Garlic

The Heckarian civilization was almost upon them.

Tang Chuan also awoke from the hibernation pod.

With a carp-like flip, he shot up over three meters high, and just as he was about to hit the Quinjet's ceiling, his subconscious braced against it, and he landed steadily on the ground in an extremely agile posture.

He exchanged a glance with Quintessa, who was smiling beside him, then slowly raised his fist and clenched it.

Strength.

He felt brimming with strength.

Sharpness.

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

Focus.

His mental state was full and vibrant, able to temporarily set aside most of a human's subjective thoughts, plunging into a state of deep concentration with utter devotion.

Cells rejoiced.

His heart surged with magma-like hot blood.

His body constantly brewed extraordinary power.

It was as if he had complete control over his own muscles; with a single thought, electrical signals instantly reached whatever part of his body he envisioned.

Neurons drove muscles, creating wave-like ripples in localized areas, like tangled plant veins or writhing little snakes.

When he relaxed, the knotted muscles smoothed out instantly, returning to the appearance of a normal person.

This was a level of control over one's own body that humans could never achieve.

After just one sleep—oh, and a few injections—Tang Chuan had broken through the genetic limits of humanity, entering a superhuman realm.

Furthermore...

With a hesitant expression, following his subconscious guidance, Tang Chuan spread his palm, and the Fantasy Attribute created a sharp dagger.

Gripping the hilt, he slowly pressed the blade into the skin of his left forearm.

Crimson blood seeped out, but Tang Chuan didn't stop. Enduring the pain, he dragged the blade downward along his arm, carving a bloody wound about ten centimeters long.

He tossed the bloodstained dagger into the air; the Fantasy Attribute dissipated, and the cold metal blade turned into a puff of colorful smoke, vanishing.

Tang Chuan, however, stared intently at the bleeding wound on his arm.

He concentrated his will on the arm, and his neurons triggered a property called "healing."

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

Then nothing.

It scabbed, and there was no further obvious movement.

Full healing would probably take a few more minutes.

But even so, this was a biological miracle in human eyes!

As long as he wanted to heal quickly, he could guide part of his body tissue to rapidly secrete platelets, quickly scab over, and rapidly grow granulation tissue.

In a few minutes, a wound that tore skin and muscle could heal!

This was a manifestation of cell activity completely surpassing human genetics!

Quintessa chose that moment to speak: "There are two reasons. One is that the Fantasy Attribute is nearly overloaded. The other is that your body's strength, master, is still within the trivial Mortal category. It's best to achieve life leaps in stages.

So, I've arranged three courses of treatment for you. Mm, you only need three injections to enter the low-level Planet Butcher category!

Don't complain it's slow. After all, our divine power and Fantasy Attribute are almost depleted now."

Three courses of treatment...

Was this really like getting shots to cure an illness...

But if every injection was this effective, then please give me more.

Tang Chuan gave a wry smile: "First time I've felt so happy getting a shot. Since it's three courses, what's the interval between each one?"

Quintessa replied: "Three to five days, about a hundred hours. Once your cells have fully absorbed and digested the Gene Potion, we can start the second course."

Tang Chuan nodded: "Good. How far are we from Heka Star 18?"

Quintessa smiled: "You slept quite a while, master. You could have woken up earlier, but you were sleeping soundly, so I didn't call you. We've already entered the radiation range of the Heckarian civilization. The Shuttle has slowed down. If you want, we can land on Heka Star 18 in ten minutes."

Tang Chuan didn't rush to land. Instead, he asked: "If we land directly on their planet now, won't it cause misunderstandings or unnecessary trouble?"

Quintessa gave Tang Chuan a reassuring look: "Master worries too much. How could I not have prepared and considered that? I've already tampered with the Heckarians' background records.

Once we enter Heka Star's satellite orbit, they'll treat you as a citizen of their superior Level 8 Civilization. Your identity will be a seasoned cosmic traveler.

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

Heka Star 18 has a decent environment. People often come to sightsee, and some nearby alien creatures have settled there permanently.

