Garlic

The Heckarian civilization was close.

Tang Chuan had also awakened from the hibernation pod.

With a sudden kip-up, he actually sprang more than three meters into the air. Just as he was about to crash into the Quinjet's ceiling, Tang Chuan subconsciously braced himself against it and landed steadily on the floor in an exceptionally nimble posture.

Meeting Quintessa's smiling gaze from the side, Tang Chuan slowly raised his fist and clenched it.

Strength.

He felt full of strength.

Keen senses.

He was like a cheetah entering hunting mode, his neural synapses frantically transmitting electrical signals, ready at any moment to react dozens of times faster than an ordinary person. Extremely sharp.

Focus.

His mental state was incredibly full, allowing him to temporarily cast aside most human subjective thoughts and immerse himself completely in a state of concentration.

His cells were rejoicing.

His heart was pumping magma-like hot blood.

His body was constantly brewing extraordinary power.

It was as though he had complete control over every muscle in his body. With a single thought, electrical signals would instantly reach whichever part of his body his mind desired.

His neurons drove his muscles, creating wave-like contractions in localized areas. They were like tangled plant veins, or tiny snakes slithering beneath his skin.

Once he relaxed, those knotted muscles immediately smoothed out and returned to the appearance of an ordinary person.

This was a level of control over one's own body that humans could scarcely hope to achieve.

After merely sleeping for a while—oh, and getting a few injections—Tang Chuan had broken through the shackles of the limits of human genetics and entered the realm of superhumans.

Besides...

Tang Chuan's expression turned hesitant. Guided by instinct, he spread open his palm, and his Fantasy Attribute created a sharp dagger.

Gripping the dagger's hilt, Tang Chuan slowly pressed its blade into the skin of his left forearm.

Scarlet blood seeped out, but Tang Chuan did not stop. Enduring the pain, he dragged the blade downward, leaving behind a roughly ten-centimeter-long, bloody wound.

He tossed the bloodstained dagger into the air. The Fantasy Attribute dissipated, and the icy metal dagger turned into a cloud of colorful smoke before vanishing.

Tang Chuan, meanwhile, stared intently at the bloody wound on his arm.

He focused his will upon his arm, and his neurons activated an attribute called "healing."

Suddenly, the endlessly bleeding wound visibly began to stop bleeding and scab over, and then...

There was no then.

Once it had scabbed over, there was no more obvious movement.

It would probably still take a few minutes to heal completely.

But even that was a biological miracle in human eyes!

As long as he wanted rapid self-healing, he could guide certain tissues in his body to quickly secrete platelets, rapidly form scabs, and swiftly grow new flesh.

A wound that tore through skin and muscle could heal in just a few minutes!

This was proof that his cellular activity had completely surpassed human genetics!

Quintessa spoke at the right moment. "There are two reasons. One is that the Fantasy Attribute is nearing overload, and the other is that your body strength is still within the realm of a lowly Mortal. It would be best to achieve life evolution in stages.

"So I arranged three courses of treatment for you. Mm, as long as you get three injections, you'll enter the realm of a low-level Planet Butcher!

"Don't think it's slow. After all, our divine power and Fantasy Attribute are both nearly depleted."

Three courses of treatment...

Was this really supposed to be an injection for treating an illness...?

Still, if every injection had results like this, then please give me a few more.

Tang Chuan smiled wryly. "This is the first time I've found getting an injection so enjoyable. Since there are three courses, how long is the interval between each one?"

Quintessa answered, "Three to five days, around a hundred hours. Once your cells have fully absorbed and digested the Gene Potion, the second course can begin."

Tang Chuan nodded. "All right. How far are we from Heka Star 18's satellite planet now?"

Quintessa smiled. "You slept for quite a while. You could have woken up long ago, but you were sleeping so soundly that I didn't wake you. We've already entered the Heka Star civilization's sphere of influence. The Shuttle has slowed down, and if you wish, we can land on Heka Star 18 within ten minutes."

Tang Chuan did not rush to land. Instead, he asked, "If we land directly on their planet, will it cause any misunderstandings or unnecessary trouble?"

Quintessa gave Tang Chuan a reassuring look. "You worry too much, Master. How could I possibly have made no preparations or considerations? I've already altered the Heckarians' database records.

"As long as you enter Heka Star's satellite orbit, they'll regard you as a citizen of their superior Level 8 Civilization. Your identity is that of an experienced interstellar traveler.

"Not only will you not be targeted, you'll be treated with courtesy.

"Heka Star 18 has a fairly good environment. Tourists often come here, and some nearby extraterrestrial lifeforms come to settle permanently.

