so we can think of a solution to deal with the mirror damage.¡±


    Momo listened and her eyes moved. Her human emotions rapidly returned, and her hair gradually returned to a purplish shade of brown from the silver-white color. The moment she returned to her normal state, she vomited out a mouthful of blood.


    Her heart was pierced!


    Vala and the others immediately started to perform an emergency surgery on Momo. Although Momo was the princess of the White Underworld and had power over all the souls, she still couldn¡¯t let other souls approach her at will. Vala immediately isolated their location from all the other souls and entered her body along with Heloise and Mavis to heal her injuries.


    Momo¡¯s body was very special. Souls could enter and operate on her body in greater fineness and detail than even a microsurgery. Of course, it wasn¡¯t a simple thing. In reality, Momo wouldn¡¯t be at ease letting other souls enter her body. In the White Underworld, only Vala, Heloise, and Mavis had the right to do it.


    ¡­


    Bai Yi flew toward the location that the man pointed to quickly. From far away, he could see the abnormally dark sky and he knew that the White Underworld had descended. Momo had only done it once on the Devil Isles, and at that time, all the living things within the overlapped world had died.


    Bai Yi accelerated and shot across the sky towards the area.


    When Bai Yi neared the area, he discovered four people trying to escape.


    ¡®Whoosh!¡¯


    Bai Yi landed and looked at Barzel and his group. Three of them still seemed to be OK, but the last one had a knife stabbed into his heart and the other three were administering emergency treatment to him. Although the life force of evolved humans was very strong, they would still die from an injury like this if it was left untreated. Bai Yi didn¡¯t know who Momo¡¯s enemies were, but from the looks of it, he couldn¡¯t let the four of them leave easily.


    The four of them immediately cursed when they saw Bai Yi.


    Shouldn¡¯t Bai Yi have been lured to another location by now? Why is he here?!


    However, just when the four of them began to despair, another group of people arrived from another direction. These people saw the White Underworld descending and stopped far away, not daring to enter. After a while, they decided to scout the perimeter. They had happened to be traveling in the direction of Bai Yi and Barzel¡¯s group. The group of people were also familiar with Bai Yi and were his original friends. However, it was hard to say if they were still friends now.


    Barzel couldn¡¯t help but grumble in his heart after seeing this group. Couldn¡¯t you guys have freaking come earlier? We shouldn¡¯t have been involved!


    ¡°Bai Yi!¡± Bright looked at Bai Yi. He had already heard about the incident from earlier from other people.


    Bai Yi looked at the group of people behind Bright, and he recognized all of them. They were all Bright¡¯s teammates from before. After Tasmania fell into chaos, their subordinates weren¡¯t too useful anymore. Sure enough, it was only around those comrades that had gone through life and death with him that he could feel at ease.


    ¡°Bright!¡± Bai Yi replied plainly. It was hard to say if they were still friends now.


    Barzel couldn¡¯t help but laugh bitterly. The people who should have come did come in the end, but it was too late. As expected, their planning of time wasn¡¯t done well enough. More accurately, they had underestimated the strength of Bai Yi¡¯s team. A perfectly Blossomed LV3 was indeed far stronger than anybody else was. While Barzel was thinking about what to say, Bright already had enough of the silence.


    ¡°Barzel, why are you guys here? Where¡¯s Isaac?¡± Bright asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Minister Bright. Dr. Isaac was killed by a girl,¡± Barzel said.


    He had almost forgotten that he was a researcher in the research facility. Neither Bai Yi nor Bright knew his true identity.


    Didn¡¯t this just get a lot easier? He only had to tell Bright that Momo had killed everyone in the research facility. The only unfortunate thing was that he had revealed himself, and it wasn¡¯t as safe as hiding behind the scenes.


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Bright was incomparably furious.


    ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Bai Yi suddenly started laughing and looked at Barzel. Bai Yi asked, ¡°Who are you guys, and what are you plotting?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I don¡¯t know what you are talking about. This afternoon, a girl suddenly barged into the research facility, broke through all the defenses, and killed everybody inside. We are still wondering what¡¯s going on,¡± Barzel explained.


    ¡°So only you guys escaped? Everybody else died?¡± Bai Yi asked mockingly.


    ¡°¡­Yes, only we escaped.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really? How unexpected. I didn¡¯t think that the strongest people in the research facility would be the researchers. Strong enough to escape the White Underworld, huh?¡± Bai Yi said indifferently.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a coincidence. We happened to be near an exit on the other side of the research facility.¡±


    ¡°What a smooth reply. Was it specially prepared?¡± Bai Yi continued to ask.


    ¡°I¡¯m just telling things as they are. What are you trying to frame me for?¡±


    ¡°When did I try to frame you? I¡¯m just asking you questions. I didn¡¯t say anything in particular,¡± Bai Yi laughed lightly and looked at Barzel. ¡°In any case, if I really wanted to do something, do you think I would care about your excuses and make you admit to some crime first, eh?¡±


    Bai Yi gave them a mocking smile that didn¡¯t reach his eyes. In the normal human world, only the court could judge whether somebody was guilty or not. However, that wasn¡¯t the case to Bai Yi because they already had the power to mete out punishment to whoever deserved it!


    The White Underworld rapidly receded. Momo floated in the air with a pale face. The clothes around her chest and stomach were stained with blood.


    ¡°Momo!¡± Bai Yi came to Momo¡¯s side.


    ¡°Daddy!¡± Momo said softly with love and adoration.


    Bright¡¯s subordinates rushed inside the research facility and came back out soon after. They then shook their heads. Nothing could survive inside the area where the White Underworld descended. Bright then turned to look at Momo and Barzel¡¯s group.


    ¡°Bai Yi, this is your daughter¡¯s doing, right?¡± Bright asked.


    ¡°En!¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t deny it.


    ¡°HAHAHA!¡± Bright laughed in fury, walked toward Bai Yi, and passed by Barzel¡¯s group.


    Suddenly, a few poison-barbed tentacles shot out. Barzel and his group instantly dodged, but because Barzel had to protect Schmitt, his movements were slowed by a beat and a poisoned barb grazed his arm. Bright wasn¡¯t an idiot. Just like Bai Yi believed, after possessing enough power, they could do whatever they judged to be right or wrong without waiting for a court of law to pass a sentence.


    ¡°It¡¯s great that you admitted it! Although this was all planned by them, it¡¯s undeniable that all my men inside the research facility were killed by your daughter!¡±


    Bright raised his head. His expression was bloodthirsty as he looked at Bai Yi and Barzel¡¯s group.

 Chapter 256

    Chapter 256: Pulling Each Other¡¯s Feet


    Tentacles covered in poisoned barbs shot out from Bright¡¯s left arm. To protect Schmitt, Barzel¡¯s actions were slightly slower and a poisoned barb grazed his arm.


    Shit! Barzel exclaimed in his heart as he dodged.


    Before he could stop, Bright¡¯s teammates immediately begun their attack on the four of them too. In a blink of an eye, numerous attacks rained down and were about to engulf them. Barzel formed a hand seal again.


    Immobilization Field!


    All of the attacks, whether they were of a physical or energy-based nature, instantly came to a stop inside the Immobilization Field. Making use of this brief respite, Barzel and his team escaped the area. A moment later all the attacks came crashing down and shook the area. Although they managed to dodge the attacks, Barzel wasn¡¯t happy at all. Not only had he failed to achieve his goal, one of Bright¡¯s poisoned barbs grazed him.


    Bright¡¯s energy attribute was that of poison. That wasn¡¯t just because Bright fused with the genes of quite a few venomous animals. His energy attribute was inclined towards poison. This kind of energy was very special because it could invade another creature¡¯s body and devour and change the special energy of the other creature. Due to everybody trying to keep their abilities a secret, nobody had found a good countermeasure to his abilities even though most people knew about Bright¡¯s energy attribute.


    After things settled down, the three groups took up a location each and stared at each other.


    Bai Yi stopped at Momo¡¯s side and carefully supported her.


    She actually got injured severely! Momo needs to rest now. If she fights again so soon, the closed wounds will tear open very easily. It seems that Momo didn¡¯t use the White Underworld just because she got very angry, but because she met a powerful opponent.


    ¡°Daddy, be careful of that guy. He uses a mirror-like attack,¡± Momo said.


    Run!


    When everybody turned their attention to Momo, Barzel¡¯s group instantly ran for their lives. Unexpectedly, their first reaction was to run away. It was the most rational choice. Momo alone had given them an extremely difficult time, and they had just stabilized Schmitt¡¯s condition. They couldn¡¯t use his ability again even if they wanted. Now that there was the addition of Bai Yi and Bright¡¯s group, staying there would definitely have resulted in their deaths.


    The four of them dashed in the opposite direction until they landed on the roof of a house.


    At this moment, Bai Yi raised his hand and compressed the air in that area. Feeling the heaviness of the air around them, Boll waved his right hand and flames erupted from his body ¨C Flame Pillar! With a ¡®boom!¡¯, the giant pillar of fire shot into the sky and broke through Bai Yi¡¯s prison of air and allowed the four of them to continue their escape.


    ¡°Escaped,¡± Bai Yi said casually.


    ¡°So your strength is also only at this level. You let them run away in the end,¡± Bright said.


    Bright clearly knew that Bai Yi was at least 400 meters away from the group of people. Being able to control the air to stop them from such a long distance away meant that Bai Yi¡¯s abilities had far surpassed all other evolved human he knew about. The life field became weaker the further away it was from the source. The closer it was to the body, the stronger the life field became.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯m not strong enough and let them escape. What about you?¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°Hmph! I¡¯ll settle the things between us later,¡± Bright said and started pursuing the four of them with his teammates.


    Bai Yi chuckled and checked Momo¡¯s condition. He took Momo¡¯s hand and flew away with Alodia. The reason why Bai Yi didn¡¯t act before was that he really couldn¡¯t spare the effort. Momo was injured, and Bai Yi wouldn¡¯t dare let Momo engage in an intense battle again. As for Alodia, her crystallization ability was decent, but she hadn¡¯t entered LV3 and was at a disadvantage. Although those people entered LV3 through the Blossomy drug, they were still at the LV3 stage.


    Bright¡¯s team were right on their heels and the bunch of them engaged in a fierce battle on the streets.


    The two sides didn¡¯t hold back at all in their battle. These people were all at the Life Field stage and they could all use long-range attacks. Very quickly, many other evolved humans were affected by the ongoing battle. Those evolved humans who were still struggling at the LV1 stage couldn¡¯t resist and had died quickly. The more they battled, the closer Barzel¡¯s group moved toward places that were densely populated. The crowd that was already very agitated from the mysterious scent in the air erupted into chaos.


    ¡°Are they making use of the crowd to escape?¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like it. On the contrary, it looks like they are inducing Bright¡¯s team to kill other people,¡± Bai Yi said.


    Bai Yi still didn¡¯t know what the goal of the group behind this was. He only knew that there were a few countries involved, like the United States, Germany, and China. Such a huge set up that targeted the entirety of Tasmania was equivalent to starting a war. Only through the powers afforded to countries could this have been achieved.


    Not just a single country. The United Nations? No. That can¡¯t be right.


    Bai Yi could deduce from the various attitudes of the countries that although the objectives of all the countries should be the same, there were still various and conflicting interests among them that would cause them to try and hinder each other.


    ¡­


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t guess wrong. During the fight, the man who told Bai Yi of Momo¡¯s location was being scolded.


    ¡°If something goes wrong with the plan because of your actions, is the fault going to lie with China?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. Aren¡¯t you guys doing things like this anyway? To prevent Bai Yi from leaning toward us, you made Romain and Ulisses act early. In reality, I think you guys could have let them remain concealed for a while longer,¡± Duan Xiu Cheng said with a mischievous expression.


    Although the people from the other countries were pissed off by Duan Xiu Cheng¡¯s expression, none of them came up to stir up trouble. Duan Xiu Cheng had a very high status in China, and he had an abundant amount of resources at his disposal. He was an LV3 evolved human that went through a perfect metamorphosis and perfect Blossoming.


    ¡°Oh right, if I let Bai Yi know that you moved against his parents, what do you think he will do?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t China the same? Your so-called ¡®protection¡¯ is no different from what we did.¡±


    ¡°You must bring back Barzel¡¯s group, or else I will make sure China takes responsibility for this incident. At that time, you will be the first person I look for,¡± a man filled with the aura of a military personnel said.


    Every country had a few people who went through perfect Blossoming and could be considered leaders. This man was apparently one of them. Both sides went quiet because there wasn¡¯t any meaning in continuing to speak anymore. Duan Xiu Cheng stood up and walked outside. Coming to this place had been for the sake of interacting with these people a bit. Everything had to be done in moderation. If they ended up obstructing each other too much and the plan failed, they wouldn¡¯t be able to blame each other. Other than that, Duan Xie Cheng had to head out. That man would really make things very troublesome if Barzel¡¯s group died.


    Barzel and Schmitt¡¯s abilities were both very special and were not common among evolved humans.


    If not for them obstructing each other, how would the incident in Tasmania have turned out so crude and rough? Any normal person would be able to see that something was wrong. However, it didn¡¯t really matter as the countries only cared about the end results. Under their absolute strength, it wouldn¡¯t affect the end results much even if other people discovered something wrong.


    ¡­


    Bai Yi¡¯s team didn¡¯t know about these things happening in secret and only wanted to capture Barzel¡¯s group to interrogate them.


    Initially, Bright thought that this would be an easy task. However, after exchanging blows for real, Bright realized that the four people of Barzel¡¯s team were not weak and were even a little stronger than the members of his own team. If not for their battle with Momo having drained much of their special energy, the battle now would probably have been even tougher.


    With a ¡®hum¡¯ from her sword, Octavania forced Bright back with a swing of her sword. At this time, Bright happened to see Bai Yi and the two others leisurely floating in the sky.


    ¡°Bai Yi, aren¡¯t you going to bother explaining? Why does this woman know the sword techniques of your team?!¡± Bright asked angrily.


    ¡°There were some spies on my team, Romain and Ulisses. Of course, it isn¡¯t just the sword techniques. Other things probably got leaked as well. How unfortunate,¡± Bai Yi said.


    It was indeed unfortunate. Not that the valuable information was leaked, but how it was so difficult to see through the human heart. Bai Yi felt that he had treated the two of them very well and was never unfair or prejudiced, yet, in the end, something like this still happened.


    At this moment, Barzel¡¯s group were surrounded in a plaza. There were some other people around them, but they had all fallen into a frenzy.


    Bai Yi brought Momo and Alodia to the rooftop of a building and immediately stepped off the edge afterward.


    Flash Step!


    Bai Yi¡¯s disappeared from the roof and reappeared again in front of Octavania. She raised her blade and stared at Bai Yi full of caution. Octavania had been shocked while battling with Momo. She wouldn¡¯t dare to be the slightest bit careless facing off against Bai Yi now.


    Circle Dance Slash: Double-Edge!


    Bai Yi flashed past Octavania¡¯s side and pressed her snow-white blade back into its sheath. Octavania¡¯s expression of shock remained on her face as her body stood completely still during the movement. When Bai Yi fully returned her blade into the sheath, her eyes lost their focus just like a puppet.


    Reverse Flower Eyes: Lost!


    Bright looked on from the side and became very wary watching the scene; he didn¡¯t see what had happened at all! The fierce Octavania had suddenly turned into a helpless lamb waiting for slaughter. Apparently, Bai Yi¡¯s Reverse Flower Eyes had changed as well and had gained some new abilities.

 Chapter 257

    Chapter 257: Rescued


    Octavania!


    Barzel and the two remaining members shouted in their heart in incomparable horror. Octavania¡¯s strength couldn¡¯t be considered low. They never imagined that she would lose her consciousness in the first exchange with Bai Yi without any resistance. Just how powerful was Bai Yi? How high was his combat ability? Although all three of them were horrified, they didn¡¯t have the capacity to help Octavania now because they couldn¡¯t even help themselves.


    From the looks of it, Bright¡¯s team hadn¡¯t intentionally put their lives on the line for this battle.


    Bright¡¯s poison had already infiltrated Barzel¡¯s body, and Schmitt couldn¡¯t battle with his condition. Only Boll was still in fighting shape, so he unleashed all of his strength. Scorching hot flames ravaged the air and fought back Bright¡¯s team. However, he could only wearily fend off the attacks. After a few continuous explosions of flames, Boll started to pant heavily and the flames on his body started to die down.


    Special energy was stored in the body and soul. It came from conversion and accumulation during normal times; thus, it was not unlimited.


    Boll knew that many times his opponents intentionally baited him to use his flames to drag the battle out until he couldn¡¯t fight anymore. However, Boll had no choice. If he didn¡¯t fight with all his power, all of them would die in the next few minutes.


    Before Boll could catch his breath, the next wave of attacks came, and their target was the badly injured Schmitt.


    Bastards!


    Boll cursed, waved his hands, and sent a giant burst of flame erupting into the sky. Barzel made a hand sign. Boll was taken aback. Barzel actually wanted him to leave and let the two of them hold the enemy back! Boll analyzed their condition. Schmitt couldn¡¯t move with his body in such a state, and Barzel¡¯s poisoning seemed to be extremely serious as well. The poison seemed to be infiltrating the special energy in his body so that he found it difficult to use his energy.


    Boll instantly made a decision and pulled his hands down. The gigantic flame came down and another fire exploded from below his feet, sending him flying away in a flash.


    Boll didn¡¯t waste time to cry, be emotional, or spend time saying rubbish like ¡®I will never leave guys!¡¯. This was a real life and death battle. If he really wasted the time saying all that nonsense then he would have probably died many times over. Although Barzel and Schmitt¡¯s statuses were higher than his, the two of them wouldn¡¯t be able to escape in their condition.


    The moment that Boll turned and ran away and the rest of them still in shock, Barzel spread open both his hands.


    Immobilization Field!


    The few people who wanted to give chase froze and even the few people who had jumped into the air seemed to come to a standstill and fall in slow-motion. At this moment, Barzel shot forward and brought his fists down on these people with vigorous force.


    All of them were indeed stunned when they were immobilized, but very quickly they realized that the Immobilization Field wasn¡¯t as powerful as they imagined. Although the Immobilization Field restricted all their attacks and movements, it wasn¡¯t a very large amount of resistance. Hence, the moment Barzel shot at these people they also unleashed their abilities. Cracking sounds came from the air and the Immobilization Field was broken. The few of them immediately dodged and managed to block Barzel¡¯s attacks.


    ¡®Boom!¡¯


    Not only did Barzel not succeed in his attack, he suffered a few counterattacks. His clothes were torn to pieces. He flew back and smashed into the ground.


    Bright looked at the battle from the sidelines in deep thought.


    From the looks of it, his team members had very easily suppressed and subdued Barzel. However, Bright knew that this was just because of their advantage in numbers and the weakening effect of his poison. If it were one on one, Barzel¡¯s ability would be extremely troublesome. He could stop any opponent or attack with the Immobilization Field while retaining his freedom of movement! Although Barzel didn¡¯t display any other abilities, that power alone was enough to give his opponents a headache.


    ¡­


    ¡°Who are the people behind this, and what are their motives?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    Signs of resistance appeared on Octavania¡¯s face, but she did not answer Bai Yi¡¯s questions.


    ¡°I thought that you would read her mind,¡± Bright said and looked at Bai Yi. Although they were considered enemies now, they were friends previously. This kind of strange relationship made it hard for Bright to gauge how he should treat Bai Yi now. However, Bright also wanted to know who the masterminds behind this were and their goals.


    Bai Yi glanced back at Bright but didn¡¯t say anything.


