Shadows Behind

Chapter 17: Shadows Behind

"So full."

Amidst swirling purple mist, Lu Minghao swallowed the last of the liquid produced from dissolving a Shadow Rat. His body, originally the size of a basketball, had already expanded several times over. Just a light hop made him feel like the food he'd consumed was about to come back up.

"What a waste, so much left uneaten."

Looking at the food, at least half of which remained, Lu Minghao turned and leaped towards the sewer exit, though he was reluctant. Ever since he'd slaughtered all the Giant Rats in the sewer, the bad premonition in his heart had grown stronger.

Even while devouring those Shadow Rats, Lu Minghao had felt a tangible gaze from the darkness. He was now absolutely certain that something was watching him. However, for some unknown reason, those hidden presences hadn't revealed themselves, merely silently observing everything Lu Minghao did.

I need to leave quickly, and I have to pretend I didn't notice them. I'll stall for as long as I can.

Before long, feeling that his Magic Elements had recovered more than half thanks to the abundant nutrients, Lu Minghao merged into the shadow beneath him and sped away from the area.

Less than a minute after Lu Minghao left, several figures appeared silently. One of them placed a hand on the spot where Lu Minghao had disappeared, sensing something. A few seconds later, that figure stood up and nodded to the other two.

"Have you located that Slime?"

A man in a white lab coat, wearing glasses, asked. The gaze through his lenses was cold and lifeless, as if life was merely a string of cold experimental numbers in his eyes.

"Lord Charles, your subordinate has confirmed the Slime's location. However, it is fleeing rapidly and will soon be beyond my sensory range."

The figure, completely shrouded in a black robe, knelt and replied. Through the gaps in the robe, a pair of blood-red beast eyes and scaly skin could be vaguely seen.

"Number Four, go and capture that Slime. Remember to bring it back alive. I have a feeling it will be a valuable experimental subject."

"Yes!"

With that, Number Four tore off his black robe, revealing a bizarre creature with beast horns on its head, black scales covering its body, and limbs like tentacles. It then turned into a blur and chased after Lu Minghao.

"Number Three, clean up the traces left behind. The experiment continues."

Charles glanced at Number Four, who had left, and gave his orders. He then took out a test tube and began collecting the residual purple mist. Although he was indeed very interested in that peculiar Slime, the most important thing at the moment was this experiment that had been prepared for over a decade.

Once the experiment succeeded, his research results would be highly valued by the entire empire. At that time...

"Lord Charles, all traces have been cleaned up."

At this moment, Number Three, having finished clearing all the evidence, returned to Charles's side. After reporting, he stood rigidly like a machine, awaiting new orders.

"Let's return to the laboratory first."

"Yes."

Number Three nodded, placed a hand on Charles's shoulder, and a blue magic circle unfolded beneath their feet. With a flash of light, the two vanished. The dark sewer returned to its original state, except that the hundreds of thousands of Giant Rats that had lived there were now completely gone, reduced to pools of thick liquid.

The whistling wind in the sewer seemed to whisper something, like the wails of hundreds of thousands of Giant Rats from their souls.

Hundreds of miles away from Elirila Town, inside a large mountain, the entire interior had been hollowed out and transformed into various laboratories. Screams, roars, and wails echoed incessantly within the labs. Under pale lights, figures in white lab coats walked along corridors forged from steel.

Crack!

Suddenly, a laboratory door opened, and Charles emerged with Number Three. The light reflected on his glasses was cold. Passing laboratory personnel bowed slightly upon seeing Charles before continuing their work.

"Lord Charles, how is Experiment Number One progressing?"

At this moment, a man with a gentle demeanor approached Charles, a faint smile on his face. However, the smile, which seemed harmless at first glance, felt incredibly fake upon closer inspection, chilling one to the bone.

"There was a minor issue, but we've also made a new discovery: a Slime that is quite suitable as an experimental subject."

Charles turned his head, a hint of disgust on his face as he looked at the man with the fake smile beside him. However, considering the man was one of the laboratory's directors, he had no choice but to take out the test tube containing some purple mist from his pocket and speak slowly.

"Oh~ a good Slime? It seems Lord Charles truly has a fondness for Lesser Demons!"

"Hmph!"

Upon hearing the veiled mockery in the fake smile, Charles snorted and walked past him with Number Three, heading towards his own laboratory. After all, their experimental philosophies were completely different. Charles's approach involved modifying various Lesser Demons, while the other man believed Lesser Demons had no value for modification.

He believed that only powerful Monsters, combined with the bloodline genes of ancient human heroes, could create the strongest beings.

Charles, however, insisted on modifying Lesser Demons. This was because modifying powerful Monsters required immense resources and humans. If he could successfully prove the value of modifying Lesser Demons, their low modification cost would greatly increase the empire's Monster legions, thereby elevating his own status and allowing him to participate in more advanced experiments.

Before long, Charles and Number Three entered his private laboratory. On several large screens, everything happening in the Giant Rat Kingdom was displayed, including Dikas, who was adapting his body by consuming Diri's blood, and Diri, who lay on a bed, silently recovering his strength.

More than ten years ago, Dikas was intentionally released from the laboratory by Charles, who also specifically guided Dikas to Elirila Town. For years, every move Dikas made had been under Charles's surveillance.

During this time, Charles had also secretly collected various physical data from Dikas and custom-designed Diri, an Ancient Hero Bloodline possessor, for him. Charles then released Diri from the laboratory again, just as he had done more than ten years ago.

Everything proceeded exactly as Charles had planned. The only unexpected event was the appearance of a peculiar Slime, but it had no impact on the overall plan. In fact, he was about to acquire a good experimental subject.

"Number One, you must work hard! I've already sacrificed too much for you!"

Inside the laboratory, Charles's cold gaze fell upon Dikas on the screen, who was gradually adapting to the human Ancient Hero Bloodline. His aura grew increasingly sinister, like a venomous snake hiding in the shadows, waiting for its prey to be delivered.