Xie Race

That was naturally just a joke. These potions could barely last him until the college entrance exams began. As for how he would replenish the deficit in his body afterward...

"Eating for a few hours every day sounds like a pretty good way to relax."

He rubbed his chin as he thought this. He really was good at comforting himself.

Although the potion had replenished the deficit in his body, he still planned to make a few dishes. After all, he did not want to mistreat his taste buds.

Before long, he had simply cooked two small dishes, just enough for one person.

You cooked dinner. Cooking Proficiency +20

Cooking (Beginner): 220/300

To be honest, Cooking Proficiency increased the fastest. Every dish added ten points of Proficiency. However, Su Tu was usually pressed for time because of school and did not have much time to cook.

Therefore, he had not deliberately grinded his Cooking skill.

Sitting at the dining table, he called his mother's phone again, but there was still no answer.

"What exactly is going on?" Su Tu frowned. This had never happened before.

No matter how busy his parents were with work, they would call him at least once a week. Yet in the past week, they had not called even once.

Interstellar work was bad in that regard. Su Tu had never worried much about his parents before, but ever since learning about Martial Dao, the entire galaxy had seemed shrouded in mystery. His parents had not replied for so long, leaving Su Tu somewhat uneasy.

He took out his phone and found a contact with a cat avatar, labeled Little Aunt.

"Little Aunt, have my parents contacted you recently?"

Little Aunt replied to Su Tu almost instantly.

"What's wrong, Xiao Tu? I saw your parents at a research conference a few days ago. Their organization has a joint project recently, so they're especially busy. Your mom is usually so particular about her appearance, but she's even started breaking out lately."

Only after seeing Little Aunt's message did Su Tu finally feel relieved.

It seemed his parents really had been too busy with work lately to check their phones. Su Tu understood their work to some extent. When they got busy, forget checking their phones—even going to the bathroom had to be timed.

"It's nothing, Little Aunt. They haven't called me lately, so I was a little worried. Oh, right, they also haven't sent me my living expenses recently. Sister Zhang lent me ten thousand yuan, so please pay her back for me first. I'll get it from my parents later."

Su Tu remembered that Zhang Meng had paid the bill for him yesterday.

"OK. Lately, I've always felt that something's off with Zhang Meng. You live close by, so if anything happens, tell Little Aunt, okay?"

Little Aunt and Zhang Meng had been best friends since childhood. They had been together from elementary school through university and had an extremely close relationship.

"Something's off? She really has been a little strange lately. She's even more fond of making dirty jokes than before."

Su Tu thought of Zhang Meng's seductive figure. After agreeing to Little Aunt, he packed up the two dishes.

He planned to visit Zhang Meng's home. After all, she had helped him out yesterday, and combined with what Little Aunt had just said, it would not hurt to check on her.

As it happened, Zhang Meng loved both dishes he had made today: sweet and sour pork and sautéed eggplant, potatoes, and peppers.

Carrying the two dishes, he went out, took the elevator, and arrived at Zhang Meng's home.

Just as he was about to press the doorbell, his hand paused slightly, as though he had sensed something.

"What a cold aura."

Faint traces of aura were emanating from the security door before him, slowly drifting out through the cracks.

The aura was extremely cold. When Su Tu had been about to press the doorbell, it brushed over his hand, carrying a faint bone-chilling chill.

The feeling made Su Tu deeply uncomfortable. An instinctive revulsion arose from the depths of his heart, baseless yet piercingly cold.

He quickly took out his phone and called Zhang Meng.

The call was answered very quickly.

"Hello, Xiao Tu!"

Zhang Meng sounded to be in terrible condition on the other end. Her voice trembled with panic.

"Sister Zhang, are you home?"

"I'm home."

"Sister Zhang, Little Aunt asked me to come check on you. I happened to make two dishes, so how about we eat together?"

Su Tu spoke casually.

"N-No, Xiao Tu. I'm already asleep. You should've told me earlier. Next time, next time."

Zhang Meng had become very calm, but Su Tu could tell that she was forcing herself to remain composed.

"Alright then, Sister Zhang. What a pity. I'll tell you in advance next time," Su Tu said with some regret.

He then hung up.

Carrying the two dishes, he turned and left, walking toward the elevator.