    The hypnosis of Bai Yi¡¯s Reverse Flower Eyes only made people fall into a deep sleep. Using it in tandem with his special energy to simulate the signals received by the five senses, he could achieve something like an illusion. From the very start, the Reverse Flower Eyes wasn¡¯t an overpowered ability that allowed him to control other people¡¯s consciousness and play around with them like puppets. The more Bai Yi delved into his power, the more he knew that it was practically impossible to extract memories from a person¡¯s mind. The most he could do was to induce them to reveal the information.


    ¡°Who are the people behind this, and what are their motives?¡± Bai Yi asked again.


    ¡°Do you want to know?¡± A bolt of lightning shot toward the center of the battlefield. Only when the flash of lightning stopped did the figure of the man inside appear. Bright immediately jumped in fright, while Bai Yi looked at the man. He was the Asian man who had told him which direction Momo was.


    ¡°You seem to know a lot!¡±


    ¡°En, I know a lot, but now isn¡¯t the time to tell you. On the contrary, I need to take the three of them,¡± Duan Xiu Cheng said. Sparks of electricity flashed from his fingertips and stopped the people reaching for Barzel. The battle immediately fell into silence and everybody turned their attention to this man who suddenly barged into the battle.


    ¡°Who the hell are you?!¡± Bright became more and more pissed off. He was clearly one of the leaders in Tasmania, but he suddenly realized that there were many things he didn¡¯t know.


    ¡°Courtesy and manners!¡± Duan Xiu Cheng smiled gently, although this kind of smile made people feel alienated from him. ¡°No matter what, you are one of the people in power in Tasmania now. Look at you now, you are no different from a parvenu.¡±


    Duan Xiu Cheng seemed to be intentionally agitating Bright.


    ¡°This asshole!¡± Bright grit his teeth and leaped towards the man.


    However, Duan Xiu Cheng spread his hands and a huge web of electricity surrounded everyone within a hundred meters. Within this range, the electrical currents raged and formed large bolts of electricity visible to the naked eye.


    Duan Xiu Cheng looked at Bright who had stopped in front of him and said with a smile, ¡°Why are you so surprised? Electricity is the most commonly used energy source, and coincidentally, my energy attribute is also electricity. It is indeed a lot more convenient being able to borrow the electricity of the city compared to what you guys have to do.¡±


    Duan Xiu Cheng directed his attention to Bai Yi, ¡°Oh right. Bai Yi, you better go take a look at your teammate.¡±


    Duan Xiu Cheng was confident that he could suppress Bright like this, but he had no confidence that he could do the same to Bai Yi. In reality, the electrical currents dissipated when they came within five meters of Bai Yi and couldn¡¯t approach him. Within five meters of Bai Yi, his life field was just like an absolute life field and completely impenetrable. However, Duan Xiu Cheng was confident that there were other ways to make Bai Yi unable to act against him.


    Bai Yi looked toward the rooftop in the distance, and he flew straight for it in the next moment.


    Duan Xiu Cheng walked toward Octavania and slapped her. With a loud ¡®pa!¡¯, Octavania still seemed to be somewhat groggy, but after a few more slaps, she finally woke up.


    ¡°You bastard!¡± Octavania wanted to unleash her fury but frowned when she saw Duan Xiu Cheng¡¯s face.


    ¡°I have saved you!¡± Duan Xiu Cheng said shamelessly.


    She wasn¡¯t his subordinate, and it was quite fun to slap people. In any case, his personality wasn¡¯t one that would try and take special care of women.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move. The voltage of these currents is about 100,000 volts. Do you want to try getting electrocuted by a 100,000-volt current?¡± Duan Xiu Cheng asked when Bright moved to continue his attack. ¡°I¡¯m taking the three of them away. Sorry!¡±


    Bright didn¡¯t dare to move as he stood still for a long while. Only after Duan Xiu Cheng brought the three of them away did Bright realize that he had been tricked as the currents dissipated.


    Damn it, that bastard!


    That man did have an electrical attribute, but everybody started changing at the same time. Anybody could tell from looking at the others that metamorphosis was a gradual change, how could he possibly control such high voltage at this stage?


    Bright looked at Bai Yi after realizing that he had been tricked.


    At this time, Bai Yi looked at Alodia. Momo and Alodia were both standing on the rooftop and out of the battle, but Alodia¡¯s expression was excited as if she couldn¡¯t wait to get into battle. These symptoms were similar to the LV1 evolved humans whose minds fell into chaos from the chemicals in the air and only knew to fight and kill.


    ¡°Alodia, calm down!¡± Bai Yi said as a feeling of unease grew in his heart.


    ¡°Bai Yi, what¡¯s going on here? I can put aside the matter of the research facility for now, but I¡¯m not going to let you off without an explanation,¡± Bright jumped on the roof as well and asked.


    ¡°Apparently, there are some people scheming something. From the looks of it so far, they are planning to induce a conflict between everybody here. Not just a conflict between my team and you guys, but a conflict between everyone. There¡¯s a chemical in the air that agitates and excites people starting from LV1 evolved humans. Once they start fighting they won¡¯t be able to stop. It has already started to affect the LV2s in the city,¡± Bai Yi explained simply and looked at Alodia in worry.


    ¡°It gradually affects the higher LVs?¡±


    ¡°Probably!¡± Bai Yi frowned.

 Chapter 258

    Chapter 258: Extremely Pure Personality


    Alodia raised her head and looked at Bai Yi with restless eyes. Alodia was apparently trying very hard to control herself. Bai Yi placed his hand on Alodia¡¯s shoulder and sensed that her blood was circulating rapidly. Her expression became more and more agitated and even contained a hint of mania. This kind of feeling wasn¡¯t much different from the LV1 and LV2 Brutal Stage! Alodia¡¯s body trembled slightly. Apparently, she understood and felt that there was something wrong with her, but she just couldn¡¯t suppress it.


    Reverse Flower Eyes!


    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes spun, and he locked gazes with Alodia. After a while, Alodia¡¯s head drooped, and she fell into a deep sleep. However, even though she had fallen asleep, her body still flushed as if her body was still reacting to the stimulants.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t an aphrodisiac, right?¡± Bright asked beside him.


    ¡°Aphrodisiac? No, it¡¯s just that both contain chemicals to excite the brain,¡± Bai Yi shook his head.


    However, Alodia was indeed very attractive now. The light blush on her warm body, her rapidly beating heart, and her faint breathing were all incredibly titillating.


    ¡°Then, what are you planning to do now? Seek revenge on me?¡± Bai Yi looked at Bright again. The men inside the research facility were apparently all Bright¡¯s subordinates, but none of them survived Momo¡¯s White Underworld.


    Bright sat by the edge of the building and said calmly, ¡°No. It¡¯s completely pointless to fight you now, and I would be falling for their scheme if I did so. I was indeed quite angry just now, but much of it has already faded away. Anyway, you can plan how you are going to compensate me. They were still my subordinates after all so your compensation can¡¯t be small.¡±


    ¡°You can still be so calm?¡±


    ¡°Say what you want, but even if they were my subordinates, their status was just that. It¡¯s just like in the political factions: they were just people who had come under my wing. People like them in the lower strata of power are only valuable because of the benefits they can provide. As long as there are enough benefits, these people can be changed anytime.¡±


    Bright¡¯s faint purple pupils seemed incomparably bewitching.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t scared of turning their hearts cold?¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha, how can it be? They obviously know my personality well since they chose to follow me. My personality is that I say what I mean. It¡¯s much better than those people who say one thing and mean another. Moreover, these people are different from that bunch of subordinates. These are my true companions who survived through life and death experiences on the Devil Isles with me.¡±


    Bright spread his hands. Seven people came over and stood behind Bright. Bai Yi looked at the seven people, and for a moment, he thought he saw Woolf, Nancy, Betsy and the others. The subordinates he gained based on the authority he had and the comrades he made on the Devil Isles were completely different. However, this guy was really very calm, huh? He could he suppress the fury in his heart and only seek the maximum benefits at the end. This kind of person would undoubtedly walk much further than those who were just hot-blooded and rash.


    ¡°You guys all entered LV3, right?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    Bright nodded, ¡°Of course. Although Tasmania isn¡¯t very bad, the resources are still quite abundant. As the upper echelons of Tasmania, definitely monopolized a large portion of the resources.¡±


    ¡°Do you feel that even though we are all LV3 the difference between us is very big? Habona, if I don¡¯t remember wrongly, you were also an air controller at LV2, right?¡± Bai Yi looked at a man on Bright¡¯s team.


    ¡°En!¡± Habona nodded.


    ¡°Do you want to do a test?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°What test?¡± Habona didn¡¯t reject Bai Yi. All of them had some understanding of Bai Yi and knew that Bai Yi would never do something for no reason. Though he said that he was doing a test, he definitely had a reason behind it, and he would never use this chance to harm them.


    ¡°Try controlling the air around you now,¡± Bai Yi said.


    Bai Yi and Habona were about fifteen meters apart from each other. Habona immediately tried to use his life field to control the air around him, but he suddenly reacted with shock. The amount of air he could control was so little! He had no control over the air just two meters away from his body. There could only be one reason behind it: Bai Yi¡¯s air control completely suppressed his. However, Bai Yi was more than ten meters away from him! They were both LV3s, so why was the difference between their life fields so large?


    Bright and the others couldn¡¯t see the flow of air, but they could also infer things from Habona¡¯s expression.


    Bai Yi looked at Bright, ¡°Perfect Blossoming is achieved by letting the physical body, soul, energy, awareness, and absolute life field evolve to the limit during the Metamorphose Stage, reach a stable state, and automatically Blossom. The evolution of life is a gradual change to start with, so there¡¯s already a big deficiency in you guys because you used the drug to forcefully Blossom.¡±


    ¡°Do you have a solution to make up for the deficiency?¡±


    Bai Yi shook his head, ¡°No, I don¡¯t! Believe me. After all, we have only just entered LV3 too. How could we develop a solution to make up for the flaw so quickly? What we do is adjust the body well at LV2 and supplement it with the nutrients it needs. Of course, these things are also definitely effective at LV3, and can make up for some of the flaws.¡±


    Bai Yi looked at Bright and asked, ¡°Will you accept what we have?¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha, of course! I think I even got the better deal actually!¡± Bright laughed loudly and nodded. What he lost was just a bunch of subordinates, but they would never be more important than his own body.


    ¡°Our Basic Cultivation Method Diagram has no attribute, and you can derive a Cultivation Method from it to fit your own attribute. As a kind of Cultivation Method, it can increase the rate of change of your body and energy. We also use the Unrestrained Visualization Technique, which is also a basic diagram. You can use it to set a certain thing to visualize. It can increase your awareness and level of control,¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°They are all basic diagrams?¡±


    ¡°Because everybody is different. Even if give you my air control diagram, would you dare use it? Aren¡¯t you afraid of it clashing with your energy attribute and harming yourself?¡± Bai Yi asked Bright.


    ¡°I want it!¡± Habona said without standing on ceremony at all.


    ¡°Bai Yi, you won¡¯t be stingy here, right?¡± Bright added on. Bright indeed couldn¡¯t learn Bai Yi¡¯s cultivation diagram, but Habona was also an air controller and would gain greatly from it.


    ¡°Fine,¡± Bai Yi squinted and didn¡¯t mind it. ¡°I¡¯ll send them to you after this incident in Tasmania is over. For now, let¡¯s go to the center and see what those masterminds are planning.¡±


    Bai Yi grabbed Alodia and flew away. Momo followed beside him.


    Bright looked at his seven teammates as Bai Yi and Momo left. ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll take a look as well. I want to see who is plotting all these things.¡±


    Bright¡¯s team didn¡¯t have any objections when Bai Yi said that he would deliver the things afterward. The things that Bai Yi spoke about were probably not on him anyway. Furthermore, even though they seemed to be enemies now, Bright and the rest still felt very assured of Bai Yi¡¯s character and didn¡¯t think that he would trick them. Reality was just like that. Gaining the trust and respect of others wasn¡¯t something done in a short period. Perhaps succeeding in one¡¯s scheme would gain some short-term benefits, but what was lost permanently was the trust of others.


    ¡­


    ¡°Daddy, you are giving them those things just like that?¡± Momo was quite puzzled.


    ¡°Bright can be considered to be a truly ambitious and ruthless character, and he would place everything on a scale to measure its pros and cons. It would really be troublesome if he really wanted to find trouble with us for killing his subordinates. It¡¯s not that we can¡¯t beat him; it¡¯s just that we don¡¯t have to make ourselves enemies of everybody,¡± Bai Yi said to Momo. Momo¡¯s personality was also so reckless; as a father, he would need to manage the aftereffects of her actions for her. ¡°Moreover, Romain and Ulisses would have probably leaked the information out long ago. The cultivation diagrams are indeed very valuable, but since it has already been leaked, why not make use of this opportunity to squeeze some value from it?¡±


    ¡°I will seriously think about things in the future.¡± Momo seemed to think of something.


    ¡°No, no, no. I¡¯m not telling you to change. Just do what you think is right. Sometimes, this extremely pure personality of yours is your shining point. It¡¯s precisely because of that I have too many things to think about that I don¡¯t dare to do a lot of things and have a lot of hesitation about them.¡±


    ¡°Are you referring to the incident in New Zealand?¡± Momo asked.


    Bai Yi went quiet for a moment before nodding, ¡°En!¡±


    ¡°New Zealand¡¯s population used to be over six million, but now it has completely turned into the Devil Isles. Everyone, Qi Hua, Martin, Sara¨C everyone died for different reasons, but if we really chased the matter to its roots, all the responsibility can be placed upon the masterminds behind the activated cells research. These masterminds are all the people in power in various countries around the world. If it was you, what would you do?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°Kill them all!¡± Momo said unhesitatingly.


    ¡°Hahahahaha!¡± Bai Yi laughed loudly.


    As expected, that was Momo¡¯s decision. However, Bai Yi couldn¡¯t be that rash. The more he carried on his shoulders, the heavier his responsibility and the more he couldn¡¯t act as he wished. The people who died were innocent, but the still living were the most important. Ever since Mavis and the others died because of his desire to take revenge for Hong Qi Hua, Bai Yi understood that he couldn¡¯t let his emotions control him when doing things. Who didn¡¯t want to immediately rip their enemies to pieces? Many would love to charge into the normal human world and wipe out all the masterminds. However, Bai Yi could be very sure that if he really did so, he would just be killing off a few small fries and end up throwing himself, his family, and his friends into a dark abyss.


    Plan first and act later!


    It wasn¡¯t that Bai Yi had really forgotten about all of this. It was just that after going through so much, Bai Yi understood deeply that if he just charged in dumbly like that, he would just be sending himself and his friends to their deaths without achieving anything.


    ¡°Do you still remember Alice?¡± Bai Yi suddenly asked.


    ¡°I do,¡± Momo nodded.


    Alice was one of the more powerful team leaders among the evolved humans. Her abilities were suited for assassination, and she held a deep hatred for the masterminds. Alice had looked for Bai Yi to talk about it. She wanted to return to the normal human world and seek revenge on those people in power, but Bai Yi rejected her. From then on, Alice had gradually disappeared from everybody¡¯s eyes and nobody knew where she had gone to now, but there probably hadn¡¯t been many changes since then.

 Chapter 259

    Chapter 259: Bai Yi¡¯s Team


    Betsy and Bellamy dodged and retreated into the crowd. Very quickly, they discovered that the normal evolved humans of Tasmania had fallen into a murderous frenzy.


    Just what¡¯s going on? Betsy, Bellamy, and Truman, who chased them, thought at the same time. Soon after, Betsy¡¯s breathing became faster and a thought to duke it out with Truman rose in her mind.


    Once this notion rose in Betsy¡¯s head, it became unstoppable and a sick excitement rose in her eyes.


    When Truman got near them again, Betsy and Bellamy suddenly ran up a tall building nearby. The two of them dodged the flaming rocks raining down on them. Bellamy flipped through the air and landed on the rooftop ready to continue running forward. However, Betsy suddenly flipped backward in the air from the rooftop and hung in the air upside down.


    Air Step!


    Betsy stepped on the air, and her body crashed down toward Truman with the force of her legs and gravity. Truman had been pursuing Betsy and Bellamy all along, so he didn¡¯t expect Betsy to launch a counterattack. Betsy shot through the air at high-speed toward him, and in the next moment, their fists smashed together.


    ¡®BOOM!¡¯


    Violent flames erupted from the point of impact. Betsy¡¯s body flipped backward, but accelerated in mid-air again and charged toward Truman who crashed into the streets.


    ¡®Ding!¡¯


    Betsy¡¯s claws ground against a flying rock and intense sparks flew from the point of contact. Against Truman¡¯s defense, Betsy hadn¡¯t used her usual agility to dodge and search for a better opportunity. Instead, she increased the strength of her fingers.


    ¡®Crack!¡¯


    The flying piece of rock broke into pieces, and Betsy clawed at Truman again excitedly. Truman didn¡¯t understand what had happened to Betsy. Clearly, she had been running away, but all of a sudden, she became so ferocious. She was obviously trying to clash head-on with him and the abrupt turn of the situation caught Truman off guard.


    Even Bellamy didn¡¯t expect this and was stunned so much so that she only stood still on the rooftop. Neither of them could guess that Betsy only had a small notion of fighting back before she became more and more excited as she completely lost control. As for Bellamy, her purifying special energy automatically cleansed her body of all abnormal energy and substances, so the neurochemicals in the air didn¡¯t affect her.


    Claw Sweep!


    Betsy raised her right claw and viciously slashed down toward Truman¡¯s head. After that short period of astonishment, Truman finally retaliated with his fists and legs. Every collision created a burst of flames and made the battle incomparably dangerous. After a few exchanges, both of them reached for their opponent¡¯s vital areas viciously. Betsy still battled with no regard for her life, while Truman looked like he had strength left to spare.


    Flame Sweep!


    Fire Rock Bier!


    While Betsy fought without regard for her life, Truman controlled the surrounding pieces of rock and smashed them all on Betsy. Both of them were of the fire attribute, so the air around them had combusted and filled with smoke. The clothes on Betsy¡¯s body waved around in the flames, and it appeared as if the clothes were made of real flames. In that moment, Betsy¡¯s eyes were excited and full of chaos. She didn¡¯t bother dodging at all and sped up her attack.


    ¡°Older Sister Betsy!¡± Bellamy shouted in horror.


    The sudden change not only left Bellamy unable to react but the few people following Truman as well. The two of them who had initially been running away turned to counterattack. The tempo of the battle was so rapid that in such a short moment the battle had turned into a head-on clash.


    ¡®BOOM!¡¯


    Bellamy pushed off the rooftop and caught Betsy who had shot out from the collision. Betsy¡¯s left arm was deformed, more than half of her hair was burned, her clothes were in rags, and more than half of her body was scorched black. Bellamy immediately became anxious. Betsy also used fire attribute energy and her body had a naturally high resistance to fire. If not, it would have been too much of a joke if she got burned to death by her own flames. Moreover, her clothes were specially made from the skin of a Fireball Rat, which prevented her clothes from being burned to ashes when she used her flames.


    Bellamy immediately started to use her special energy to expel the fire energy that had invaded her body. In the end, the LV2 Betsy was inferior to the LV3 Truman. The temperature of her flames and fire resistance was a lot lower than his, so Betsy¡¯s flames were essentially ineffective against Truman. The most she could do was physical damage. At this time, Truman walked out from the flames with his body still on fire. However, he didn¡¯t suffer many injuries except for three shallow cuts on his face that bled.


    What Bellamy helped Betsy expel wasn¡¯t just Truman¡¯s fire energy that had invaded her body but also the chemicals in the air. Unfortunately, Bellamy only managed to expel a tiny bit of the chemicals before Truman pounced again. Betsy reacted and threw Bellamy away as she jumped to meet Truman again. This time, Betsy seemed to get even more excited as she fought and had begun to show signs of going berserk.


