Not Envious

Perhaps because the Virtual Work Area came with animation effects, under the lights, the sketch of the Parasitic Aberration blended with a blurry human outline. Its collecting tentacles had replaced the positions of blood vessels and nerves, yet seemed unwilling to remain there. They extended beyond the human frame, seemingly beyond the Work Area itself, dancing in the void.

Ronan looked at his work, at those greedy, restless tentacles, and felt something strange struggling and writhing in his own heart, just like them. This vague, bizarre sensation was not unfamiliar to him. It was like when he had experimented on himself earlier... Hmm, like he had taken drugs.

Ronan had some idea why this was happening. At this very moment, the furious fire from the Abyss Zone Blood Soul Temple was still relentlessly harassing him. That flame was fueled by the extreme Negative Emotions of tens of thousands of people. He had touched that environment and been affected by it in turn. It was as if he had begun to be assimilated.

Fortunately, the situation was still under control.

Ronan's thoughts remained clear, and his conversation with He Yueyin was unaffected. Pointing at the sketch, he explained what he knew. "Based on my observations, every additional Aberrant Stage Three Infected means it can collect a few more samples. It's hard to determine exactly how many are needed to satisfy it right now. There are requirements for both variety and quantity, and the chemical components produced by each infected person overlap..."

"Overlap?" He Yueyin immediately seized on the key word.

Ronan could only blink. If he mentioned the arrangements he had made two thousand kilometers away as well, that would be getting far too carried away.

Fortunately, He Yueyin had never forced anything from him. Instead, she turned her gaze toward