A tiny pustule suddenly bulged from the peephole on Zhang Meng's door. An eyeball grew in its center, rolling as it watched Su Tu leave. Only after his back disappeared did it dissipate.

What it did not see was the cold glint flickering in Su Tu's eyes.

Unlike Zhang Meng's mature, glamorous appearance, her bedroom was extremely cute. The wallpaper was pink, and adorable plush dolls and anime figurines were everywhere.

At that moment, dark brown vines writhed continuously across the walls. A layer of gloom stained the pink wallpaper as Zhang Meng sat in a corner, her body trembling slightly.

"Hehe~ You're quite sensible. I like sensible women."

A hoarse voice with a hint of lewdness echoed through the room.

A short man stood before Zhang Meng. He was only around one meter forty tall, like a child, but his face was unexpectedly handsome. He somewhat resembled a popular star from the Ancestral Star.

Those twisted vines extended from behind his back as an eerie, chilling aura spread across his body.

Pustules of varying sizes bulged from the vines, wet and slick, making one sick with disgust.

Zhang Meng stared at the bizarre scene before her in terror. Her boss had repeatedly demanded that she accompany some so-called important person, something she had been extremely unwilling to do. So she had simply taken leave from work today, planning to hide out for a few days before changing jobs.

She had slept soundly for most of the day, then woken up hungry and thought about going downstairs to Su Tu's place for a meal.

But the moment she got out of bed, she saw this man standing before her, though she had no idea when he had appeared. She wanted to call the police, but those eerie vines had pierced through the walls in an instant.

She had no doubt that if she made the slightest suspicious move, those vines would immediately pierce through her body.

Then, by sheer coincidence, Su Tu had called. In order not to drag him into this, she had forced herself to calmly say that she had gone to sleep.

"Who... who are you? What do you want?" Zhang Meng asked, suppressing her terror.

A wicked smile appeared on the short man's lips. One vine slowly moved forward and lifted Zhang Meng's chin.

"Who am I? Hasn't your boss been constantly telling you to come keep me company?"

At those words, Zhang Meng's pupils abruptly contracted. The important person her boss had been asking her to accompany all these days was actually the monster before her!!!

"You're the important person my boss mentioned!"

"Hehe, woman, to lowly races like yours, I am indeed an important person!" He grinned viciously, his lustful gaze sweeping over Zhang Meng's body.

"And you are fortunate enough to qualify to become one with me. Be excited. Be joyful. Rejoice."

The man spoke with a distinctly unhinged tone. Then the skin on his back began to peel outward, and a large amount of viscous liquid sprayed forth along with three enormous vines.

"Ahhhhh!!" Zhang Meng let out a scream of utter terror at the sight before her.

Three women were embedded in the thick vines behind the man. Their bellies were swollen high, and twisted handprints occasionally pressed out from within, as though they were about to give birth.

Zhang Meng knew all of these women. They were the girls who had previously been called to accompany the so-called important person. Just days ago, they had still been youthful and beautiful, dreaming of rising to the top in a single step. But now, they had become like this.

"No need to envy them. Soon, you will become one of them and bear offspring for the great Xie Race."

He laughed excitedly as several vines shot toward Zhang Meng. Seeing the girls' miserable state, Zhang Meng somehow found a burst of strength and actually forced herself to her feet.

"Go to hell! Even if I die, I won't let an ugly freak like you touch me!!" she cursed loudly, suddenly kicking off with all her strength and slamming toward the floor-to-ceiling window. Even if she died, Zhang Meng did not want to become like that.

But compared to the vines, Zhang Meng was far too slow.

"Useless struggle." The monster's eyes were filled with mockery, like a cat playing with a mouse.

Sure enough, the vines appeared before Zhang Meng in an instant. They did not hurry to seize her, instead writhing up and down before her as if taunting her.

An indescribable shadow and despair completely swallowed Zhang Meng at that moment.

The monster's wild, eerie laughter rang endlessly in her ears.

Just as the vines were about to wrap around her—

The next moment!!

Crash!!

A violent sound of shattering rang out. Immediately afterward, vines broke apart before Zhang Meng's eyes, and a familiar figure appeared in front of her.

Su Tu stood with one fist extended, dark green blood staining his hand. Looking at Zhang Meng, his voice was as gentle as ever.

"I knew an all-night addict like you wouldn't go to bed early."

"Turns out you got tangled up with some bugs."