    When a normal person got agitated, his attacks would become very straightforward and without any technique. However, after Betsy had begun to go berserk, her attacks became even smoother and harder to follow.


    ¡°HAHAHAHA!¡± The brash and reckless laughter of a woman rang across the battlefield.


    ¡­


    Although Sharpei hadn¡¯t entered the LV3 Life Field Stage, he was on the edge of evolution. His combat strength was slightly stronger than those people who forcefully Blossomed to get into LV3. On the other hand, Pupu was a real LV3. Although the two pets were surrounded and attacked, they were not at a disadvantage. Instead, they became more and more fierce as they fought.


    Facing the joint attack of two people, Sharpei didn¡¯t retreat but instead advanced and let their attacks land on his body. The bone-white armor, tough skin, and muscles on his body trembled from the impact. Sharpei¡¯s two gigantic jaws clamped down and flashed past the two opponents without them realizing. Although the two of them seemingly dodged, they never expected that Sharpei would clash head-on with them.


    ¡®Kacha!¡¯


    One of Sharpei¡¯s jaws clamped down hard on one of them. While the other one dodged in time, the bite from Sharpei¡¯s other jaw still tore open a wound on that guy¡¯s chest.


    Corrode: Death Attribute!


    The guy who thought that he had dodged in time staggered the moment he landed. The wound caused him to start losing feeling as the numbness spread all over his body.


    The other person who was clamped between Sharpei¡¯s jaws struggled vigorously for his life, but Sharpei closed his jaws brutally. The immense force tore the tough body apart into multiple pieces. After killing him, his blood-stained heads howled madly into the sky, and black smoke rose from his body. The powerful and damaging sound waves continuously shook their eardrums, and the people attacking them subconsciously took two steps backward.


    Pupu stepped aside nimbly and dodged an attack as if he knew it was coming and brutally stomped an opponent to the ground at the same time.


    ¡®Boom!¡¯


    The ground shook from the weight of Pupu¡¯s heavy body. Pupu stomped on the corpse of his opponent beneath his feet, and his feet were covered in splatters of blood. Coupled with his body covered in scale-like armor, he no longer had the appearance of a fat, dumb pig but an utterly savage monster.


    Sharpei and Pupu took a step forward at the same time, and the remaining seven people subconsciously swallowed a gulp of saliva.


    So strong!


    This is a freaking LV2? Did these two pets grow up eating steroids?!


    Sharpei shook his head and swallowed the half of the corpse remaining between his jaws before stomping on the ground. The durable ground cracked and caved in to form four roughly circular breaks, and he suddenly disappeared from the spot.


    Sharpei was also being affected and gradually began to lose control of himself.


    ¡­


    Woolf led Melvin who still had the spare capacity to ask, ¡°Who are these people?¡±


    ¡°Heaven knows who these people are!¡± Woolf yelled loudly.


    The two of them headed toward Bai Yi¡¯s residence. They didn¡¯t know what was going on, but they couldn¡¯t go wrong looking for Bai Yi. Unfortunately, the entirety of Tasmania had fallen into chaos, and Bai Yi was also looking for them.


    Woolf led Melvin and continued their search. Along with the original enemies in front of them, other normal evolved humans also charged toward them as if they had lost their minds. At the start, Woolf had the mind to avoid fighting and wasting time with them, but quickly Woolf couldn¡¯t tolerate it anymore. Anybody who attacked them was killed and torn into pieces.


    The attribute of Solid: Steel Defense allowed Woolf to ignore attacks and clash head-on with anybody. He could rip apart anybody he caught in his hands.


    However, when the two of them came to Bai Yi¡¯s residence, they were suddenly met by two opponents.


    ¡®Swoosh!¡¯


    The sound came from the air and the two of them subconsciously raised their guards. After a few ¡®clangs!¡¯, Woolf and Melvin both retreated a certain distance and finally stopped near the streets.


    ¡°Hey, they are from Bai Yi¡¯s team. Isn¡¯t it good to let them kill each other? What are you attacking for?¡± One of the men asked as he ate his ice cream.


    The girl stood up straight on the ground and she wore metallic dark green clothing. There were 108 palm-sized metal plates spinning around the two of them which were all dark green and had the dense feeling of bronze.


    ¡°I¡¯m curious about the strength of Bai Yi¡¯s team,¡± the petite girl said emotionlessly.


    Woolf and Martin looked at the two of them. The tall guy appeared alluring and gentle, but the little girl, on the other hand, appeared cold and mature.


    ________________________________________________


    ¡°Woah, woah, woah, battles are breaking out in so many places! So nervous!¡± The guy eating his chips said excitedly in the control room.


    The heck are you nervous for? It¡¯s not like you are the one fighting! The other people rolled their eyes, but nobody dared to say it out loud and bring misfortune upon themselves. This incident in Tasmania was a hard to come by opportunity. The combat power of evolved humans came on full display for the first time. Regardless if it was the battle style or method of energy use, neither could be missed.

 Chapter 260

    Chapter 260: Changes


    ¡°Curious about our strength?¡± Woolf asked solemnly after hearing their conversation.


    Woolf and Melvin heard their conversation after knocking away the metal plates. Truthfully speaking, both Woolf and Melvin were slightly excited, but they could still think rationally. Of course, one couldn¡¯t expect Woolf to be able to think much. The most he could figure out was the meaning of his opponents¡¯ words.


    ¡°En!¡± The young girl nodded softly.


    The girl then raised her right hand. Apparently, she didn¡¯t like to talk much. Right after Woolf and Melvin raised their guards, two dark green metal plates spun and shot out. It was completely different from the testing attack earlier. Woolf and Melvin felt the pressure of the metal plates the moment they started spinning.


    Solid: Metallization Energy!


    Woolf¡¯s muscles bulged and sent his fist flying at the metal plate brutally.


    ¡®CLANG!¡¯


    Woolf felt the unimaginably strong force behind the metal plate. Melvin jumped to the side swiftly and sent a dark red flame flashing past the side of the metal plate from his fingertip. Although it was very heavy, Woolf swung his left arm and knocked away the metal plate. With two successive Flash Steps, Woolf closed the distance between him and the little girl. Multiple ¡®clang!¡¯s rang, and after knocking away more than ten metal plates, he finally aimed his fist at the girl.


    ¡®BOOM!¡¯


    The heavy and dull sound of impact rang out, and everybody felt like their eardrums were going to rupture. Woolf¡¯s hard punch stopped right in front of the girl¡¯s face. More than ten metal plates overlapped together and formed a firm shield in front of her. The metal plates looked as though they were made of bronze, but nobody knew what kind of metal they actually were. The shield didn¡¯t dent at all even from Woolf¡¯s powerful punch.


    Heh~! Woolf¡¯s lips cracked open into an excited grin, and he continued to punch the metal shield with hard blows. Woolf completely ignored the spinning metal plates headed for him, and they didn¡¯t leave a single mark on his body.


    ¡®CLANG!¡¯, ¡®CLANG!¡¯, ¡®CLANG!¡¯¡­


    The girl took a step back with each of Woolf¡¯s punches. The metal shield shook violently with every blow and finally shattered into pieces under one intense punch.


    ¡®CLANG!¡¯


    The shield of overlapping metal plates split apart and turned back into separate metal plates. The girl skipped a few steps back and floated in the air by standing on one of the metal plates. Woolf raised his head and looked at the young girl in the air. A look of excitement and mania flashed in his eyes. Melvin stopped the other man. After spending so much time with Bai Yi and the rest, they weren¡¯t scared at all even if they knew their opponents were LV3.


    ¡°Hey, hey, don¡¯t look for me! It¡¯s just Little Qing Qiao who wants to fight you guys!¡± The man explained with a smile on his face.


    ¡°What if she falls into danger?¡±


    ¡°How is that possible?¡±


    ¡°What you mean is that the girl will definitely gain the upper hand, and you just have to watch on from the sides. You can fight if you feel like it, but if you don¡¯t feel like fighting, you can just leave whenever you want to, right?¡±


    Melvin took out a cigarette, lit it with his finger, and took a breath. Melvin opened his right hand and a dark red flame appeared over his hand. As the two people with the fire attribute on the team, Melvin and Betsy sparred with each other frequently and learned from each other. Hence, their battle styles were quite similar, and they both fought barehanded.


    His black fingerless gloves were made from special materials. Although they weren¡¯t thick, they were very durable and could bring out the full power of his flames. The man saw what Melvin was like now and knew that he had underestimated both Woolf and Melvin.


    Melvin took a breath of his cigarette, drew a long, dark red line through the air, disappeared from his original position, and flashed through space.


    Flash Step!


    ¡­


    Nancy became extremely wary the moment she discovered the neuro-stimulants in the air. Although she didn¡¯t know what the exact effects of these chemicals were, they were definitely not anything good. Nancy looked at one of the most berserk people with decent strength and narrowed her eyes. She slid out her scalpels, and after a few rapid spins, Nancy stabbed the scalpels into the man¡¯s spinal cord and sealed his movements with her water healing energy.


    Completely ignoring his struggling, Nancy carried the man inside a house nearby. After bringing him inside, Nancy took out a few simple test tubes from her little medicinal pouch and extracted the man¡¯s blood to test for the effects and composition of the neuro-stimulants.


    Nancy moved very efficiently. Although she only had simple resources available to her, she had lived on the Devil Isles for a long time and had prepared for many contingencies. Ignoring the battles happening all over the place, Nancy started experimenting and tried to find the antidote to the chemicals. Nancy didn¡¯t know who was behind this or what objective they had, but it was very apparent that it wasn¡¯t a good thing. In truth, even Nancy herself felt a sense of restlessness. However, because she encountered many different chemicals regularly, she had a very high resistance to drugs.


    Nancy put down the ten test tubes in her hands. They were the crude selections she had made so far. Footsteps of two people came from outside.


    ¡°You guys are here!¡± Nancy turned around.


    ¡°Eh?¡± The two people outside had some puzzlement in their eyes.


    ¡°There¡¯s definitely a mastermind behind this incident in Tasmania. I don¡¯t know who you guys are, but it¡¯s obvious that the masterminds wouldn¡¯t let you guys be affected by these drugs in the air as well, so is the antidote on you?¡± Nancy looked at the two of them and asked with a smile.


    ¡°Oh? You knew that we would come and find you, so you planned to get the antidote from us?¡±


    ¡°Exactly my plan!¡±


    One of the men started laughing, ¡°Hahahaha! Let¡¯s put aside how you can¡¯t possibly win against us alone for now. Even if you managed to defeat us, you wouldn¡¯t be able to get the antidote either because there isn¡¯t such a thing on us.¡±


    After they discovered that Nancy was concocting an antidote from the surveillance cameras all over the city, they were somewhat worried even if they knew that she couldn¡¯t possibly create the antidote so quickly. Medicinal Makers, especially Medicinal Makers that came from the Devil Isles, couldn¡¯t be gauged by common sense standards.


    ¡°No. It was already enough the moment you guys stepped in here,¡± Nancy said and widened her eyes slightly. Nancy smiled at the two of them. ¡°There had never been a finished drug found on the Devil Isles. What I¡¯m most proficient in is extracting the useful compounds from within a lifeform¡¯s body. It doesn¡¯t matter if you guys don¡¯t have the antidote on you, it just has to exist inside your body. You guys definitely took the antidote before coming here, right?¡±


    ¡°¡­!¡±


    The two of them were stunned and immediately charged at her. However, both of them collapsed onto the ground after just one step.


    ¡°I am a Medicinal Maker. You guys should have been on guard the moment you got near me. Any environment that you encounter might not be completely safe, you know? Of course, you guys won¡¯t be able to discover that anyway,¡± Nancy said as she slowly squatted down and dragged the two of them inside. Then, she extracted their bodily fluids and started experimenting again. The experiment wasn¡¯t much different from a live dissection, so the two of them had to grit their teeth and bear the intense pain.


    Although they were in great pain, they still tried to threaten her, ¡°Our men will come very soon; you won¡¯t be able to develop anything!¡±


    ¡°You guys took eleven minutes to arrive after I entered this room and started experimenting. Apparently, you guys have a way to monitor everything that¡¯s happening in the city. But it would take at least eleven minutes for the next batch of people to come, am I right?¡± Nancy said calmly as she focused her attention on a diluted reagent bottle.


    ¡°Eleven minutes¨C you can¡¯t possibly develop anything.¡±


    ¡°Many things on the Devil Isles are fatal within a matter of minutes. Being able to develop an antidote quickly is the most fundamental quality of a qualified Medicinal Maker. Moreover, you guys have the antidote in your bodies.¡±


    Nancy turned her head and placed the reagent bottle in front of their eyes. A layer of glossy substance floated on top of the solution inside. It was thin but noticeable. The two of them looked at the reagent bottle in utter disbelief over how Nancy managed to get to this point through those simple steps.


    ¡­


    There was a huge plaza at the center of the city, and a huge lush tree grew in the middle of it. The plaza had once been a serene and peaceful place, but now, it was filled with many bloody battles. Countless people congregated in this place, fought and slaughtered each other for no reason. The bloodthirst of battle, the smell of blood, and the mysterious stimulant in the air made all of them unable to think clearly.


    Bai Yi carried Alodia and stopped on the roof of a building with Momo.


    Countless people slaughtered each other maniacally in the plaza below, and death and madness became the theme of the night. Many people died every second, but even more people continued to gather in the plaza from all over the city. It was almost as if they rushed to this place so that they could fight and die here. Bai Yi didn¡¯t understand what had happened to this world. How did it become like this?


    ¡°Where¡¯s Uncle Woolf and the rest?¡± Momo asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± Bai Yi shook his head.


    At this moment, Alodia suddenly opened her eyes in Bai Yi¡¯s arms, immediately placed her hands on Bai Yi¡¯s body, and used her crystallization energy. Bai Yi hugged Alodia tightly. Her feverish body didn¡¯t distract Bai Yi. On the contrary, he felt incomparably terrible. The smell of fresh blood apparently deepened the effects of the neuro-stimulants in the air, since it woke Alodia from her deep sleep.


    Reverse Flower Eyes!


    After making Alodia fall asleep again, Bai Yi frowned.


    ¡°It can¡¯t be suppressed anymore?¡± Momo asked in doubt.


    ¡°En, this isn¡¯t the Brutal Stage after all when we only needed to sleep to adjust ourselves. This is due to the drugs in the air. As long as the effects of the drugs aren¡¯t resolved, it isn¡¯t possible to recover from this state. I¡¯m more worried if the eruption later will be even more intense if she¡¯s kept suppressed for a long time,¡± Bai Yi explained. ¡°We need to find Bellamy or Nancy!¡±

 Chapter 261

    Chapter 261: Figured Out


    The drugs in the air affected the LV1 evolved humans first. The effects slowly escalated until the LV2s were affected. Bai Yi and Momo hadn¡¯t shown any signs of reaction yet. Perhaps they had a strong resistance, but the two of them didn¡¯t dare to be careless. As far as they knew, only Bellamy could completely expel the drug from her body, and Nancy probably had the largest chance of developing an antidote. However, due to the limited amount of available materials, there would definitely not be many antidotes made. Momo didn¡¯t speak but watched the center of the plaza.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°Nothing much. I just feel that it seems very familiar!¡±


    Momo floated into the sky and landed on the top of the giant tree in the center. Looking at the mass of humans endlessly slaughtering each other, dying in droves, and the hill of corpses stacking up, Momo had a sudden bolt of realization.


    This place¨C why is it so similar to what Wellington looked like at the beginning? Momo flew up into the sky, and Bai Yi immediately followed. The two of them looked upon the entire city from high up in the sky.


    A thought appeared in Bai Yi¡¯s mind after he saw the layout of the city, Underworld ¨C Wellington! I understand. I completely figured it out now!


    After seeing this, everything seemed to connect in Bai Yi¡¯s mind into a complete image. Why they suddenly wanted peace after the battle by the Australian coast and settled them in Tasmania. Why he found the layout of the city so familiar after returning to Tasmania the previous time. Why such a great conflict started in the city for no reason, and practically all of the upper echelon of Tasmania were occupied somewhere at the moment.


    From LV0 to LV3, the activated cells research had already developed into a stable system. As long as they followed the rules and patterns that had already been discovered and used some precious resources, one could enter LV3 safely. Most of the resources were still attainable. Although the Devil Isles were very dangerous, it was still possible to get materials from them. However, there was one thing that couldn¡¯t be obtained: Fostsoul. The underworld was a coincidental occurrence, and the Dead Soul Flower could only grow inside it. After Wellington returned to normal, the Dead Soul Flower became a legend.


    To undergo perfect metamorphosis to LV2, one couldn¡¯t lack the nourishment of the Dead Soul Flower to the soul.


    Then¡­!


    Bai Yi could be certain that regardless of if they were evolved humans on the Devil Isles or the evolved humans belonging to the other countries, none of them would have very high statuses. Even if there were, it would definitely only be just a pitiful few. Now that the evolution system had been gradually completed and refined, the normal humans with high statuses in the outside world would definitely wanted to become evolved humans. Although they were still very far away from the goal of longevity, people still desired the power and strength desperately. Those people in high positions would definitely not wish to enter LV2 by force; hence, the Dead Soul Flower was necessary.


    Bai Yi had his own explanation for the formation of an underworld: it formed when a large number of humans died by chance and resulted in a dissipation of souls that exceeded the load-bearing capacity of the place. Coupled with the effects of a special layout, an underworld formed. The accidental layout of the buildings in the city of Wellington was the first ¡®Underworld Diagram¡¯ to which they could refer. That was the reason why the construction of Tasmania was so similar to Wellington. Although the layout was similar, it wasn¡¯t exactly the same. Did that mean that the various countries had already improved on the design?


    Did they gather information from the ancient archaeological findings, the Terracotta Army, Pyramids, and similar legends to refine their design, or did they try to refine the process by deliberately creating slaughter zones?


    Bai Yi pressed his forehead and thought hard. The evolved humans that had first entered Tasmania were just 800-plus people, so it was possible that the United Nations had arranged everybody else. How could Truman and the rest truly control Tasmania with so few of them? As long as the United Nations wanted, nothing could be hidden from them in Tasmania. Regardless if it was the Prototy Back drug that Bai Yi brought back or the Blossomy drug that they so-called ¡®developed¡¯ themselves, the United Nations monitored all of it.


    The reason for all of this was simply that the disparity in power was too great. He could also say that all of this was part of the United Nations¡¯ plan including giving Truman and the others certain information through various channels and letting them think that they had discovered something great. However, what they didn¡¯t know was that once they used these things, they would be walking on a flawed path and face a great deficiency in the strength they possessed.


    But why did the United Nations want to wipe them out without mercy? Why?


    Bai Yi¡¯s thoughts spun, and he suddenly recalled senseless comments from the internet. Somebody said that life was very tiring, so they wanted to transmigrate to a medieval world like in the novels and become a king there. Another person said that transmigration was just a fantasy and would never come true. To get a new status, it was more likely that a world war would have to wipe out the status quo.


    However, somebody else had refuted that statement. What did he say¡­?


    The status quo of the world was stable. Although there weren¡¯t any true kings or emperors like in ancient times, the various classes and statuses that people had were already clear and set in stone. There was basically only one way to enter the true upper class: the accumulation of power over generations. To stand at the top of the world by one¡¯s own power in a few short dozens of years was basically just a vain delusion without any probability of success.


    If one really wanted to stand on the top of the world quickly, one needed an external power to barge in and completely break the status quo of the world. That power had to be the kind of power that could completely throw the world into chaos and mix everything up. Were the activated cells and evolved humans such powers?