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

Tang Chuan relaxed: "You've thought of everything. Then let's enter Heka Star's orbit now."

"Good!"

The Quin Shuttle finished its low-atmosphere cruise and began descending at a steady speed toward the blue-silver planet not far away.

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

Quintessa glanced into the Cosmic Sandbox and said, "It's already evolved land-based lifeforms. The terrestrial ecosystem diversity is being filled in. Soon, the land systems for plants and animals will be fully built—ah, no, they're already being constructed. The first batch of herbivores has been born."

"That's good."

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

It showed a "human female" with strange attire, a stern expression, hair tied back, pale green skin, and several slender lines on her skin.

A gentle voice came through: "Hello, this is Heka Star 18's subsidiary planet. Welcome, Mr. Tang Chuan, a tourist from a Higher Civilization. We will dispatch a Navigation Shuttle to guide your route. Do you have any questions? I can answer them all for you."

The voice had a tone somewhat like the Eastern Spanish accent of Azure Star—odd, yet warm and polite.

The strangest part was that Tang Chuan actually understood it?

That's right, just like during the Supreme Council meeting, when he could comprehend the obscure syllables of the Supreme Main Gods, now he could understand the Heckarian's syllables too.

Was this greeter speaking a more common Universal Language?

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

Though, just as humans don't care about the actions of ants, the Calamity Supreme God had never paid much mind to non-divine beings.

But if a human could understand ants talking, most would probably be curious enough to give it a try.

The Calamity Supreme God had done something similar. Sometimes, eavesdropping and peeking at the ants' petty little acts was quite entertaining...

So the Calamity Supreme God actually knew most languages of the Main Universe's lifeforms.

After all, if he wanted to learn the various languages of a star region, it was just a single thought—instant, hardly any effort at all.

The thoughts in his mind told Tang Chuan that the previous Calamity Supreme God had a rather twisted sense of humor at times.

When bored, he'd occasionally spy on the meaningless, ridiculous antics of bugs to amuse himself.

Tang Chuan looked at the projection panel and said, "No questions. Just send the navigation directly."

The woman on the projection panel smiled and nodded. "Alright, then see you soon, esteemed guest."

With that, the projection panel vanished.

Within the atmosphere of Heka Star 18, a black dot appeared, growing closer—presumably the so-called Navigation Shuttle.

Tang Chuan and Quintessa both watched the approaching shuttle. No one noticed that at this moment, Chiliu had quietly triggered a property called "Invisibility" and was tiptoeing closer to a pile of odds and ends in the corner.

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

These things were all products Tang Chuan had brought from Azure Star—items he'd carried during the Main God Conference, like the garlic, talismans, Peachwood Sword, Holy Cross Sword, and so on.

He hadn't thrown them away. Since they were from his homeland, and he was now in an alien space, he kept them as souvenirs.

Occasionally, he'd look at them to remember home, just a little comfort.

Chiliu rolled on the ground, getting closer and closer, giving off an absurd vibe of "a spy agent in action."

It crept carefully into the pile of junk, moved over to the string of garlic, paused there for just a moment, then quietly slipped away.

But if someone counted carefully, they'd notice that one clove from that garlic necklace had silently gone missing...

Chiliu made its way to a corner far from the "crime scene," deactivated its Invisibility property.

As if nothing had happened, it rolled around contentedly on the ground, glancing out of the corner of its eye at Tang Chuan's back. Seeing no reaction, it looked away and swayed in self-amusement.

Once they landed on the material ground, they'd leave the ship. If it didn't eat now, it wouldn't get another chance.

Just one more. One last one.

I've only had two before, plus this one makes three.

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

Mortals are so dull. Ah, I don't mean to slander Great Calamity's thoughts—I'm just stating an objective fact.

I'll eat one every now and then.

One every now and then.

Then one more.

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

After all, a Mortal with no attributes is just too slow. Yeah, Order told me that a Mortal with no attributes is synonymous with infinite barrenness, their thoughts so faint they're almost nonexistent.

That must be right.

Great Calamity won't catch me!