Water Body

"Damn. Because I ate a small part of its body this afternoon, it locked onto me as soon as it emerged instead of Jia Xin?" After pouring out the first bottle of dirt, Zhang Chen looked up and saw the old man's head floating in the center of the swimming pool.

"I can't run anymore!" Zhang Chen sensed danger coming from the pool to his left. Just as he tried to stop, two massive hands made of water reached toward him.

At that moment, Zhang Chen made a fatal mistake. He extended his nails, intending to break apart the two hands. But when his claws touched them, not only did they fail to cut through them, but both his hands sank into the massive palms. Then the hands merged, trapping him inside a watery prison.

"Glug glug!" Inside the water prison, Zhang Chen felt pressure equivalent to being two hundred meters beneath the sea. He would suffocate in less than five seconds if he held his breath.

"Break!" Zhang Chen scattered his Telekinesis in every direction, trying to shatter the water prison. But the instant it was blasted apart, it immediately healed itself.

"I'll eat you!" Zhang Chen was already out of air. Left with no choice, he opened his mouth and swallowed all the water. He fell to the ground, his face purple as he gasped heavily.

No notification sounded. It seemed that had merely been ordinary water from the pool controlled by the Drowning Ghost.

"It's already this powerful without entering the water. If I get dragged in, wouldn't that mean certain death?"

Gripping the remaining small glass bottle, Zhang Chen quickly moved toward the corner ahead. He had barely taken two steps when the watery hand rose again and reached for him.

Having learned from last time, Zhang Chen threw himself forward with all his strength and dodged the hand. He was only a few meters from the corner, so he used Telekinesis to control the little glass bottle and instantly poured the dirt inside onto the ground there.

However, after missing once, the massive hand came down a second time. Zhang Chen, lying on the ground, had no way to dodge it.

"Fuck, here it comes again." Zhang Chen complained. He had no desire to be trapped in that water prison again.

Whoosh! A silver needle, trailing a crimson talisman paper, shot through the palm.

The instant Zhang Chen saw it sink into the palm, sparks burst from the crimson talisman. White vapor rose from the hand, and when the talisman burned away, the hand had completely evaporated as well.

"Did you scatter the dirt?" Jia Xin shouted from the other side.

Zhang Chen gave him an OK gesture.

"Now jump into the water!" Jia Xin shouted.

"What?" Zhang Chen thought he had misheard and shouted back.

"Get in the water, now!" With that, Jia Xin leaped directly into the swimming pool.

"Fuck, what does that mean? Whatever. He just saved my life, so I'll trust him this once." Zhang Chen focused completely and spread his Telekinesis within a two-meter radius around himself. After taking a deep breath, he jumped into the pool without hesitation.

With a splash, Zhang Chen fell into the water. The temperature here was far colder than above, only around ten degrees Celsius.

But the moment Zhang Chen opened his eyes underwater, a protruding white eyeball was staring right at him. The old man's body had evolved into something resembling a lizard, and even his feet had completely turned into webbed claws.

The Drowning Ghost old man stretched out both hands and pinned Zhang Chen down. The tremendous force made him unable to move. A long, lizard-like tongue extended from the old man's mouth and slowly tightened around Zhang Chen's neck. Already struggling to hold his breath, Zhang Chen immediately inhaled water into his windpipe when the tongue constricted.

Just then, Zhang Chen saw yellow sand seeping into the surrounding water. Having choked on water, he thought his vision was blurring.

But there was more and more yellow sand in the water around him, and Zhang Chen could feel it against his body.

At that moment, the old man also sensed something wrong with the water. He hurriedly released Zhang Chen and fled far away.

Freed, Zhang Chen swam desperately to the surface. Fortunately, he had not inhaled much water. After surfacing, he coughed a few times and breathed in fresh air, quickly recovering.

But the sight before him shocked Zhang Chen. Every bit of water in the pool had turned yellow, and visible yellow sand was already settling at the bottom. It was as if the water were continuously transforming into sand.

In less than two minutes, the entire swimming pool had become a huge mound of yellow sand.

"Zhang Chen, kill the Drowning Ghost quickly. The yellow-sand state will only last five minutes," Jia Xin said from the sand dune opposite him.

The moment Zhang Chen heard Jia Xin's words, he understood why he had been told to scatter the yellow dirt in the corner.

"You deal with it. I'll find the true body." Jia Xin left those words behind and headed for the corner where Dai Xu had previously stood.

Now standing atop the enormous sand mound, Zhang Chen unleashed his Telekinesis. There were gaps between solid particles, so his Telekinesis could penetrate the yellow sand and scan the entire mound.

"Ha, found you." Zhang Chen grinned. His Telekinesis sensed a slowly moving object beneath the sand ahead to his left. Judging from its shape, it was undoubtedly the Drowning Ghost old man.

Zhang Chen strode across the sand, kicking up yellow dust with every step. In the blink of an eye, he arrived above where the Drowning Ghost was hiding.

"Come out!" Guided by his Telekinesis, Zhang Chen bent down, grabbed the Drowning Ghost's right arm with his own right hand, and pulled with all his strength, dragging it out in one motion.

The creature landed on the yellow sand mound, its entire body coated in a layer of sand. When Zhang Chen grabbed its arm, he could also feel the slime covering its body.

"Jia Xin said this Drowning Ghost is incredibly slippery all over. It must be because of this slime. Good. Now that it's covered in sand, it'll be much easier to grab."