    Bai Yi¡¯s gaze seemed to stop, and his eyes didn¡¯t move at all.


    Did they really have the strength to reshuffle the power distribution of the world completely? No, the key wasn¡¯t whether they had the strength or not; it was whether the people in power of the world believed that they had the strength or not. Even if they didn¡¯t have the strength, or if there was only a one percent chance of doing so, the group of people at the top would undoubtedly try to wipe them out.


    That¡¯s right.


    It didn¡¯t need to be confirmed. A remote possibility was enough reason for them to act, especially since they came from the Devil Isles. Although it wasn¡¯t obvious on the surface, they hated the masterminds behind the activated cells research deeply.


    Then, why would such a secret plan be so full of holes?


    To pull some people to their side maybe?


    That¡¯s right.


    The United Nations didn¡¯t represent a single country, and every country had their own thoughts and plans such as that Chinese man Bai Yi met previously. To them, Bai Yi was someone worthwhile to attract and pull over to their side. Moreover, China still had Bai Yi¡¯s parents in their hands. For China, Bai Yi was a very suitable target. Furthermore, regardless if it was Bai Yi¡¯s power of hypnosis or Momo¡¯s control of the soul, they were both very useful.


    That¡¯s right: useful.


    People who weren¡¯t useful didn¡¯t have the qualifications to be coerced to their side. Ulisses and Romain were on Bai Yi¡¯s team, but they were people who belonged to different countries. For other countries, it would be very difficult to pull Bai Yi to their side. However, it was very easy to sabotage China¡¯s efforts to rope Bai Yi.


    What I can¡¯t get you won¡¯t be able to get either, huh? What a simple way of thinking.


    That was why the entire incident seemed so strange, and the plot was full of holes. They were dragging each other down.


    ¡°HA!¡±Bai Yi suddenly burst out laughing, but it was a pitiful laughter. ¡°Hahahahaha!¡±


    Bai Yi closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath. Looking up at the sky, he made a decision.


    ¡­


    ¡°Daddy!¡± Momo looked at Bai Yi in puzzlement. When they had discovered that Tasmania could become an underworld, Bai Yi had fallen into deep thought and then suddenly started laughing loudly. Momo was left puzzled by what was going on with Bai Yi.


    ¡°Stop all of this!¡± Bai Yi said.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Stop the killing and the formation of the Underworld,¡± Bai Yi said to Momo.


    Stopping the formation of the underworld was secondary; the main thing was to stop the massacre happening. They had to find all the people who could keep their own minds, spread the information, and find an antidote.


    However, just as Bai Yi led Momo to look for the others, they flew over a certain building and stopped. Bai Yi remembered the layout of Wellington that Heloise had drawn. This particular building was one that couldn¡¯t be missing to form the special pattern of the city. Since he hadn¡¯t been able to find anybody that he could give instructions to yet, it would be best if he just destroyed some of the building blocks of the underworld first. Bai Yi passed Alodia to Momo and drew Red Kiss.


    Break:¡­!


    Four people walked out from the building the moment Bai Yi drew Red Kiss. Bai Yi squinted. As expected, the United Nations wanted to turn Tasmania into a man-made Underworld, so they had specially arranged for people to protect important locations like the building.


    ¡°It¡¯s actually Bai Yi. Didn¡¯t we get lucky?¡± A big, simple and straightforward looking man said.


    A petite woman jumped up and smacked the head of the big man with a thick hardcover book, ¡°Are you dumb? How is getting Bai Yi lucky? It¡¯s a great misfortune.¡±


    A wretched-looking man watched the woman¡¯s bouncing chest and nodded in approval, ¡°Hehe, big breasts, big breasts.¡±


    Another man grabbed hold of the wretched-looking man¡¯s head brutally and twisted it 180 degrees.


    ¡®Crack!¡¯


    The man then threw the wretched-looking man¡¯s body behind him like a piece of trash.


    ¡°No secretly ogling my sister.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m clearly ogling at her in the open!¡± The wretched-looking man who had his neck broken and had been thrown away said pitifully.


    Bai Yi watched the four of them making a fool of themselves quietly. From their conversation, he could tell that they were definitely a team sent to protect the various pertinent locations for the formation of the underworld. The United Nations had clearly thought that there might be people who would try to destroy these locations, but they didn¡¯t know who they would be. Moreover, even though the woman said that it was a great misfortune to meet Bai Yi, they were apparently sufficiently confident in their abilities to be relaxed in this situation.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t say anything but raised Red Kiss.


    The eyes of the man who was the leader became serious. Bai Yi didn¡¯t say any useless words like convincing them to leave, which meant that Bai Yi knew that it wouldn¡¯t be effective and decided to use the most straightforward and simplest method to deal with the situation. He would defeat them all. Rather, he would kill them all.

 Chapter 262

    Chapter 262: Calm And Resolute


    Bai Yi¡¯s gaze swept over the four of them silently, and the four of them who had been fooling around a moment ago immediately focused their attention on Bai Yi. Bai Yi raised Red Kiss, and the four of them immediately dispersed from their location. Everybody on the battlefield sprang into action. It only took an instant to move from extreme stillness to extreme movement.


    The big man and petite woman stepped backward and made a few hand seals. A transparent barrier of light appeared in the air; then, the tall man and the wretched-looking man charged for Bai Yi and Momo from either side. The four of them were sent to protect the building, so their strength couldn¡¯t be underestimated. Moreover, their reactions were also quick. Attack was always easier than defense. They knew that there would definitely be holes in their defense, so they decided to avoid being passive and initiated the attack. Momo and Alodia were Bai Yi¡¯s weakness now.


    Momo was still injured and couldn¡¯t defend herself. Alodia was still asleep from Bai Yi¡¯s hypnosis.


    ¡­


    ¡°Bai Yi has arrived at checkpoint 13. Do we need to send support over?¡± A man asked as he looked at the image on the screen.


    However, nobody replied even though they heard him. Just as Bai Yi deduced, they were from the United Nations, but they all belonged to different countries and, therefore, had their own thoughts and objectives. The entire incident wasn¡¯t just about creating a man-made underworld. There was still the problem of the distribution of resources after it was over based on each country¡¯s performance. Without sufficient gains to be had, the old foxes wouldn¡¯t act.


    ¡°There are four people on that team, and the only one who can effectively fight is Bai Yi himself,¡± a general in military uniform said.


    Another man smiled silently and didn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡­


    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes started spinning, and he pulled his left hand through the air. The air in the surroundings moved violently as he sent a Great Shockwave flying at the big man and the petite woman from Red Kiss. The four people opposite focused their minds. At this moment, Bai Yi¡¯s body flashed through the air like a shadow. The four of them felt like the air was being blown into their eyes and were slightly disoriented.


    In the next instant, Bai Yi¡¯s body slid past the man opposite him, and Red Kiss sliced through his neck. No, the man ran into Red Kiss¡¯s edge. The wretched-looking man suddenly discovered that Bai Yi, who he thought had been right in front of him, had disappeared.


    Reverse Flower Eyes: Visual Illusion!


    When Bai Yi¡¯s figure slid past the man casually at a high speed, the group of higher-ups who were initially arguing stood up.


    What happened? Bai Yi clearly charged straight at that man just now, but he didn¡¯t seem to notice anything and died? He didn¡¯t even try to dodge and seemed like he just ran to his death!


    The Great Shockwave slammed into an invisible barrier. A loud ¡®boom!¡¯ rang out as the shockwave spread. However, none of them paid attention to this as they focused on the scene of Bai Yi casually swinging his sword.


    ¡°Brother!¡± The petite woman screamed in pain and horror, but the only thing she saw was the man¡¯s head flying up into the sky.


    Energy Impact!


    The girl glared at Bai Yi and pushed with her hands abruptly.


    ¡®Boom!¡¯


    Bai Yi felt a powerful force slam into his body. Bai Yi drifted backward with the attack, and he raised his hand to force it to disperse in the air. Bai Yi pushed with his left hand and the air near him immediately shot out in that direction.


    ¡°Be careful!¡± The big man pressed both hands on the ground.


    ¡®Boom!¡¯


    The ground flew up and formed a shield in front of them. Like getting hit by a powerful air cannon, the shield exploded into pieces with an even louder ¡®boom!¡¯. The big man and petite woman flew backward a certain distance from the shockwave of the impact. Bai Yi stood still on the ground as his eyes slowly spun.


    Earth control and a general psychic power that can be used to form an attack or a barrier for defense.


    It seemed that it could exert a force on matter or on an opponent¡¯s body. The psychic power was an energy that was inclined toward assassination. Bai Yi tensed, broke free of the restricting psychic force around him, and disappeared in the next moment.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look into his eyes!¡± The big man roared.


    The remaining three remembered that about Bai Yi. Bai Yi¡¯s attack had already begun the moment they first met, yet they had been confidently fooling around in front of him. Thinking about it, the three of them felt an intense loathing for themselves. Compared to Bai Yi, they treated the world like a game. Unfortunately, the world wasn¡¯t a playground. It wasn¡¯t a place where they would survive by playing around, especially when facing Bai Yi.


    Bai Yi spun Red Kiss in his hand, lowered himself slightly, and raised his head. The wretched-looking man pressed forward, throwing the black needles in his hands forward.


    ¡°No, come back!¡± The big man shouted, but his words came too late.


    The formless wind knocked away the needles when they reached within five meters of Bai Yi. At this time, Bai Yi¡¯s Red Kiss flashed across the air, and in the next instant, everybody fell into extreme silence. The wretched-looking man immediately felt a powerful force cutting through his body. His entire body shuddered. Before he could understand what had happened, his body broke apart at the center and got torn to pieces by the violent winds.


    Wind Mist Sword: Break: Great Shockwave!


    The chaotic Wind Mist Sword collided with the barrier formed by the big man and the petite woman. The immense force of the strike pushed them back many steps backward. Hatred, mania, killing intent, indignance, and other various emotions rose on the girl¡¯s face. She pushed forward with both her hands and pushed her psychic barrier to its limit. Due to overexertion, blood started to flow profusely from his eyes and nose.


    Break!


    The Wind Mist Sword shattered violently against the barrier, and the force created overpowered the limits of the psychic barrier. The psychic and earth barriers broke apart and crumbled. An immense force shot out and brutally smashed into the building that they were supposed to protect. Bai Yi slowly walked forward, but he only took two steps before the woman stood up again and blocked.


    Bai Yi¡¯s didn¡¯t stop and he continued ahead. There wasn¡¯t any pity, mercy, cruelty or killing intent in his expression. Nobody knew what decision Bai Yi had made, but from that moment onward, there was a calm resoluteness in his eyes.


    Psychic Hand!


    The woman clasped her hands together and split them apart again before fiercely swinging her hand in Bai Yi¡¯s direction. She couldn¡¯t suppress the mania and killing intent in her eyes.


    I must. I must definitely kill Bai Yi!


    The madness in her expression, the injuries, and the blood on her body made her look very pitiful. It was just like a continuously struggling child facing a desperate situation that they created for themselves. It was hard to look at and sympathize with her. If she were another person, he might have stopped right there. Unfortunately, the one she was facing was Bai Yi. Suddenly, the big man leaped in front of the girl like a shield. The rocks on the ground cracked apart and crashed into Bai Yi from all directions.


    Wind Mist!


    Bai Yi swung Red Kiss, and the wind around him swirled violently. The psychic hand and the rocks were all ripped into tiny pieces as the big man escaped with the woman to a hidden place.


    ¡°Let me go! Cook, release me! I must kill him and take revenge for my brother!¡± The girl struggled crazily.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go. Calm down, don¡¯t go,¡± Cook hugged the girl.


    ¡°I told you to let me go! Did you hear me?!¡±


    ¡®PA!¡¯


    A loud slap landed heavily on the woman¡¯s face. The slap stunned the woman.


    Cook actually hit me? That simple, honest, and dumb Cook actually hit me? Subconsciously, the girl wanted to retaliate, but Cook¡¯s calm and criticizing gaze stopped her.


    ¡°Valeria, be more mature. What¡¯s the point of you going against him now other than committing suicide? Don¡¯t think that Bai Yi won¡¯t kill you.¡±


    That¡¯s right. She shouldn¡¯t think that Bai Yi wouldn¡¯t kill her just because she was a woman. Cook could tell that Bai Yi was very calm. It wasn¡¯t like facing a powerful enemy and cruelly killing his opponents. Instead, it was that kind of calmness that let Cook feel the resoluteness in Bai Yi¡¯s heart. Anybody that got in his way would die, no matter who it was.


    ¡°This building is specially built; it won¡¯t be destroyed so easily. The higher-ups will send people here very soon, so we just need to occasionally disrupt him so that he won¡¯t be able to destroy this place until they get here. He doesn¡¯t have the antidote to the drugs in the air, and it affects even LV3s. It takes more time, but as long as we wait until everybody in the city falls into madness and starts killing each other, everything will be resolved,¡± Cook said.


    Valeria looked at Cook. She never knew that Cook was actually smart and rational. Had everybody just been doting on her all along?


    Bai Yi looked at the tall building and raised Red Kiss.


    Great Shockwave!


    Bai Yi swung his blade and breaking sounds echoed. However, after the Great Shockwave passed, Bai Yi looked at the shallow crack on the bottom of the building in shock.


    What was this made out of so that it¡¯s so hard? So, it¡¯s like this. They knew long ago that there would be people who would come and destroy this place, so they used special materials and construction methods to build this place?


    Apparently, it would take a while to destroy the place. Bai Yi pressed the center of his brows to stabilize the frustration rising in his heart. Even Bai Yi didn¡¯t know if the sense of frustration was because of him being unable to smoothly destroy the building or if the chemicals were affecting him.


    ¡­


    When Bai Yi easily killed the leader of the team, the group of people behind the scenes couldn¡¯t sit still anymore. The Underworld Diagram hadn¡¯t been completed yet, so nobody knew if the underworld would still form if this key point was destroyed. Hence, they definitely couldn¡¯t let Bai Yi destroy this place.


    After having this consensus, a new group of five rushed to Bai Yi¡¯s location.

 Chapter 263

    Chapter 263: Madness


    When Bai Yi wanted to use another Wind Mist Sword: Break: Great Shockwave, Cook, and Valeria appeared again to hinder him. In the end, the strike didn¡¯t manage to destroy the building. The moment Bai Yi was ready to kill the two of them, Cook dragged Valeria and ran away again. After a few times, a kind of brutal fury rose in Bai Yi¡¯s eyes. However, before Bai Yi could kill the two of them, he realized that there were five more people flying toward them.


    ¡°We have to leave!¡± Bai Yi frowned.


    Bai Yi immediately grabbed Momo and flew away. He chose not to stay there because he was still very rational now. He wasn¡¯t afraid of the increasing number of enemies, but he was afraid of there being a gap. If there was a gap, both Momo and Alodia would be in great danger. Furthermore, with so many people coming here, there wasn¡¯t much use staying here any longer.


    The most important thing now was to gather all those who still retained their rationality.


    ¡°Should we chase them?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not going. The higher-ups only told us to protect this place. I¡¯m not going to seek trouble for myself,¡± the other guy shook his head.


    ¡­


    Bai Yi took a deep breath and shouted as he flew through the air, ¡°I am Bai Yi! The United Nations wants to turn this place into a new man-made underworld, and there are neuro-stimulants in the air! All those who still have control over yourselves, stop now if you don¡¯t want to die without even knowing why!¡±


    Bai Yi¡¯s voice shook as it transmitted a long distance through the air. He pulsed his special energy through the air so that it filled people¡¯s ears.


    ¡°Everybody protect Bellamy, Nancy, and the other Medicinal Makers. They are our last hope!¡± Bai Yi¡¯s voice continued to radiate through the air.


    Five Senses Simulation: Sound Control!


    The people below him could only hear Bai Yi¡¯s voice ringing in their ears. They couldn¡¯t even hear their own shouts anymore. Even those who were about to completely go berserk suddenly regained a trace of clarity at that moment.


    Bai Yi left the area quickly. Although his voice could spread very far through his air control, his life field only had a range of roughly one kilometer. He didn¡¯t know how big the city was, so Bai Yi continued to repeat himself as he traveled. There weren¡¯t many people who regained their consciousness, but there were a few. After they had stopped their battles, they watched Bai Yi fly away as they panted in exhaustion and thought about the meaning behind Bai Yi¡¯s words.


    As Bai Yi flew across the city, Truman¡¯s team, Rose¡¯s team, Lucretia¡¯s team, Bai Yi¡¯s team, and the teams belonging to the United Nations all heard Bai Yi¡¯s shout. Those who had fallen into intense battles became stunned when they heard Bai Yi¡¯s voice and watched his figure flying through the sky.


    What did Bai Yi¡¯s words mean?


    Bai Yi¡¯s words meant exactly what they sounded like. Anybody would have realized the strangeness of the city¡¯s current activity. All those who still retained their rationality stopped the pointless fighting and pondered hard while panting heavily. Soon after, all of them headed toward Bai Yi¡¯s location.


    At this time, Truman grabbed hold of Betsy and looked at Bellamy opposite him. Although Betsy had already gone berserk, the difference in strength between them allowed him to catch her. As he did so, Bai Yi¡¯s voice came from the sky. Truman panted lightly, looked at Betsy in his arms and then at Bellamy.


    ¡°You¡¯re Bellamy? Why did Bai Yi say that we must protect you and Nancy?¡± Truman asked. Bellamy didn¡¯t reply. Why would she reply to an enemy¡¯s question whom she had been fighting a moment ago?


    ¡°Bastard, answer me! I only bothered asking because I believe in Bai Yi!¡± Truman roared in frenzied anger.


    Truman chose to believe in Bai Yi because of the upright, honest, and calm impression that Bai Yi had given them! If not for Bai Yi¡¯s demeanor, Bai Yi would never have amassed such prestige among the evolved humans. Although Truman believed in Bai Yi, he still felt indignant about the gap between him and Bai Yi. Even though he had considered them enemies a moment ago, he could still believe in Bai Yi. What else could he call it if not a huge gap?


    Bellamy was in a sorry state but still stood upright, ¡°Because I can expel any abnormal substance or energy inside a person¡¯s body.¡±


    ¡°Expel any abnormal substance or energy?¡± Truman repeated.


    ¡°Come over and help me first!¡± Truman said to Bellamy opposite him. Bellamy didn¡¯t move and Truman added, ¡°Don¡¯t you find that Bai Yi¡¯s voice is strange? His voice is clearly already hoarse, are you going to waste his efforts just because of your wariness toward me?¡±


    Bellamy nodded, ¡°Fine!¡±


    ¡­


    Rose heard Bai Yi¡¯s shout and looked towards the sky to find him, but Bai Yi¡¯s figure had already disappeared into the distance. Should she continue to seek revenge on Bai Yi or believe his words?


    Suddenly, a figure ran out into the streets and rolled twice across the ground. An explosion went off right behind her and the shockwave made their clothes float for a moment.


    Nancy!


    Rose squinted at the woman.


    Isn¡¯t that the Nancy that Bai Yi talked about? Rose¡¯s teammates looked at her and waited for her decision.


    Rose raised her right hand, waved it down fiercely, and a huge water dragon charged toward Nancy.


    ¡®Boom!¡¯


    The clear water dragon instantly absorbed Nancy inside itself and raised its head. The water dragon then swung its tail and smacked the few people who pursued Nancy away. At this time, Rose stood on top of the water dragon¡¯s head and looked down at the pursuers.


    Rose¡¯s voice had a deep sense of indignation to it, but it carried no hesitation in it, ¡°Protect Nancy!¡±


    ¡°Take me back to my residence. I already figured out the composition of the antidote, but I don¡¯t have enough materials,¡± Nancy said.