"So you don't need to worry about being treated as an oddity and pointed at."

Tang Chuan was reassured. "You really thought of everything. Then enter Heka Star's orbit now."

"Okay!"

The Quin Shuttle ended its near-planet flight and began descending at a steady speed toward the blue-silver planet in the distance.

Along the way, Tang Chuan suddenly asked Quintessa, "By the way, how is Cangmang Star doing?"

Quintessa glanced into the Cosmic Sandbox. "Land creatures have already evolved. The diversity of the land ecosystem is being filled in, and the terrestrial systems of plants and animals will soon be established. Ah, no, they've already begun to take shape. The first batch of herbivores has been born."

"That's good."

Tang Chuan had originally wanted to go in and take a look himself, but at that moment, an image suddenly popped up on the Quin Shuttle's main control panel.

It was a "human woman" dressed strangely, with a serious expression, her hair tied behind her back, pale green skin, and several long, narrow patterns on it.

A warm voice came through. "Hello. This is Heka Star 18, an affiliated planet. Mr. Tang Chuan, traveler from a Higher Civilization, welcome. We will dispatch a Navigation Shuttle to guide your route. Do you have any questions? I can answer them all."

Her voice carried an accent somewhat like Spanish from Azure Star. It was strange, yet friendly and polite.

The strangest part was that Tang Chuan could understand her.

That was right. Just as Tang Chuan had been able to understand the obscure syllables of the Supreme Main Gods at the Supreme Council, he could now understand the Heckarian syllables as well.

Was it because this greeter was speaking a relatively common Universal Language?

No, it seemed that the former Calamity Supreme God had once mastered the Heckarians' language.

Although, like humans who did not care about the actions of ants, the Calamity Supreme God had never taken non-divine lifeforms seriously.

Yet if one could understand ants speaking, most humans would probably be curious enough to give it a try.

The Calamity Supreme God had done something similar. Sometimes, eavesdropping on or peeking at the lowly actions of the ants was rather amusing...

Thus, the Calamity Supreme God actually mastered the languages of most lifeforms in the Main Universe.

After all, if he wanted to learn the various languages of a starfield, it only took a thought. He could do it instantly, so it was hardly any effort.

The thoughts in his mind told Tang Chuan that the previous Calamity Supreme God had, at times, possessed quite a wicked sense of humor.

When bored, he would occasionally spy on the meaningless, comical antics of insects to entertain himself.

Tang Chuan looked at the projection panel and said, "No questions. Come guide us directly."

The woman on the projection panel smiled and nodded. "All right, then. See you shortly, honored guest."

With that, the projection panel vanished.

A black dot appeared within Heka Star 18's atmosphere and drew closer and closer. It should have been the so-called Navigation Shuttle.

Tang Chuan and Quintessa were both watching the distant Shuttle. Neither noticed that Chiliu had quietly activated an attribute called "invisibility" and tiptoed toward the pile of miscellaneous items in the corner.

Don't ask why there was a pile of miscellaneous items inside a Fantasy Weapon.

These were all items Tang Chuan had brought from Azure Star—things such as the garlic, protective charms, Peachwood Sword, and Holy Cross Sword that he had worn on his person when attending the Main God Conference.

He had not destroyed these things. They were products of his hometown, and now that he was in another dimension, Tang Chuan regarded them as souvenirs.

They let him occasionally gaze upon them and think of home, that was all.

Chiliu rolled across the floor, creeping ever closer with the absurd air of a secret agent on a mission.

It carefully entered the pile of miscellaneous items and moved over to the string of garlic. It paused for only an instant before quietly leaving.

But if someone counted carefully, they would discover that one clove had silently disappeared from the garlic necklace...

Chiliu went to another corner, far from the "crime scene," and deactivated its invisibility attribute.

As if nothing had happened, it rolled about happily on the floor. It glanced at Tang Chuan's back from the corner of its eye, and after seeing that he had not reacted, it looked away and swayed around on the floor for its own amusement.

They were about to land on solid ground and leave the ship. If it did not eat it now, it would not get another chance.

One last one. Just one last one.

I already ate two before. With this one, that makes three.

Great Calamity's avatar is a Mortal. He probably didn't notice, right?

Mortals are just slow. Ah, I'm not insulting Great Calamity's will. I'm merely considering an objective fact.

I'll eat one every so often.

One every so often.

And after a while, another one.

Even if I finish them all, he won't notice, right?

After all, Mortals without attributes are simply too sluggish. Mm, Great Order told me that attribute-less Mortals are synonymous with infinite barrenness, and they barely even possess any thoughts.

Then it must be true.

Great Calamity won't notice me!