With that thought, Zhang Chen sent out both claws and swept them horizontally at the Drowning Ghost.

"So fast?" Before Zhang Chen's nails could reach it, the Drowning Ghost grabbed his arm and simultaneously punched at him. Held in place, Zhang Chen could only raise his other hand to block.

Crack! The Drowning Ghost's fist struck the nails on Zhang Chen's left hand. Nails capable of tearing through steel were shattered by a single punch.

Zhang Chen was sent flying backward and slammed heavily into the yellow sand.

"Holy shit, it's this strong even without water? What the hell is going on? Jia Xin seemed to know from the beginning. He had me hold this thing off while he went to find its true body. At this rate, I'll be beaten to death."

After consuming that black monster earlier, Zhang Chen's strength had increased considerably. But it still was not enough against this creature. Before he could get up, the Drowning Ghost planted both hands on the ground and crawled toward him like a lizard.

Zhang Chen hurriedly pushed himself up, trying to avoid the enemy's next attack. But to his utter surprise, when the Drowning Ghost was still a meter away, it suddenly opened its mouth and spat two masses of transparent liquid at him.

They were so fast that Zhang Chen could not dodge. The two masses were aimed at his knees, and the moment they touched them, a familiar sensation arose.

The liquid soaked through Zhang Chen's pants and seeped into his knees, severing his connection to both lower legs. He immediately collapsed onto the ground.

"Isn't this the same move as that female ghost from the abandoned sales office beside my house? If I'd known, I would've brought all the Blood Beetles with me tonight. I only have one now. I wonder if it'll be in time."

Zhang Chen mentally contacted the Blood Beetle inside his left arm. The little red insect swam to his right knee and began greedily devouring the liquid.

Seeing Zhang Chen lose all feeling in both legs and slump to the ground, the Drowning Ghost revealed a mocking expression. It extended its long tongue again, intending to finish what it had failed to do before.

The Drowning Ghost old man pinned down Zhang Chen's hands and tightly wrapped its long red tongue around Zhang Chen's neck.

Under the immense force, Zhang Chen began to suffocate. The liquid in his right knee had already been eaten away, but moving his right leg now would only mean death. Zhang Chen could only gamble on whether he could hold out.

"I can't hold on much longer!" His neck had been squeezed nearly half its size, his eyes were bloodshot, and his consciousness was beginning to blur. Even if his left knee regained feeling now, he had no strength left to lift it.

Gah!!!! The Drowning Ghost old man suddenly let out a long howl. Unwillingly, it released the nearly dead Zhang Chen, sprang to its feet, and looked toward Jia Xin in the corner.

Jia Xin was holding a complete skeleton in his hands. It was clearly the old man's true body. With a flick of Jia Xin's right hand, a yellow talisman landed on the true body's head. The entire skeleton slowly began to crumble into powder.

The lizard skin covering the Drowning Ghost old man's body also began to collapse. It wailed as it tried to run back and reclaim its true body, but Zhang Chen rose behind it like a demon god, his eyes blood-red.

The old man found that his body seemed to be blocked by some invisible force, leaving him unable to move. When he turned around, all he saw was darkness.

Because Zhang Chen's mouth had already swallowed him whole.

"Ah!" An unwilling scream came from Zhang Chen's mouth, but it stopped after only one second. Meanwhile, the yellow sand beneath his feet began to collapse and revert to water. The timing was perfect.

Just as Zhang Chen fell into the water, a voice sounded.

Devoured one mid-grade Resentful Ghost. Saturation gained: 23%. Original skill: Water (partially incomplete). Incompleteness increased by 147%. Skill acquired: Water (relatively complete).

Discovered that the skill Water (relatively complete) can fuse with the host's body for bodily modification. Modification success rate: 71%. Proceed with modification?

"Every time I've faced mid-grade ghosts, I only won through tricks. Fuck it, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Yes!"

A mutation occurred. Zhang Chen watched as his body gradually turned into water and merged with the water around him. For some reason, the Blood Beetle in his left arm was stripped out as well. Zhang Chen himself was in terrible pain, as if his entire body were being torn apart.

Then it reassembled, dissolved again, and repeated the process countless times. Gradually, Zhang Chen adapted to the sensation of his body being torn apart. Finally, his body stabilized, and the Blood Beetle returned to his arm.

A voice sounded again: Fusion successful. Skill acquired: Water Body.

Zhang Chen

Main Soul Slot status: Activated

Main Soul: Gluttonous Ghost

Saturation: 100% (Saturated)

Compatibility with current **: 41%

Secondary Soul Slot status: Not activated

Number of Skill Slots: 3

Used Skill Slots: 3

Skills possessed: Telekinesis (Evolvable, used), Nail Growth (Arm section, used), Water Body (Used), Flesh and Blood (Incomplete, unusable), Mirror (Incomplete, unusable).

Telekinesis: Can control invisible force through thought. Current proficiency: 87%.

Nail Growth: Strength of both arms increased by 350%, nail hardness increased by 1000%, length can be freely controlled.

Water Body: Cells become water molecules. While within water, can assimilate the surrounding water and manipulate it freely.

Physical function: Medium

Perception: High

Overall evaluation: Medium

Jailer rank: Pawn

"Ha ha, it worked." With a thought from Zhang Chen, his body dispersed from the center of the pool and reassembled on the shore. Looking at his palm, he could make it transparent or solid at will. His entire body seemed filled with strength.

Jia Xin watched everything unfold from the shore and smiled faintly...