    Nancy didn¡¯t know about the conflict between Rose and Bai Yi. Of course, even if she knew, she would make the same request anyway.


    ¡­


    After an unknown number of repetitions, Bai Yi¡¯s voice started to get hoarse, and unknowingly, he finally returned to the city center again. This time, there were three people blocking Bai Yi¡¯s path.


    Ha!


    Bai Yi looked at these few people and panted silently. Excitement and agitation flashed in his eyes although he tried to suppress it. Bai Yi knew that the drug in the air was having an effect on him, but he couldn¡¯t suppress it even though he knew. It was just like when people who didn¡¯t know about the power of certain narcotic drugs or medicine didn¡¯t initially think much of them, but when they were actually affected by them, they knew that it wasn¡¯t something that could be resisted with willpower alone.


    ¡°It¡¯s useless. Your actions won¡¯t do anything,¡± the leading man said.


    ¡°There are always things that must be done,¡± Bai Yi said as he placed his right index finger on the center of the sleeping Alodia¡¯s brows.


    Release!


    A ripple spread from Bai Yi¡¯s fingertips and Alodia¡¯s eyelids twitched as if her eyes were about to open. Bai Yi waved his right hand and sent Alodia to the battlefield below before she truly woke up. There were countless people who had lost their rationality long ago and were killing each other in a frenzy. When Alodia opened her eyes, she was in the center of the group.


    A violent chaos and madness raged in Alodia¡¯s eyes, and her expression was twisted and sinister. Just as Bai Yi guessed, hypnotizing Alodia into a deep sleep suppressed the urges but also made the stimulants accumulate inside her so that they had a greater effect. The moment she saw a moving human, Alodia ferociously pounced and pressed down with both her hands.


    Crystal Thorn Forest!


    Countless crystallized rock spikes sprung up through the ground and into the bodies of all those around her. Before anybody could struggle and free themselves from the crystal spikes, their bodies began to crystallize from their wounds.


    ¡°She has already lost her mind. Aren¡¯t you going to protect her?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have the capacity to protect Alodia now, and losing her mind is still safer than being in a deep sleep. Even if she kills without reason or mind, I believe that she will be able to survive to the end with her own strength,¡± Bai Yi said seriously. His voice was obviously hoarse from using Five Senses Simulation: Voice Control and shouting through the sky for a long time. The act had not only consumed his special energy but also took a toll on his throat.


    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes spun slowly since he had already entered the highest level of the Reverse Flower Eyes.


    While Bai Yi was speaking, a huge black curtain of light appeared behind Momo. Countless floating souls and Spirit Devouring Butterflies flew out from the White Underworld behind her and danced around the entire battlefield. At this moment, Momo watched at the mass of people gathering from all over the city to their location. Her eyes changed, and her hair completely turned to a silvery white color ¨C White Underworld Princess!


    Kill!


    Bai Yi and Momo both entered a murderous state, and the killing intent that exploded in that instant made everybody take a step backward. There wasn¡¯t any so-called ¡®foreplay.¡¯ The battle had entered its climax the moment it started, and any slight carelessness would result in death.


    The massacre and fighting couldn¡¯t be stopped anymore!


    A violent and fierce hurricane rose in the city center for no reason. Anybody sucked inside the hurricane was torn to shreds in a few short moments. As for Momo, countless floating souls and Spirit Devouring Butterflies flew out every time she waved her hand. Her attacks were magnificent and beautiful yet extremely deadly. As time passed, the drug¡¯s influence on their actions grew, and their battle style became even brasher without any hint of holding back.


    By the end, practically everybody fell into a mindless fighting and slaughter, including Bai Yi and Momo, and everybody learned just how powerful Bai Yi and Momo were when they really slaughtered without holding back. It wasn¡¯t the simple power of a perfectly Blossomed LV3, and the other countries finally understood why China wanted to pull Bai Yi to its side.


    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes spun and controlled his opponent¡¯s vision. He grabbed the leader¡¯s neck, and with a flap of his wings made out of wind, he crashed brutally into the ground with the leader.


    ¡®BOOM!¡¯


    Violent and chaotic wind blades tore through the surroundings and ripped it apart. The man Bai Yi held by the throat was torn apart by countless wind blades and turned into a magnificent red blossoming flower on the shattered ground. Bai Yi¡¯s fist continuously smashed the corpse below him and turned it into fresh blood and meat paste. Bai Yi opened his mouth wide.


    ¡°HAHAHAHA~!¡± Bai Yi¡¯s hoarse voice laughed maniacally. He had completely lost his mind.

 Chapter 264

    Chapter 264: Instinct Of Slaughter


    More than ten people escaped the area and watched Bai Yi in the center warily from afar. The neuro-stimulant in the air worked so that the more one battled, and the faster the blood circulated in the body, the easier it became for the person to fall into a mindless state. The group of people gathered precisely to lure Bai Yi into that state and gang up on him. However, even though they had more than ten people, more than half of them died before they had managed to make Bai Yi and Momo lose their rationality.


    ¡°Is it done?¡±


    ¡°En, Bai Yi has lost his rationality. The rest should follow soon after. Every country had their own people mixed into the battle, even if some of the evolved humans had better resistance, these undercover operatives would also take the initiative to draw them into battle to quicken the effects of the neuro stimulants. Everybody has more or less fallen into that mindless state. The only thing we have to do now is to wait and watch. They will continue to slaughter each other until no one is left,¡± the leader said.


    ¡°But Bai Yi said just now to protect a Bellamy and a Nancy?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that.¡±


    Bai YI charged out again. Sword techniques, air control, illusions of all five senses¨C all of his abilities had merged and made him a killing machine. His actions were swift and cruel as if he only killed for the sake of killing. In just a short time, a large number of evolved humans around him had already collapsed onto the ground: dead. After that mad outburst, the air around Bai Yi abruptly exploded and threw all the torn limbs and broken body parts flying into the sky.


    ¡®Splat!¡¯


    ¡®Splat!¡¯


    ¡®Splat!¡¯


    Countless globs of blood and pieces of flesh fell from the sky like a bloody rainstorm.


    ¡°AH!¡±


    Bai Yi kneeled down on the bloody ground and screamed at the sky. However, his voice was already too hoarse, and his scream cut off halfway, leaving behind an abnormal groan. However, this kind of painful groan shook the hearts of the people watching even more. Even those ten-plus people standing nearby couldn¡¯t help but feel a coldness in their hearts. They all knew very clearly what they were doing. Even though they were standing there for different reasons, it didn¡¯t mean that they could wholeheartedly accept what was happening.


    ¡°I¨CI¡­!¡±


    A woman watched Bai Yi screaming hoarsely and couldn¡¯t help but feel an ache in her heart as tears gathered in her eyes. They had been enemies just a moment ago. She had mentally prepared for it all, so why was it that she felt such ache when watching this scene?


    In this world, human nature and morals had become the depths of corruption, while selfishness and apathy were seen as noble and elegant!


    Just what happened to this world?


    Them acting as the executioners¨C What happened to them?


    Not only this woman felt this way, but also the rest of them felt that it was unbearable to watch and couldn¡¯t help but turn their gazes away. All of them suddenly heard a voice from the ears that completely pushed them into the abyss.


    Kill Momo!


    ¡°WHY?!¡± That woman suddenly asked. Things were already like this. Why was there still a need for them to act?


    The voice from the higher-ups hesitated for a moment but still explained in the end, ¡°Because Momo is very special, as long as she is alive the soul field of this place wouldn¡¯t change. All the dead souls will be sucked into her White Underworld. Our judgment is that as long as Momo is alive, the underworld will not form. If Momo dies, then there is a very large possibility that this place would become a huge underworld. The Wellington Underworld that disappeared previously and the White Underworld now may very possibly both manifest in this place.¡±


    The man added on finally, ¡°Kill Momo immediately!¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just wait for her to die by herself?¡±


    The man¡¯s tone got very irritated, ¡°Do you think that¡¯s possible?!¡±


    Everybody looked over. When the battle just started, Momo wasn¡¯t doing too well because of her injuries. As the battle continued, she absorbed more and more souls and seemed to become stronger with every person she killed. Based on the current situation, it was basically impossible for Momo to lose her life in such a battle. Although they fell into a mindless state, Bai Yi and Momo were both people who stood at the top. Even if it was a mindless slaughter, they would still survive until the end.


    ¡°Move! Lure Bai Yi and Momo together,¡± the team leader instructed.


    ¡°Ah!!!¡± Everybody understood what he meant. To let the mindless Bai Yi and Momo fight was the most suitable and efficient method, but wouldn¡¯t that be too cruel and too inhumane?!


    The team leader¡¯s calm yet unfeeling voice rang in their heads, Do you guys still think that your hands are clean?!


    The leader took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a long breath. ¡¯Puff~!¡¯ That short amount of time he took to take a breath felt very long, and everybody¡¯s attention seemed to be drawn by the sound of his breath.


    During our previous missions, we killed commoners, women, and even children! At that time, we could still say that it was for the sake of our country. But now, I actually can¡¯t find any reason for this. But the moment we came here, we had already lost our so-called ¡®goodness¡¯, or rather, we gave up on ¡®good¡¯ long ago! No matter how much fame and glory we may get in the future world, we will definitely be unable to forget the amount of blood on our hands, the leader¡¯s voice continued to echo in all of their minds. If you stop here, do you think you can leave this place alive?


    Everybody suddenly understood why their leader who carried himself with a thick military air didn¡¯t directly say these words but used his ability to transmit his words into their minds.


    ¡°Let¡¯s move!¡± The leader said at the end.


    ¡°Bastard,¡± Somebody couldn¡¯t hold it in and cursed under his breath before walking out to lure Bai Yi and Momo together.


    When they had begun to lose their minds, Bai Yi and Momo had separated from each other and headed in different directions. Apparently, Bai Yi and Momo knew at the start that the two of them might be lured together to kill each other.


    To lure Bai Yi and Momo together, the group of people had no choice but to enter battle with Bai Yi and Momo again. Bai Yi and Momo were both panting harshly, and their energy seemed to be more or less depleted. However, it was in this state that they were the most dangerous.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go over. Use a long-range attack!


    ¡°En!¡± Another man lifted a new model sniper rifle. It was something the United Nations developed to use special energy as its propelling force. However, by the time the man brought out the weapon, he didn¡¯t have the chance to attack. Bai Yi turned his head towards them, and his eyes spun.


    Illusion: Dark World!


    Instantaneously, both of their visions were engulfed by darkness. They had engaged with Bai Yi for quite a while previously, so both of them knew that this was one of Bai Yi¡¯s abilities. He could transmit fake signals to their brains through normal vision or sound to create illusions. However, this was too far! The Bai Yi before didn¡¯t have this kind of insane combat ability!


    Run!


    The notion instantly surfaced in their minds, and they didn¡¯t have the slightest bit of hesitation. However, the two blinded men hadn¡¯t managed to run too far before something sliced through their bodies. After another dozen steps, their actions gradually slowed down, and blood flowed profusely from their bodies before they broke into pieces.


    Bai Yi walked quietly over to their bodies and licked the blood on the side of his lips. In the air, countless thin, dark crystal-like threads waved around Bai Yi. Tiny currents of air flowed around the surface of these threads and made the threads appear even sharper and more durable.


    On the other side, two people headed for Momo. However, the moment they stepped within a hundred meters of her, Momo turned her head toward them and gave them a proud and beautiful smile. The two of them were stunned and suddenly felt their vision going dark as if their souls had been drawn away. No, it wasn¡¯t as if. Their souls were really drawn away! The two of them immediately felt like they were having a heart attack as they watched their souls leave their bodies easily and float toward Momo.


    Soul Charm: Death¡¯s Peaceful Rest!


    So scary!


    Bai Yi and Momo who had lost their minds had fully unleashed their instinct for slaughter. Any action of theirs could take away a life. Where the two of them walked, not just the people on the mission to lure them to each other, but any normal evolved human fighting nearby were slaughtered without exceptions. Everywhere Bai Yi walked, his dark threads sliced anybody nearby into pieces of meat, while Momo seemed like a princess of the Underworld going out on an inspection tour, and the greatest form of respect to her was to die.


    The two of them were gradually lured by these people and slowly approached the center.


    Another seven died from acting as baits, and in the end, there were only four people left. At this time, Bai Yi and Momo walked to the top of two different hills of corpses and gazed at each other from afar.


    The four of them distanced themselves and watched Momo and Bai Yi each standing on their corpse hills with nervous hearts.


    The father and daughter were about to really try to kill each other.


    As if instinctually sensing the power and pressure coming from their opponent, Bai Yi and Momo both calmed their auras down for a moment before exploding in full force.


    ¡­


    On the other side of the city, a group of people was protecting Bellamy and Nancy.


    After Bellamy and Nancy found people to protect them, they very quickly knew that they needed to meet up. Bellamy could expel the abnormal drugs in a person¡¯s body, but after expelling it the person would still continue to absorb these compounds, so they needed an antidote. On the other hand, even though Nancy could create the antidote, she realized that even if she managed to inject someone with the antidote it would still take time to take effect and wouldn¡¯t let them recover from the mindless state quickly; hence, she needed to find Bellamy.


    Find each other and then look for Bai Yi!


    Both teams came to that consensus. Very quickly, Truman and the others¡¯ long efforts in managing this city showed its fruits, and they displayed their power. Although many people suffered from the influence of the drug and fell into a mindless state, the two teams still very quickly gathered again. At this moment, there were close to a hundred people in this group, and other than Bai Yi¡¯s teammates inside of it, the rest of them were also all people originally from the Devil Isles.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Bai Yi and Momo?


    ¡°Bai Yi and Momo circled around the city once and flew back to the center,¡± somebody answered.


    Center, huh? Everybody looked at that direction. In that direction was a feeling of an oppressive calm, and it gave all of them a feeling of unease.

 Chapter 265

    Chapter 265: To Kill Each Other


    In the beginning, Yu Han extracted a special kind of compound from a plant and used it on New Christchurch. After Yu Han died, his subordinates somehow encountered the United Nations. Of course, the United Nations, more or less, simply used them. The drug had initially targeted evolved lifeforms, and it was changed and developed into a drug that specially targeted evolved humans. The drug rapidly increased the bloodlust in a person¡¯s heart and turned them into a wild and ferocious killing machine.


    The Mad Bloodlust drug!


    ¡­


    Soul Charm: Death¡¯s Peaceful Rest!


    Momo smiled at Bai Yi. Although the attack was directed at Bai Yi, the people watching from the sidelines felt like their souls were being drawn away. However, at this moment, Bai Yi didn¡¯t move. Instead, he created a pulse in his life field to stabilize his body and soul. At the same time as Momo activated the Soul Charm, Bai Yi raised his left hand. Countless dark threads ferociously flew toward Momo. Momo gripped her black sword tightly, swung it, and instantly split apart all the dark threads.


    Purgatory Sword: Gluttonous Evil Spirits!


    Momo swung her sword again. Bai Yi raised Red Kiss and stabbed at the exact moment to stop the Purgatory Sword¡¯s swing. After that, Bai Yi used a Flash Step and shot through the air. Countless floating souls and Spirit Devouring Butterflies swarmed Bai Yi, but Bai Yi just pulsed his life field again. A chaotic and violent wind raged, ripped the floating souls and Spirit Devouring Butterflies to shreds, and turned them into motes of light.


    ¡°How could they not be affected by each other¡¯s attacks at all?¡±


    All the people watching this battle were incredibly astonished. They had already discovered through their earlier battles that Momo¡¯s Soul Charm was very difficult to defend against, and those floating souls and Spirit Devouring Butterflies were also very difficult to kill.


    The basic makeup of the body was physical matter, but the makeup of the soul wasn¡¯t energy. Otherwise, the soul would have been discovered long ago. Hence, when facing spiritual lifeforms, physical attacks were completely useless. Energy attacks seemed to be able to damage spiritual lifeforms, but the effects weren¡¯t large, so they all felt that the floating souls and Spirit Devouring Butterflies were very difficult to kill.


    So, how exactly did Bai Yi do it?


    The group was agitated from the start, but they quickly calmed down and watched the battle seriously. There were a number of things to be learned from Bai Yi and Momo¡¯s battle style and how they reacted to different situations.


    For instance, with regards to sword style, Bai Yi used the Wind Mist Sword, and Momo used the Purgatory Sword. Everybody could tell that the two sword styles were of the same basic style but their techniques had been developed differently due to the differences in their special energy. Bai Yi and Momo clashed rapidly, and their movements changed incredibly quickly. Around them, bursts of air and the White Underworld flames continuously raged. Due to the continuously waving thin threads and the continuously gathering and dispersing floating souls, Bai Yi and Momo¡¯s battlefield appeared incomparably dangerous and magnificent.


    ¡°Why do they seem like they are sparring?¡±


    ¡°They are father and daughter. They definitely sparred a lot like this. A lot of the answers to how best to deal with their abilities can be answered by watching them fight. Observe carefully, if we can learn some of it, we would at least not be so miserable facing them in the future.¡±


    Although nobody thought that they would ever encounter Bai Yi or Momo in the future, they couldn¡¯t see anything wrong with learning from them.


    ¡°Bai Yi can control the air, right? Why isn¡¯t he controlling the air around Momo¡¯s body?¡±


    ¡°How would I know?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the disruption of the life field! The life field spreads out from the body and weakens gradually the further away it is from the body. The closer it is to Momo, the weaker Bai Yi¡¯s life field is and the stronger Momo¡¯s life field is. Since they are of a similar power level, Bai Yi is unable to control the air around her.¡±


    Another man wanted to ask something, but somebody else interrupted him, ¡°Stop chattering, and watch carefully.¡±


    Even though they had lost their rationality, Bai Yi and Momo¡¯s battle instinct had grown even stronger. Reverse Flower Eyes illusions, dead souls, Spirit Devouring Butterflies, air control, Soul Charm¨C Bai Yi and Momo displayed their various abilities vividly and thoroughly. Even though they had lost their rationality, the two of them instinctively knew how to counter each of their abilities. Bai Yi and Momo had never hidden their abilities from each other, so it wasn¡¯t surprising. They lost their rationality, but they hadn¡¯t lost their natural instincts.


    After a brilliant and dazzling battle, the fight between the two of them actually reverted to the simplest and purest contest: sword skill!


    Though they were simple sword skills, they appeared incomparably grand and fatal in Bai Yi and Momo¡¯s hands. Everybody realized that Bai Yi and Momo had fallen into a strange balance. However, at this moment, a small, unexpected deviation happened in the otherwise evenly matched battle. When Red Kiss and Black Underworld clashed, a soft ¡®crack!¡¯ came from one of their swords. Although the sound was very small, both Bai Yi and Momo heard the sound at the same time.


    HA!


    A maniacal grin appeared on Momo¡¯s face, and she brutally swung Black Underworld.


    Purgatory Sword: Cross Chop!


    The attack was one of pure brute force, and it was different from the long-range intense sword qi and tremor of the Great Shockwave or the single point pierce of the Wasp¡¯s Sting. Cross Chop was a brute force technique that relied on Black Underworld¡¯s weight to break through a hundred other techniques with just strength. Normally, the technique would have been ineffective, but with the crack that appeared in Red Kiss, this kind of heavy brute force technique was incredibly useful.


    ¡®Clang!¡¯


    Red Kiss broke in the center and half of the blade shot into the sky. In the next instant, Momo charged in and stabbed her black sword viciously toward Bai Yi¡¯s heart. The sword¡¯s thrust formed an immense force and drew the floating souls and Spirit Devouring Butterflies along.


    Funeral Procession of Ten Thousand Souls!


    With a ¡®buzz!¡¯ and a clear ring of the sword, an intense shockwave engulfed the surrounding area and forced the four remaining survivors nearby to escape further away if they did not want to be caught in the attack.


    The moment the four of them managed to stabilize themselves on top of a building, one of them realized that the air in the area had started to spin, and all the floating souls and Spirit Devouring Butterflies began to move in the same direction.


    This is a hurricane!


    The air in the area was moved violently until it swirled toward the center of the large and rapidly forming hurricane. The hurricane sucked corpses, blood, and other things into it, ripped everything inside it into shreds, and dyed itself red. Just when everybody thought that the hurricane would continue spinning like a natural hurricane, the eye of the storm high in the sky sucked in the hurricane, and the air in the surrounding area disappeared.


    A powerful vacuum formed and pulled things over a thousand meters away towards the center. The four people watching from a distance lost their balance and flew toward the eye of the storm as if somebody pushed them viciously from behind. The vacuum the eye of the storm created pulled them and the air so that it roared and rushed toward it to fill the vacuum.


    Shit!


    The word flashed across everyone¡¯s minds. Anybody who was sucked in would obviously die.


    The four of them were terrified as they were sucked toward the center, but suddenly the suction force completely stopped. The entire hurricane was drawn into the eye of the storm and abruptly smashed down from the sky.


    ¡®BOOOOMMMM!!!¡¯


    A deafening sound exploded in their ears, and all of them seemed to lose their hearing in that moment. All they could hear was the frenzied, chaotic wind rushing and swirling around them. An unimaginable force devastated the surroundings and smashed the group of four, the remaining corpses, broken buildings, and various other things into the ground. The air shot out as a giant circular shockwave and practically leveled the city center in an instant.


    The brutal shockwave smacked the group of four through countless objects before they finally landed limply on the ground. The military man who led the group leaned on a piece of debris and felt as though his entire body was broken. In reality, his body was actually broken, and he hadn¡¯t even been at the center of the hurricane. If he had been closer to the center, he probably wouldn¡¯t even have been a complete corpse. The man trembled as he raised his right hand and lit another cigarette.


    Damn it, I knew there would never be a good ending for doing such things. It¡¯s just too bad that I won¡¯t get to see the outcome of this battle. But, a man like that would never die in a place like this, right?


    The man thought in his heart and looked at the ground in the center that had caved. He then looked at the man standing at the center. The cigarette between his lips still burned slowly as he slowly closed his eyes.


    Bai Yi pressed the ground with his left hand. There was a huge wound on the left side of his waist. The White Underworld flames burned slowly on his wound in a faint shade of black and strange motes of light appeared on it as if his wound was corroding. Under Bai Yi¡¯s hand were empty ground and a very deep hole.


    A black light suddenly appeared above Bai Yi¡¯s head, and the black tip of a blade instantly stabbed down toward him. Momo suddenly sprang out from the White Underworld with a vicious expression. Bai Yi abruptly raised his head and happened to lock gazes with Momo in a moment that seemed to stretch into eternity.


    A soft ¡®pop!¡¯ sounded!


    Something seemed to break, and the wound on Momo¡¯s chest suddenly tore apart again. Rapidly pumping blood instantly spurted out from Momo¡¯s heart. Her initially vicious movement paused abruptly, and the thrust of her black sword lost its strength.


    The hot blood pumping from Momo¡¯s heart splattered into Bai Yi¡¯s eyes, and a hint of madness flashed in them. His left hand twirled and knocked the black sword in Momo¡¯s hands into the black light behind her. Bai Yi took a Flash Step, seized Momo by the neck with his left hand, and smashed her into the ground.


    DIE!


    ¡­


    At that moment, Bellamy and Nancy¡¯s groups who had just arrived as well as the people watching through the satellites all held their breaths.

 Chapter 266

    Chapter 266: Soul Law Treasure


    Bai Yi wrapped his hand around Momo¡¯s neck tightly and immediately sealed her movements. An immense killing instinct raged inside him, and Bai Yi exploded with unimaginable strength. The air twisted and warped beneath his hand and engulfed Momo. As Bai Yi brutally smashed Momo into the ground, their gazes met again, and for a moment, Bai Yi seemed to regain his clarity and knew what he was about to do.


    DON¡¯T!


    Bai Yi screamed crazily inside his heart, but by then, the instinct of slaughter inside him was already unstoppable. Tears filled Bai Yi¡¯s eyes. With a loud ¡®BANG!¡¯, Bai Yi smashed Momo into the ground and the surrounding air erupted.


    Wind of Massacre!


    Blood splattered into Bai Yi¡¯s eyes, mixed with his tears, and made his eyes feel incomparably hot and painful as if the blood was boiling oil. Bai Yi¡¯s expression turned completely blank as the Reverse Flower Eyes spun crazily, and time seemed to stop. The people who watched from the sidelines all felt something sweep past them. Everyone stopped on the spot at the feeling of an emptiness in their heart. This was especially true for Bai Yi¡¯s team members who all knelt on the ground and couldn¡¯t think of anything.


    Death!


    Right before death, there was great fear!


    The instant Bai Yi smashed her down, Momo only had one notion in her mind: she was going to die. Her body still remembered the terror of the Wind of Massacre. Momo couldn¡¯t think of anything and was overcome by an extreme tranquility as she felt the excruciating pain in her body. Raising her right hand to the sky, Momo¡¯s heart seemed to be empty as well. However, in the next instant, Momo started to roar crazily in her heart.


    I DON¡¯T WANT TO DIE! I¡¯M THE ONE WHO CONTROLS THE LAW OF DEATH!!


    It was a loud cry and the manifestation of law from the soul!


    Time seemed to pause around them.


    Just as if a law of the universe manifested, a mysterious ripple pulsed from Momo¡¯s body and everyone stopped in their positions. Momo¡¯s bloodstained hands closed into a fist tightly and smacked away the wind blades around her. Then, she then flew up into the sky and a black curtain of light rapidly expanded behind her as the sky gradually turned black. Everyone stared dumbly at Momo in the sky and couldn¡¯t understand what was happening.


    In the air, something seemed to be rapidly manifesting out of nothing: a small and exquisite tiara!


    The tiara fell on Momo¡¯s head and seemed to fit perfectly. The moment the tiara landed on Momo¡¯s head, everyone felt an irresistible pressure sweeping out from Momo¡¯s body. The pressure couldn¡¯t be described by words. It was on a different level from the airs of somebody in power or any intimidating aura a person could have. Regardless if it was friend or foe, everybody was immediately pressured into kneeling onto the ground.


    Momo was covered in blood and in an extremely miserable state, but an incomparable aura, unlike anything anybody had seen before exerted from her body.


    It was an aura that only belonged to Momo, the White Underworld Princess!


    ¡°Paradise of the Dead ¨C Dark Kingdom!¡±Momo said as the tiara on her head flashed.


    The sky abruptly turned black, and the entire White Underworld instantly overlapped Tasmania. Everybody felt their scalp going numb as if they had completely entered the country of the dead. Momo raised her hand and the ones hiding in the dark suddenly felt their hearts squeeze violently as if they had been given a death sentence.


    It¡¯s over!


    Nobody knew what had happened to cause such a big change to happen in Momo.


    Just when everyone thought that they would all die, Momo¡¯s body suddenly went limp and plummeted toward the ground.


    The world that had just started to turn dark suddenly stopped.


    Nobody knew what was going on, but it apparently had something to do with Momo. Due to the severity of Momo¡¯s injuries, the attack ended up fizzling out without causing any real damage. In a secret area, the so-called ¡®powerful¡¯ people in the world all kneeled miserably on the ground, panted heavily, and thanked their lucky stars for surviving the calamity.


    The moment Momo fell, Bai Yi immediately flew up and caught Momo. Everyone else suddenly woke up from their daze and saw Momo falling from the sky and Bai Yi at the center.


    Bai Yi¡¯s teammates ran the fastest with Bellamy and Nancy in the lead.


    When the two of them arrived, they immediately started to neutralize the drug in Bai Yi and Momo¡¯s body. Everybody ascertained that Bai Yi and Momo had both regained their consciousness, and there had been some special changes in them. Bai Yi and Momo both had very serious injuries, especially Momo. Her injuries were absolute frightening to look at, but fortunately, Momo managed to block Bai Yi¡¯s Wind of Massacre at the last moment. Otherwise, she would have really died.


    Bai Yi passed the unconscious Momo to Bellamy and Nancy and stood on top of the hill made up of crumbled buildings and corpses.


    Truman and the others looked at Bai Yi silently.


    ¡°It hasn¡¯t ended yet!¡±


    ¡°Somebody wants to turn this place into an underworld to obtain the drug to make the evolution process from LV0 to LV3 perfect: Fostsoul! The main ingredient of this drug is the Dead Soul Flower. I can¡¯t say who our enemies are. I believe everybody has their own thoughts in their heads. But what I can say is that it hasn¡¯t ended yet!¡± Bai Yi said viciously.


    ¡°Continue to live on! The time is already ripe. We have already returned to our true human appearances. Even if we walk on the streets in the normal human world, we won¡¯t be exposed so easily because of our appearances. You guys haven¡¯t forgotten about the hatred in your hearts, right? Regardless if it¡¯s the enemies behind this incident or the masterminds behind the Devil Isles, find all of them and make them pay for their sins!¡± Bai Yi said madly.


    Everybody trembled!


    Did Bai Yi think of revenge because of this incident in Tasmania, or had he thought about it all along and had just never revealed them? Thinking of how Bai Yi was always somebody who thought before acting, practically everybody knew what Bai Yi really thought. Bai Yi had these plans inside all along. He just never told anybody else about his plans to take revenge!


    ¡­


    ¡°See, what did I say? How could the people who survived the Devil Isles not bear any grudges in their hearts? Don¡¯t forget. There had already been 109 cases of assassinations in various countries. Although this group of people always appeared to be very peaceful, they still desired revenge in their hearts. Bai Yi had a girlfriend Hong Qi Hua, a few friends named Martin, Sara and others who all died in New Zealand. This grudge will not be so easily forgotten,¡± the leader said as the image on the screen paused on the moment where Bai Yi looked the most sinister and mad.


    ¡°I¡¯m very curious. What exactly happened to that Momo just now?


    ¡°We¡¯ll think about that later. For now, we can¡¯t let any of these people leave. Any of them that escapes into the normal human world would cause great trouble,¡± the person who spoke stood up, tidied his clothes and walked out arrogantly.


    ¡­


    Very quickly, everyone realized that many people appeared outside the city plaza. Apparently, the people had been arranged to be there and eradicate the remaining survivors in Bai Yi¡¯s group. All of their hearts became heavy. If they were unable to break through this trial, they would lose every opportunity in the future.


    ¡°There aren¡¯t a lot of them, huh? Just around a thousand people,¡± Truman said.


    ¡°If not for Bai Yi¡¯s shouting, there probably would just be around a dozen of us left. Moreover, the people remaining would be extremely tired from various injuries after battling for such a long period of time. A thousand people are way more than enough to clean up the remnants. In any case, our chances of victory aren¡¯t high with just a hundred plus of us,¡± Rose said.


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly how things are! Furthermore, we must be careful of enemies being among us. If somebody among us turns out to be a traitor, not only will we die without knowing why but we would even suspect and distrust each other,¡± Lucretia added on as well. Everybody couldn¡¯t help but look at the people around them when they heard her words, fearing that the people beside them would stab them from behind.


    ¡°Since you realized this point, then you must have noticed something, right?¡±


    ¡°En, it¡¯s very simple!¡± Lucretia nodded.


    ¡°I informed Nancy and Bellamy long ago that there were people who took the antidote long ago but joined this group acting like they were affected by the drug. Coincidentally, you guys know as well that Bellamy¡¯s energy attribute is purification. It is actually very simple to figure who is really affected by the drug and who is just acting,¡± Lucretia said as she stared at the group of people.


    A moment of silence passed.


    Suddenly, somebody jumped up from the group on the ground. The moment this person moved, seven other people immediately followed and escaped behind him.


    ¡°The first one is innocent. Kill the seven behind,¡± Lucretia said viciously.


    Everybody was stunned but understood quickly that this was psychological warfare. She told them that she knew that there were undercover people in their group to make them nervous and arranged for somebody to escape. Due to the fear in their hearts, the people who were truly undercover would follow the man and try to escape.


    After a short battle, the seven of them laid in a pool of their own blood after the rest of them ganged up on them.


    The various teams under the United Nations watched the scene and were mildly surprised.


    Hey, they actually lured the undercovers out so easily?


    However, it was still useless. If they were unable to kill a hundred people after ganging up on them with a force of more than a thousand, then they would really be useless. Unfortunately, if not for them obstructing each other, there wouldn¡¯t have been that many people left in the first place.


    At this time, Bai Yi raised his head. The blood that had splattered into his eyes seemed to stain them deeply and turned his Reverse Flower Eyes into a bright shade of red.

 Chapter 267

    Chapter 267: Start Of An Era


    Bai Yi¡¯s vivid Reverse Flower Eyes looked at the sky as if he didn¡¯t notice the seven undercover operatives being killed at all. Taking a deep breath, Bai Yi suddenly lowered his head and the Reverse Flower Eyes was reflected in everybody¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°KILL!¡±


    Just a single word ignited the fuse in everybody¡¯s hearts: kill!


    Bai Yi flew toward the crowd in front of him. There were just too many people on the opposite side. It would be extremely disadvantageous for them if they allowed the United Nations¡¯ people to split up and gang up on each of them. Hence, the best way was to dole out a heavy blow from the start. The air in the surrounding area started turning and twisting. Four hurricanes suddenly appeared from thin air and wreaked havoc on the surroundings. Bai Yi coughed up a mouthful of blood but clasped his hands together. The four hurricanes spun toward the center furiously and were even more terrifying than the eye of the storm earlier.


    Hurricane: Four Directions Twisting Slaughter!


    Bai Yi bore the pain in his body and abruptly opened his eyes wide. The energy inside his body pulled hard on the surrounding air through his life field. At this moment, a man wearing a military uniform stood out and clasped his hands together in the same manner. Four other hurricanes appeared rapidly and collided fiercely with Bai Yi¡¯s hurricanes. Grinding and whirling sounds rang continuously as the eight hurricanes furiously collided and resisted each other. Finally, with a few rumbling sounds, the eight hurricanes abruptly broke down from the pressure of tearing at each other and unleashed chaotic gusts of wind everywhere.


    The people who hadn¡¯t been pulled into the hurricane dodged the explosion and separately looked for their own opponents. Bai Yi looked at the man wearing the military uniform as he felt the wound on his waist gradually turn numb.


    ¡°I can spare your life if you are willing to join us,¡± the man opposite said.


    ¡°Then what? Get played by you guys until I die?¡± Bai Yi asked plainly.


    At this moment, a few other people arrived. Bai Yi was somewhat familiar with them, including Barzel whom he had met earlier. They were really fortunate to be alive. The people appeared behind the man wearing the military uniform, went to attention and saluted him.


    ¡°General!¡±


    ¡°You guys go to another place. I can handle this,¡± the man said.


    ¡°Yes!¡± The few of them replied without hesitation.


    ¡°It¡¯s still better than dying here. A person like you should be able to endure humiliation for something more important, right? China has a saying called King Gou Jian of Yue1, right?¡± The general said to Bai Yi after Barzel and the rest left.


    ¡°Oh? I didn¡¯t know that you thought of me as somebody like that,¡± Bai Yi sneered.


    ¡°How could I not? 109 cases of assassination have happened all around the world, and every time it happened, it would cause an extremely big ruckus. People from the Devil Isles did it, but you are different. You never talked to anybody about it. On the contrary, your goal was to let all the evolved humans regain their human forms. I can guess that your next goal is to reintegrate with the human world and secretly look for the masterminds before giving them a devastating blow, right?¡± The general said slowly.


    Bai Yi went silent for a long while before asking, ¡°Where are they now?¡±


    ¡°All dead. I don¡¯t deny that they are all very strong. They were just a bit lacking up here,¡± the general pointed to his own head. Attempting to take on the world alone, it would have been an understatement to say that they were reckless.


    ¡°So it¡¯s like that!¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t show too much emotion and only said a few simple words.


    Bai Yi¡¯s left hand slid across his waist and a dark flame escaped from the wound on the left side of his waist. After leaving Bai Yi, the flame floated in the air and burned silently without looking like it was going to extinguish anytime soon. It was a White Underworld Flame and a manifestation of Momo¡¯s special energy.


    ¡°It¡¯s useless. Even if you can expel your daughter¡¯s Underworld Flame from your body, your injuries can¡¯t possibly recover immediately. Moreover, your energy should be more or less exhausted, right? Most importantly, I¡¯m also a perfect LV3 Life Field Stage,¡± the general looked at Bai YI¡¯s actions and laughed.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t gone through a life and death battle, have you?¡± Bai Yi asked as he pulled the ripped cloth around his wound tightly and tied a dead knot. Bai Yi spoke viciously as he cracked his lips and revealed his pale white, bloodstained canines, ¡°The world had already been peaceful for close to a hundred years. Based on your age and your status, you definitely haven¡¯t gone through a real battle, right? A true battle isn¡¯t using strength to bully a normal person, and it isn¡¯t playing around like in a game. A true battle is bloody and cruel!¡±


    Although he was injured, Bai Yi¡¯s eyes were extraordinarily bright and bewitching.


    The general opposite subconsciously took a step backward. Only after he took the step had he realized what he had just done. Had he actually been scared?


    Reverse Flower Eyes: Illusion: Dark World!


    Bai Yi¡¯s eyes started spinning and the general instantly felt like he had descended into extreme darkness. However, he had seen Bai Yi¡¯s battles previously, so he knew that Bai Yi could use basic vision and sound to control other people¡¯s five senses. Hence, the moment his eyes fell into darkness, the general swiftly closed his eyes and created a chaotic and violent wind around him.


    No matter what, it was most important to protect himself.


    After deploying the protective wind blades, the general then tried to ascertain Bai Yi¡¯s location with his life field sensing. The general¡¯s heart skipped a beat. Bai Yi had ignored the protective wind blades completely and charged straight at him! After a few Flash Steps, Bai Yi closed in on the general who had initially been far away and reached out with his right hand. The general was right. Bai Yi didn¡¯t have much energy left, so he wouldn¡¯t waste time here and used a battle style that would instantly decide life or death.


    Bai Yi¡¯s right hand immediately passed through the protection of the wind blade barrier and wrapped around the general¡¯s neck as blood exploded from his arm.


    Wind of Massacre!


    Berserk and frantic gusts of air erupted between the two of them. Both of them were LV3, and both of them had evolved perfectly so the difference between them wasn¡¯t much. The Wind of Massacre engulfed the both of them. The general felt an excruciating pain coming from his body as he was sliced everywhere. He screamed miserably. At the same time, Bai Yi controlled the airflow around his body to avoid the vital areas of his body while a madness and excitement blossomed in his eyes.


    You don¡¯t know what a real battle is. It is not using strength to bully a normal person!


    Bai Yi gripped the general and suddenly plummeted down from the sky, smashing violently to the ground with a loud ¡®boom!¡¯. In the instant of impact, an incomparably tyrannical wind exploded. The Wind of Massacre that hadn¡¯t displayed its capabilities fully in the battle with Momo. Against the general, Bai Yi showcased its true power for the first time. The general struggled desperately, but the airflow within his body erupted. He exploded into a vividly colored, bloody flower on the ground in Bai Yi¡¯s hands.


    Bai Yi was covered in blood. He turned his head and looked in another direction.


    Everybody who caught Bai Yi¡¯s gaze immediately shivered, What the hell was this?! They were both perfectly evolved LV3s, but Bai Yi killed him so easily! Were they just a joke for being ordered around by the general previously?


    Bai Yi stood up again and licked the blood by his lips.


    ¡°Take over the higher positions! The world has already reached a period of revolutionary change. The next hundred years will select the group of people who can truly stand at the top of the world!¡± Bai Yi¡¯s eyes shined brightly as he spoke. His voice wasn¡¯t loud, but everybody could hear his words. To all who heard him, his words had an incredible impact on them.


    Five Senses Illusion: Sound Control!


    ¡­


    Undoubtedly, Bai Yi¡¯s words shook the majority of his enemies¡¯ hearts. Should they fight to the death here, or live on and quietly wait for the period of great change coming in the future?


    After Woolf entered the battle again, he found his previous opponent and continued the unfinished battle. This time, Woolf gripped his fists tightly and prepared to Blossom. Woolf had already stepped one foot through evolution¡¯s door, and after such intense battles, he was more or less ready.


    Blossom ¨C LV3!


    Woolf¡¯s aura erupted and reached a level completely incomparable to before.


    The woman wearing dark green metallic clothing suddenly stopped and stepped backward. Qing Qiao didn¡¯t step backward because she was afraid of Woolf suddenly entering LV3 but because of Bai Yi¡¯s words.


    ¡°Qing Qiao!¡± The other man said in surprise.


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave!¡± Qing Qiao hesitated for a moment, turned around and left.


    ¡°I have a way to neutralize the particle bomb inside our bodies. I have already successfully assimilated the elements inside the particle bomb,¡± Qing Qiao said as she left Woolf standing there dumbly.


    This is¡­not a fight anymore?


    Even though there were two fewer enemies, there were still a lot more opponents everywhere and he didn¡¯t have to be scared of a lack of opponents.


    ¡­


    ¡°He died so quickly. Fancy that he was a perfectly evolved LV3,¡± a man sneered as he looked at the dead general in Bai Yi¡¯s hands.


    ¡°Team Leader!¡± Another man beside him exclaimed.


    ¡°Continue fighting. You guys know that your personal safety is the most important. Only by letting them out, and letting the world turns chaotic, will we get a chance,¡± the man licked his lips and a bewitching light flashed in his eyes.


    Regardless if those were his heartfelt words or intentionally crafted to sway his enemies, he really liked Bai Yi¡¯s words.


    _____________________________________________________________


    Some of them were still fighting, but a majority of them started to have many doubts. The so-called perfectly evolved LV3 general was so pathetic when fighting that he couldn¡¯t even be compared to them. Other than being in a high position from the beginning, taking a large portion of the resources, and evolving perfectly, there was really nothing to admire about him.


    Is that what Bai Yi meant when he said to take over?


    The next hundred years would select the group of people who could truly stand at the top of the world!


    Nobody imagined that Bai Yi¡¯s words would become the start of a new chaotic era!


    ***


    Translator Note:

 Chapter 268

    Chapter 268: The World¡­Is Free!


    ¡°The world has already reached a turning point, and in the next hundred years, the people who will stand on the top of the world will be chosen. Regardless of your status now, your reasons for being here, or what shackles bind you, you already have the power to break through this world. The world¡­¡± Bai Yi spoke boldly as he held the remains of the general that looked like a broken bag. The scene was extremely cruel, but a sense of ambition and longing rose in many people¡¯s hearts.


    ¡°IS FREE!¡± Bai Yi roared.


    At that moment, all the battles seemed to stop as Bai Yi¡¯s words echoed in their ears. The moods of those who heard Bai Yi¡¯s words instantly changed. The world was free. Nobody could shackle them. They already had the power to break this world.


    ¡°HAHAHAHAHA!¡± Bai Yi laughed frantically and gestured arrogantly at the hesitant United Nations teams. ¡°Come!¡±


    Everyone knew that even if they managed to kill Bai Yi, the transformation of the world couldn¡¯t be reversed. Bai Yi¡¯s words had caused great waves to rise in all of their hearts, which would push the group of powerful evolved humans to bring about tremendous change in the world! What a terrifying man. He wanted to throw the world into complete chaos even though he was already in desperate straits. If he didn¡¯t die here¨C


    ¡°I¡¯m considered to be of high status, but I will just be taking my rightful place,¡± Duan Xiu Cheng took two steps forward and said. ¡°Even if the new era chooses a new group of rulers, I will still stand on the top of the world.¡±


    Duan Xiu Cheng¡¯s heart was aroused. He walked in front of Bai Yi, stretched out his right hand, and dazzling electricity appeared in the air.


    ¡°Bai Yi, since you are the pioneer of this age, let me send you off on your final journey!¡± Duan Xiu Cheng said excitedly as his eyes widened slightly.


    In the next moment, Bai Yi and Duan Xiu Cheng collided ferociously.


    When Duan Xiu Cheng and Bai Yi truly started to fight, two other people immediately prepared to take part in their battle. However, Duan Xiu Cheng attacked the two of them before they could even approach.


    Duan Xiu Cheng, this lunatic! He was like this in China too!


    However, truth to be told, all of their hearts here had been roused by Bai Yi¡¯s words. The world was free! Were they considered part of the world? It was obvious that until the system of evolution was solidified, those in high positions with true power would never put themselves at risk. Hence, even though the ones standing here were all people from the United Nations, they weren¡¯t considered to be in high positions.


    Can we take another step upward?


    In any case, Bai Yi¡¯s words made everybody¡¯s blood hot, and the battle climaxed. Although many of them had the intention to conserve their strength due to Bai Yi¡¯s words, there were still a lot of people who became even more excited and agitated. This was the beginning of a new era, and they had the fortune to stand as witnesses to its beginning.


    However, Bai Yi¡¯s group were at an absolute disadvantage because of the difference in numbers and the United Nations¡¯ strategy of exhausting them beforehand. The only thing they could do now was to fight until their last drop of blood was spilled.


    ¡­


    The people on Bai Yi¡¯s team and the United Nations¡¯ team all knew that there was somebody who could possibly affect the outcome of the entire battle: Momo!


    The unexpected change was obviously different from the power system of evolution as they understood it. The pressure in that instant had felt like they were facing the law of the heavens. If not for Momo fainting due to her severe injuries, the flow of the battle would probably be completely different. Hence, even though the entire area had fallen into a chaotic battle, all the fighting was centered on Momo.


    Bellamy and Nancy anxiously tried to heal Momo, but Momo¡¯s injuries were too serious. It was very difficult just to keep her alive, let along heal her enough that she would wake up with the power to fight.


    Facing the mass of enemies swarming toward them, Woolf and Sharpei took the initiative and entered LV3. Both Woolf and Sharpei were also one of the ones who undergone perfect metamorphosis and had been on the edge of Blossoming. Under the stimulation of the intense battle, both of them entered LV3, and their strengths rose explosively.


    Woolf, Sharpei, and Pupu formed a triangle around Momo and protected her from the countless enemies.


    Solid: Metallization Energy!


    A metallic color covered Woolf¡¯s body making him seem like a metal statue. Woolf bore every attack head-on without being bothered in the slightest. His power of defense seemed simple. However, because he could bear any attack without getting hurt, his barbaric way of fighting had a great impact on the battlefield. His melee attacks seemed simple, but Woolf could use his life field to supplement his attack. Nobody was able to stop a punch from Woolf.


    Flames, ice, electricity, and earth control energy mixed together with dense earth and smashed into Woolf. However, Woolf was completely nonchalant about the attack and broke through it with a Flash Step.


    Heavy Fist!


    The simple punch contained unimaginable power. With a ¡®BOOM!¡¯, the solid wall the size of a small hill shattered into pieces under Woolf¡¯s powerful blow and an immense shockwave instantly erupted.


    Sharpei had two heads. One had the destruction attribute, and the other had the death attribute. When he entered LV3, Sharpei turned even more sinister and terrifying. Furthermore, Sharpei¡¯s speed had increased immensely. After zooming around and killing all the enemies in the area with his fangs and claws, Sharpei stopped and raised his heads at the group of people in front of him. The energy from both his heads merged into a gigantic death beam.


    Destruction Death Light!


    Both of the energies were biased toward attacking, and the destructive capability became absolutely unthinkable when they fused. In an instant, a terrifying explosion of destruction shook the entire battlefield. After that, Sharpei stood tall amidst the black smoke and continued to protect Momo.


    Pupu didn¡¯t look intimidating at all and didn¡¯t even have any grand-looking attacks. However, Pupu¡¯s fat and strong body always happened to be at the right place at the right time to attack or defend as needed. It was clearly a very simple attack, but every time it would create an unimaginable effect on the battle. Pupu¡¯s basic attacks and defenses were worlds apart from Sharpei and Woolf¡¯s, but he still managed to stop anybody who tried to attack Momo.


    At this time, Pupu hadn¡¯t forgotten about the scene of Sharpei dying he¡¯d seen before the battle began. Furthermore, this was clearly an extremely demanding and desperate battle. He had to conserve every bit of energy he had. Of course, that didn¡¯t mean that Sharpei and Woolf¡¯s battle styles weren¡¯t OK, it was just that everybody had their own battle styles.


    At this time, Melvin suddenly discovered a broken crystallized rhombus-shaped dome. Inside the broken crystal, Alodia was gradually bleeding out. Melvin was shocked. He quickly took out the medicine for emergency rescue and the antidote for the neuro-stimulant to feed to Alodia. She had been caught in the battle between Bai Yi and Momo. If not for her crystallization power having a decent defense mechanism, Alodia would have probably died.


    Melvin protected Alodia and watched the ongoing battle, and a sense of resolution and madness flashed in his eyes. From the start, Melvin hadn¡¯t undergone perfect metamorphosis. He had tried his best to nourish and supplement himself during the LV2 stage to catch up to Bai Yi and the rest, but that hadn¡¯t been enough and wouldn¡¯t help him now. Melvin took the Blossomy drug he obtained from Lucretia.


    ¡­


    Making use of a short pause in the battle, Bai Yi bit a tube of Material Essence. He panted heavily as he retreated. Duan Xiu Cheng was quite powerful, and the attacking speed and style of electricity were also very strong. Most importantly, Bai Yi was already exhausted. Both the special energy stored in his body and soul was almost completely consumed.


    ¡°Although I feel like I am taking advantage of your weakness, being able to kill you here is still a great opportunity.¡±


    ¡°That isn¡¯t for sure,¡± Bai Yi poured the Material Essence into his mouth. His body frantically absorbed the substance the moment it entered his stomach and converted it into energy.


    ¡°Material Essence: one of the essences you guys extracted in the Devil Isles. It is able to rapidly restore and convert itself into special energy. Knowing that I can see that you really intended to do something. You expected to have a desperate battle long ago, right? However, since you used Material Essence, it means that you don¡¯t have much energy left since it can only be used as an emergency measure,¡± Duan Xiu Cheng said to Bai Yi.


    Bai Yi didn¡¯t deny it at all, ¡°En, you are right. I don¡¯t have much energy left, but it¡¯s still very easy to kill somebody.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that you have any attack that can harm me at this point in time.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so sure about that.¡±


    Bai Yi calmed his breathing and closed his eyes like Duan Xiu Cheng. Everybody knew that they couldn¡¯t look into Bai Yi¡¯s eyes, so they closed their eyes while battling Bai Yi and used their life field to sense their surroundings. Previously, Bai Yi wasn¡¯t able to do anything about it because it went beyond the five senses, but his eyes had changed after Momo¡¯s blood splashed into his eyes.


    Thinking about his emotions of despair and destruction at that moment, they were now a pair of cursed eyes!


    Reverse Flower Eyes: Illusion: Still World!


    Bai Yi opened his eyes, and Duan Xiu Cheng¡¯s vision went dark. All vision, sound, smell, and touch disappeared, and even his life field sensing vanished. It was as nothing other than his own consciousness existed.


    Duan Xiu Cheng was terrified and erupted with electricity, but in reality, he didn¡¯t know if his electricity manifested or not because there wasn¡¯t any feedback at all from his body.


    Still World used his special energy and life field as a medium. With it, Bai Yi could completely cut off a person¡¯s five senses and life field sensing. The person would have neither sight, hearing, nor smell because no sensory signals could reach the brain. At this moment, Duan Xiu Cheng didn¡¯t even know if he moved his hand. He didn¡¯t know if he were flying through the air.


    He didn¡¯t even know if he was already dead.

 Chapter 269

    Chapter 269: The Other Provenance Fruit


    No vision, no sound, no touch, no smell, and no taste: he was trapped in the Still World where all five senses were completely cut off. Other than his own consciousness, nothing else seemed to exist.


    Bai Yi¡¯s Reverse Flower Eyes had created a cage and completely trapped Duan Xiu Cheng inside of it. Bai Yi could feel that there was an even deeper level of change in his eyes and energy, but Bai Yi didn¡¯t have the strength to use it. Blood flowed profusely from both of his eyes. Bai Yi stretched out his right hand and a few blades of wind rapidly spun around his fingertips. Even at this time, Bai Yi didn¡¯t recklessly approach him.


    ¡°Bai Yi, your parents!¡± Duan Xiu Cheng suddenly shouted within his consciousness.


    He didn¡¯t actually speak, but Bai Yi could sense Duan Xiu Cheng¡¯s words through his life field. The words were just blackmail and his last resort. Duan Xiu Cheng¡¯s words caused Bai Yi to pause for a moment, but in the next instant, Bai Yi closed on him with a Flash Step.


    ¡®Puchi!¡¯


    Bai Yi¡¯s right hand viciously pierced Duan Xiu Cheng¡¯s chest and gripped his heart tightly.


    The powerful electrical currents numbed Bai Yi¡¯s body, but Bai Yi¡¯s expression was still incomparably calm and cold.


    An excruciating pain came from his heart, and Duan Xiu Cheng almost fainted the moment his sense of touch recovered, but he held on to consciousness for fear of coming too close to death. Duan Xiu Cheng raised his head and looked at Bai Yi. He didn¡¯t know if Bai Yi heard his shout, but he knew that this was his only chance to survive at this time.


    ¡°Your¡­parents!¡± Duan Xiu Cheng didn¡¯t say more; Bai Yi should have understood his meaning.


    ¡°I know. I heard your shout just now,¡± Bai Yi said coldly.


    ¡°Then you¡­!¡± Duan Xiu Cheng¡¯s expression turned into one of shock. If he heard him, then why did Bai Yi attack him?


    ¡°I won¡¯t be blackmailed. No matter what example you look at, the so-called compromise will never have a good ending. In the end, the only thing that will happen is that they will end up losing and suffering even more. So,¡± Bai Yi¡¯s expression turned sinister. ¡°Don¡¯t try to blackmail me with my parents!¡±


    Bai Yi squeezed tightly, and Duan Xiu Cheng¡¯s heart exploded in Bai Yi¡¯s hands. Fresh blood spurted out of the wound and sprayed onto the ground.


    ¡°You are really¡­heartless!¡± Duan Xiu Cheng¡¯s voice slowly came as he died.


    At this moment, Bai Yi didn¡¯t move and stood at the peak of the ruins. His figure appeared incomparably desolate. How could Bai Yi not know the consequences of his actions? However, compromising for the sake of his parents or friends would only cause a greater tragedy in the future. No matter how one looked at it, it would probably end with him being played until he died.


    Can you understand this, father, mother? Weren¡¯t you the ones that taught me this? You said that even small characters could understand the big principles.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± Bai Yi said under his breath apologizing to some unknown person.


    Bai Yi panted heavily and took out another tube of Material Essence. The Material Essence hadn¡¯t even replenished one percent of his energy, and the Illusion: Still World completely drained the rest of his energy. Anybody could tell that Bai Yi was extremely weak now, but the people battling in the area all subconsciously avoided him.


    Who knew just how long could Bai Yi fight? What if Bai Yi still had the strength to act when they approached? They would just be seeking their deaths. When facing the issue of their lives, anybody would be more cautious.


    Even though the majority of people didn¡¯t wish to face Bai Yi, there were still some people ballsy enough to try. Regardless of the potential rewards, the concept of killing Bai Yi was enough to scare a huge majority of people.


    Bai Yi grabbed a long broken sword on the ground. It wasn¡¯t Red Kiss as he¡¯d lost it a while ago. Looking at the few hesitant people, Bai Yi gestured with his finger with a fake smile. In reality, Bai Yi had no special energy left, and his body was about to give out. However, he had to endure until he died no matter what.


    Kill!


    Bai Yi gripped the broken blade and charged forward with a malevolent look on his face.


    At this time, the battles around him were very desperate as well. Even Woolf, Sharpei, and Pupu had started to breathe heavily. With the odds of a hundred against a thousand, the fact that they hadn¡¯t been wiped out yet was because they were putting everything on the line. However, no matter how hard they tried, they could only delay their defeat. Even Sharpei and Pupu had been injured.


    Bai Yi killed crazily, but after killing more than a dozen opponents, his movements became slower and slower. A wind blade passed by Bai Yi¡¯s side, and he didn¡¯t manage to dodge it.


    ¡®Puchi!¡¯


    Bai Yi¡¯s body tilted, and the torn cloth tied around his waist ripped. Everybody saw the pale-white wound on Bai Yi¡¯s waist.


    It was pale-white because Bai Yi¡¯s body had no more blood to bleed.


    The wind blade pushed Bai Yi along and he fell. Bai Yi looked at the sky and saw a dark shade of black as if it was representing the world. Humans were really complex lifeforms. There were light and kindness but also darkness and ugliness. The few people nearby saw Bai Yi¡¯s state and immediately attacked him. Anybody could tell that Bai Yi was already at the end of his road.


    Bai Yi squinted his eyes and prepared to burn his last remaining life force!


    Life Ignition!


    However, at this moment, the people attacking Bai Yi were suddenly bound in mid-air like wooden puppets. A floating dragon with a woman on its head flew towards the battlefield. When they saw this woman, all of them knew that another powerful person had come.


    ¡°Long time no see, Uncle Bai,¡± Ning Xue said softly.


    ¡°Long time no see,¡± Bai Yi was surprised to see Ning Xue again.


    ¡°You seem to be in a pretty bad state every time I see you,¡± Ning Xue said though Bai Yi wasn¡¯t sure what she meant.


    ¡°Ah, my luck doesn¡¯t seem to be too good.¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha,¡± Ning Xue laughed lightly and a trace of desolation flashed in her hands. She then raised her right hand.


    ¡°You guys aren¡¯t qualified to kill Bai Yi,¡± Ning Xue said arrogantly to the people in midair.


    Ning Xue had discarded her weak and gentle appearance from more than ten years ago. Now, she was an expert in the rules of this era, and the aura she gave off was sufficient evidence of her prowess.


    Body Control: Mutual Slaughter!


    Ning Xue moved her right hand and the dozens of people trying to attack Bai Yi immediately started to attack their original teammates. Countless cries of horror and pain rang out because Ning Xue¡¯s body control power was really terrifying. Even Bai Yi was shocked. When had Ning Xue¡¯s life field had become so special that she could directly control other people¡¯s bodies?


    Provenance Fruit: Body Control!


    Many years ago, Yu Han obtained information about the connection between activated cells from a research facility. Using New Christchurch as the setting and sacrificing countless evolved humans and lifeforms, he cultivated a special Provenance Fruit in New Christchurch. That Provenance Fruit and Momo¡¯s Provenance Fruit of soul control correspond to the two different components of life.


    However, even after all his planning, Yu Han hadn¡¯t been lucky enough to use the fruit. However, since Ning Xue was the one who obtained it, Yu Han probably wouldn¡¯t feel that it was unfair.


    ¡°Then, I¡¯ll make a move first,¡± Ning Xue nodded at Bai Yi after helping him once.


    In truth, Ning Xue didn¡¯t know how to interact with Bai Yi. Were they friends? Their lovers had both died by each other¡¯s hands. Were they enemies then? The two of them were people who could think about things rationally and keep issues separate, so they weren¡¯t able to truly hate each other from the bottom of their hearts. When people said that life was complicated, they were probably referring to relationships like this.


    ¡°Goodbye then!¡±


    ¡°Goodbye!¡±


    Ning Xue didn¡¯t continue to help because she realized that Momo had already awakened. The fat little girl from years ago had turned into a noble young woman. No, a princess, the Princess of the Dark Kingdom.


    Sharpei immediately looked up at the floating dragon when it flew overhead. The two of them still remembered the bitter battle between them from long ago. Sharpei and the Pellegra Dragon¡¯s relationship were similar to their owners. They weren¡¯t really enemies, but it was even more wrong to say that they were friends. Anyway, the two of them didn¡¯t get along and only wished that the other would be more miserable. Thus, when the Pellegra Dragon saw Sharpei¡¯s miserable state from the long battle, the corner of its lips curled up.


    By then, Momo had already stood up, but her eyes looked empty.


    The battles around all went quiet for a moment and all of them looked at Momo at the center, feeling uneasy in their hearts. After a long while, Momo¡¯s consciousness finally seemed to return and looked at her friends around her. Woolf, Sharpei, Pupu, Nancy, Bellamy and her daddy¨C everybody looked incomparably miserable. Taking a deep breath, Momo opened her small mouth ¨C Soul Law Treasure: Release!


    ¡°Paradise of the Dead: Dark Kingdom ¨C Soul Control!¡±


    The tiara on Momo¡¯s head flew out and sent out ripples through the air. The ripples acted as the boundary between the real world and the world of the dead. After these ripples pulsed out, the entire world seemed to turn dark. In this world, countless spirits slowly became more and more visible. Even the corpses on the ground all started to move again and opened their eyes.


    Everybody looked on in extreme astonishment without being able to pull their eyes away. Although they knew that Momo¡¯s transformation was very strange, this was just too¡­


    Nobody could find an appropriate term to describe their feelings.

 Chapter 270

    Chapter 270: Law Treasure: Dark Kingdom


    Paradise of the Dead: Dark Kingdom ¨C Soul Control!


    Momo¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t loud but it rang in all of their ears at the same time. The two worlds seemed to overlap where the ripples that came from the tiara were, and the entire space turned dim. At this moment, the dead opened their eyes and stood up again with a lost expression.


    This is the Paradise of the Dead? Someone thought, Don¡¯t tell me that they all became zombies.


    The people who watched couldn¡¯t understand what they were seeing. Zombies would be useful against normal people, but against evolved humans of their level, they couldn¡¯t even be considered cannon fodder.


    Momo floated in the air, and a tiara appeared and landed on Momo¡¯s head. It was both a powerful treasure and a symbol of her status. Seeing her, the remaining enemy force felt that something was very wrong and wanted to stop Momo. A bolt of lightning flashed and rushed towards Momo, but it bounced away the moment it neared Momo.


    A vicious smile appeared on her face, ¡°Kill them!¡±


    The revived evolved humans heard her voice coming from their hearts and pounced. They had all been fatally injured, yet they moved as if they were at their peak of health and used the same basic and special energy attacks as when they had been alive.


    These were zombies? Someone thought, Are you bloody kidding me?! These people have the same level of power as when they were alive!


    Most importantly, the people that Momo ordered them to attack had once been teammates of the revived evolved humans. Countless pitiful screams of shock and horror rang through the air as the revived people fought as if they had no regard for their lives. Or rather, had never had a life to preserve at all.


    ¡°Attack the head! Attack the head!¡± A group shouted madly and aimed for their heads.


    In all zombie movies and novels, severely damaging the brain was the only way to stop them. However, that was not the case for these zombies. Momo¡¯s power was not over zombies but over souls. Controlling the corpses to rise and attack was just an extension of her power and an additional attack on their enemies¡¯ spirits, so after they destroyed the bodies of their former teammates, they realized that the battle hadn¡¯t ended because their souls still remained. Furthermore, their souls weren¡¯t just shadowy ghosts. Instead, they appeared exactly as they had when they had been alive, and they had retained forty to seventy percent of the strength they had when they were still alive because that power completely came from their souls, which Momo controlled.


    Attack Momo!


    Everybody finally realized that attacking the body and soul of the zombies were both secondary; the crux was to attack Momo. However, a portion of them saw the cruel smile on Momo¡¯s face and immediately made the wiser choice to escape.


    When a group of people charged toward the center, Momo grinned slightly and thought, The Dark Kingdom isn¡¯t a place for the living to stay in!


    The normal world was not suitable for dead souls and caused them to dissipate. Conversely, the Dark Kingdom was not suitable for the living. When the Dark Kingdom descended, the ending had already been decided. The descent of the White Underworld previously had proven that. Momo had only been toying with these people, and unfortunately, not many people had realized that. Other than the hundred plus people who had escaped in the beginning, the people who had stayed within the boundary of the Dark Kingdom were rapidly invaded by the intense underworld qi. Their lifeforce left them swiftly. Everybody who charged toward Momo was surrounded instantly by the underworld qi, which rapidly invaded their bodies and souls and pulled them toward death. No, not death. Under normal situations, they would have died, but in the Dark Kingdom, all of them were subject to Momo¡¯s Soul Control, so they revived and attacked their original companions.


    Momo stretched her right hand in front with an insolent smile of excitement.


    Shit! Nancy and Bellamy cursed in their hearts.


    The neuro-stimulant in Momo hadn¡¯t been removed completely, so she not only attacked their enemies but also their friends. A seemingly endless number of souls swarmed from the other world. In the Dark Kingdom, dead souls could retain a large majority of their original strength, but they were all subject to Momo¡¯s soul control.


    ¡°Kill!¡± Momo said with excitement.


    ¡°Momo!¡± Bai Yi began to use his Reverse Flower Eyes to wake Momo up, but the moment his eyes moved, his vision turned black, and he almost fainted. Bai Yi was really at the end of his road. It was very commendable for him to be breathing still. Who else could face off against Momo who controlled all these souls?


    ¡°All of you die,¡± Momo said with a frenzied expression, and everyone felt a numbness in their heads.


    Sharpei suddenly pounced at Momo, and all the souls controlled by her swarmed Sharpei. Sharpei erupted with an unimaginable power, didn¡¯t halt in his steps, and charged toward Momo. Pupu watched and recalled a vision, the vision of Sharpei¡¯s death. Pupu had been thinking about it all along to figure out just how Sharpei¡¯s death could occur. No matter how he looked at it, Sharpei couldn¡¯t have possibly died so easily!


    So it¡¯s like this!


    Pupu shouted and charged over, but he only managed to make half the journey before abruptly stopping.


    Sharpei stopped in front of Momo, and a long black sword made of Underworld Flames pierced Sharpei¡¯s chest and devoured his lifeforce greedily.


    It¡¯s really like this. It¡¯s really like this! Those dark flames, what could it have been other than Momo¡¯s Underworld Flames?


    Pupu opened his mouth wide but couldn¡¯t make any sound. He hadn¡¯t been able to understand the vision when he first saw it, so he hadn¡¯t spoken to Sharpei about it. It was something that couldn¡¯t have happened. Sharpei stretched out his tongue and licked Momo.


    The scary tongue still retained some warmth of life, and Momo shivered. This was how Sharpei had shown his affection a long time ago before New Zealand changed.


    ¡°Sharpei!¡±


    Momo looked at Sharpei¡¯s heads that had already turned extremely terrifying, and suddenly recalled the days of a fat little girl and a small fat dog playing. Tears started to fall from Momo¡¯s eyes filled with pain and disbelief.


    All the souls and remaining living humans paused and finally managed to take a break.


    The Pellegra Dragon who hadn¡¯t flown away yet was stunned, That dumb dog died just like that?


    Momo suddenly started to laugh, ¡°Hahahaha¡­Sharpei is so silly.¡±


    Momo wiped her tears and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t die. I am the princess that controls the Dark Kingdom, the White Underworld Princess. However, your state of life will change somewhat.¡±


    Everyone was extremely shocked by her words and didn¡¯t fully understand what she was saying.


    Don¡¯t tell me that Momo had become able to control life and death.


    Something had definitely happened to Momo and allowed her to understand some fundamental things about the universe.


    ¡°Hmph, he¡¯s actually not dead!¡± The Pellegra Dragon sneered, but anybody could hear the gladness in his voice. Ning Xue looked at the Pellegra Dragon and the corner of her lips quietly rose.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Ning Xue said and let the Pellegra Dragon fly north towards Australia.


    Momo stretched out her right hand with her palm facing the sky. In the next instant, the entire Dark Kingdom started to tremble, and the ground started to shake.


    What the hell is going on now? Some people thought miserably. Can¡¯t we just get a moment of peace?!


    The ground broke and rapidly shrunk. Everyone felt like they had been rejected by a world and were being bounced out of it. Everyone who was still living fell from the sky and quickly started to perform emergency treatment on themselves. Some of them looked at the sky and were dumbfounded.


    Slightly less than half of the city floated in the air and rapidly shrunk before disappearing into the small and exquisite tiara on Momo¡¯s head. A gigantic, circular, concave area more than 10 kilometers in diameter was left behind in Tasmania as if somebody had dug a part of the city out. They pondered that thought and looked at the small princess tiara on Momo¡¯s head.


    That thing that appeared from thin air, they wondered. What is it exactly?


    ____________________________________________________________________


    Realization of Law: Soul Law Treasure


    Everyone who existed within the universe was subject to the laws of the universe. The laws of time, karma, energy, gravity, life, etc. Before evolution and the activated cells, lifeforms were subject to the laws. Gravity would ground them. Life would gradually move, and space-time would not bend to allow people to teleport. However, after a lifeform became powerful enough and gained a deeper sense of the universe, the lifeform could occasionally control a small part of universal laws rather than simply being controlled by them.


    The realization wasn¡¯t an understanding of human consciousness but an enlightenment about life. No one could gain the power to control the universal laws, nor understand them, simply by reading books. After entering the LV3 Life Field Stage, one could awaken a Soul Law Treasure if the soul called out for it desperately enough. The Soul Law Treasure represented the understanding of lifeforms in relation to the laws of the universe and was a manifestation of individual strength.


    The intense call of the soul would normally only come about amidst despair, the moment of death, being able to see beyond everything, and other states that stimulated the individual beyond their limits. The Soul Law Treasure was an additional power that went beyond the normal cultivation system, and very few people could awaken it. However, once somebody awakened a Soul Law Treasure, it meant that the lifeform had started to vaguely encounter and understand a trace of the laws of the universe.

 Chapter 271 - Destruction And Rebirth

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 Chapter 272 - Ending And Beginning

    Chapter 272: Ending And Beginning


    ¡°How should I describe it?¡± Momo said, ¡°At that moment, I somehow understood something. It wasn¡¯t like suddenly obtaining a power-up. It was more like it was a part of my power all along, but I had never truly displayed this power to its fullest.¡±


    Momo grabbed Khina¡¯s soul and extracted the purest part of it as the carrier for the new soul. Then, she forcefully fused it with the baby girl and formed a new state of life.


    ¡°Death isn¡¯t the end; it¡¯s just a different state of life. This world is a physical world, so the manifestation of life is the physical body. The various systems within the body sustain the life of the physical body; hence, once the internal systems are destroyed, the life dies. However, in reality, the body and soul are both interconnected and independent. Most of the time the soul still can survive even after the death of the physical body, but the independent soul can¡¯t survive for long due to the corrosion caused by the physical world,¡± Momo slowly explained.


    ¡°In the underworld, a new balanced state of life can be formed where the soul supersedes the physical body as the dominant manifestation of the lifeform¡¯s system of life. You all probably don¡¯t understand this now, but to summarize, she¡¯s not a normal baby anymore. Furthermore, since the soul became the main manifestation of her life, the real world is no longer suitable for her to live in due to the corrosion it causes on the soul. Thus, she can only go to the Underworld.¡±


    The people who didn¡¯t understand initially suddenly understood upon looking at the baby girl. Seeing a floating soul-like entity hovering beside the baby, all of them could understand what Momo meant by having the soul as the main and dominant manifestation of her life. Did that mean that the body of the baby girl now could be considered a puppet? Could they understand it as that?


    ¡°Not a puppet!¡± Momo seemed to know their thoughts but didn¡¯t explain in further detail.


    At this time, motes of light poured out continuously from Khina¡¯s center. Anybody could tell that Khina¡¯s soul wouldn¡¯t survive for much longer.


    Momo looked at Khina for a long while before saying, ¡°I don¡¯t hate you at all. If not for the events of the past, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to grow to this point. If you want to, you can enter the Dark Kingdom. However, the core of your soul is already damaged, so even if you enter the Dark Kingdom, you will dissipate quickly, and the most that you will become is a broken soul without any memory.¡±


    ¡°I¡­want to stay by her side for a while,¡± Khina said.


    ¡°OK!¡± Momo nodded and propped up the baby.


    A black light appeared in her hands, and Khina and Sha Luo both disappeared within the light. Momo¡¯s eyes shined and she stared at the world inside the Dark Kingdom. Entering the Dark Kingdom, Khina carried the little baby Sha Luo in her arms with an incomparable motherly love. Based on the rate of dissipation of Khina¡¯s soul, she would become a broken soul without any memories within two years.


    Two years¡­ she thought. Would Sha Luo even remember her after two years?


    Momo then looked at the city absorbed inside the Dark Kingdom. After absorbing the city, the Dark Kingdom possessed some land of its own. The physical bodies of the people who were absorbed into the Dark Kingdom were dead. Momo looked at the broken city and felt that she could make her Dark Kingdom better. The Dark Kingdom should have the appearance of a kingdom.


    After giving some instructions to the souls inside the Dark Kingdom, Momo turned to Vala, Heloise, and Mavis. Ever since the beginning of the White Underworld, the three of them had been the caretakers of it.


    ¡°Vala, Mavis, and Heloise, you guys can ignore it even if somebody tries to create trouble. I will make all the trouble-making souls disappear after settling the things outside.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Vala and the two others immediately shivered and replied seriously.


    Momo had changed. She was no longer the fat little girl following behind them. She had already become the White Underworld Princess, ruler of the Dark Kingdom.


    ¡°Bai Yi, there¡¯s also Yeye!¡± Betsy reminded after Momo absorbed Khina and the baby girl into the Dark Kingdom.


    ¡°En!¡± Bai Yi nodded. However, in truth, Bai Yi didn¡¯t know if Yeye still existed.


    Yeye could only appear when they were connected to the internet, and Bai Yi was sure that the United Nations hadn¡¯t overlooked Yeye and sent people to retrieve her. Suddenly, Bai Yi looked to the left and the rest of them followed his gaze. After a while, a team walked towards them. Everybody could recognize the group as people who had attacked Bai Yi¡¯s team but escaped in time not to be absorbed into the Dark Kingdom.


    Everybody had a look of puzzlement on their faces.


    Don¡¯t tell me they still have something planned, someone thought.


    The man in front passed them a sealed box, and the people in Bai Yi¡¯s team immediately narrowed their eyes.


    The leader of the group passed them the sealed box containing Yeye¡¯s main computer and looked at Bai Yi directly, ¡°I have no ill intentions. I¡¯m just returning this to its rightful owner.¡±


    After a long while, the man smiled and turned away.


    ¡°Does this mean that you owe me a favor?¡± The man said as he walked back to his team. ¡°Just kidding, I just felt that it wouldn¡¯t be fun if I let you constantly think about me because of this thing.¡±


    ¡°Your name?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    The man heard Bai Yi¡¯s question and replied loudly without turning his head, ¡°Darren! They call me Big Brother De!¡±


    He was afraid that he wouldn¡¯t be able to hold it in and challenge Bai Yi. His body was trembling with excitement. This new era, this revolutionary age had already begun.


    Bai Yi only watched Darren¡¯s back retreat with the rest of his team. It seemed that various people had already started revealing themselves in this new era. After Darren¡¯s group left, Bai Yi looked at the people in front of him.


    ¡°Let¡¯s leave!¡± Bai Yi said and the rest of them immediately followed.


    Although the United Nations¡¯ scheme had failed, he couldn¡¯t deny that the United Nations still had more power than they did. Furthermore, they were all injured. It wasn¡¯t that they couldn¡¯t fight at all, but it wouldn¡¯t end well if they met any more enemies and were detained because of them.


    The group followed Bai Yi and headed out of the city. None of them had thought of where they should head to now. Bai Yi didn¡¯t have a plan either, but the most important thing was to find an absolutely safe place to heal. They could talk about the rest later.


    A few clear cries rang through the sky, and Bai Yi saw the three flying evolved lifeforms in the air.


    He suddenly said, ¡°We¡¯ll go back to the Devil Isles!¡±


    The people belonging to Bai Yi¡¯s team originally recognized the birds upon sight. They were the flying evolved lifeforms that brought them to Tasmania from the Devil Isles! The three creatures had never returned to the Devil Isles after coming to this place. They weren¡¯t among the most powerful on the Devil Isles, but they were overwhelmingly stronger than the lifeforms on Tasmania. They were obviously happier living the life of a tyrant.


    However, the three of them were apparently going to become slave labor again and take Bai Yi¡¯s group back to the Devil Isles.


    They still remembered Bai Yi¡¯s team, and Momo¡¯s overbearing pressure on other lifeforms was practically inborn. Although they were injured, Bai Yi¡¯s team easily got the three flying evolved lifeforms to fly back to the Devil Isles.


    Everybody stood on the back of the three flying evolved lifeforms and looked back at the slowly disappearing coastline. They were returning to the Devil Isles, but it was only a temporary break to recuperate. When they returned, their target would be the wide world from which they had been isolated for more than ten years.


    Just wait and see, you bastards!


    ¡­


    It ended. The battle of Tasmania ended just like that, and there was probably nobody who had expected that outcome. The United Nations¡¯ so-called underworld failed, all the dead souls went into Momo¡¯s Dark Kingdom, and the city had been left in ruin.


    A large majority of the people in the city had died, and there were only a few hundred survivors from the two sides who had clashed. From the total number of survivors from the Devil Isles, not even a hundred remained. From the United Nations, there were only the two hundred plus evolved humans remaining who had run away at the beginning.


    However, these survivors were all witnesses of the battle of Tasmania. Various mystical and magical powers became real such as the strength of a perfectly evolved LV3 and the overwhelming power of Momo¡¯s Law Treasure: Dark Kingdom.


    Just as Bai Yi said, the world was free!


    The entire world stood on the edge of revolution, and the era of the next hundred years would select the people who could truly stand at the top of the world. It was easy to imagine just how great an impact these survivors would have on the world!


    ¡­


    An intense and frightening aura suddenly erupted from Tongariro National Park Research Facility on the Devil Isles. The various lifeforms living in that area felt as if a catastrophe was imminent and immediately ran away in a panic. A figure broke through an embryo and walked out of it. Her naked body was perfect and incomparably tempting.


    The woman was reborn after absorbing the flesh and blood of the Progenitor as well as the essence of countless experimental subjects.


    In Hong Qi Hua¡¯s eyes were the hatred and grudge that came from the Progenitor, the experimental subjects, and various evolved lifeforms. The hatred flashed continuously in her eyes before fading into nothing.


    In the end, she only spoke one word, ¡°Humans!¡±


    Taking a step, Hong Qi Hua stepped on the blade of a small willow leaf knife. Hong Qi Hua bent down and picked up the willow leaf knife in her hands.


    She brandished it lightly and thought, What a familiar feeling.