Life or Death Depends on Fate

Seeing this, Bai Chuan was stunned. A strange feeling rose in his heart, and for a moment he didn't know what to make of it. He stared blankly as it tremblingly held up the small wooden box, waiting for him to take it.

After a long moment, he came to his senses and let out a deep sigh in his heart. He extended his other claw and took the small wooden box.

For an instant, he felt that this ordinarily light little box had become somewhat heavy.

He turned his head and looked up toward the skyline, his gaze passing over the lush treetops to the azure blue sky.

In his mind, he carefully calculated how far they had run now, and just how fast that human's initial burst of speed had been.

It seemed that, for the next few days, they would have to stay put for a while.

At least that human probably couldn't catch up that quickly.

The river's tributaries twisted and turned in all sorts of ways, the terrain was extremely complex, and a human couldn't possibly keep swimming like he could.

Even if they wanted to build a boat, that would take time.

Not to mention that his swimming speed was nothing to sneeze at. Time was on their side this time.

So then, fine. He would prepare to evolve here.

The power of frost...

Having silently made up his mind, Bai Chuan stayed put.

By evening, after an entire afternoon, Bai Chuan had finally found a relatively hidden hedgehog burrow, and on the basis of that burrow, he dug out a brand-new cave.

Although, due to time constraints, the cave he dug was still relatively shallow, compared to the original hedgehog burrow it was already much larger and deeper.

As for the hedgehog?

It had long been gutted and was now casually tossed aside. Thanks to the fact that Bai Chuan's newly dug cave was deeper and sealed off, the smell of blood hadn't spread much.

At this moment, Bai Chuan frowned as he stared at this mouse that seemed a bit off—if a snake like Bai Chuan could have eyebrows, that is.

But that wasn't the main point.

The main point was that ever since Bai Chuan brought back this injured little thing, it had been in this half-dead state. It still had some breath and could move a little, but that was all.

He looked at the somewhat gruesome wound on the little thing's leg—the bite from that small snake. The situation there was now looking bad.

This was probably a wound infection, or maybe not just an infection—perhaps its internal organs were injured too.

Bai Chuan made a guess after examining it.

He should be glad that this little thing had run into a non-venomous snake instead of a venomous one, or else it would have been dead cold by now.

But as things stood, it didn't seem to make much difference. The only difference was between dying on the spot and dying painfully now.

Because he didn't seem to be able to help much.

Animals—any animal that survives in the wild—fear wounds. Once a wound appears, it's very easy for it to become infected and inflamed.

And now, this little thing had unfortunately run into that problem.

This wasn't good.

At this moment, whether based on rational thought or personal emotion, Bai Chuan felt a genuine desire from the bottom of his heart to save this little thing.

Reason told him that the Ice Silkworm he needed still required this mouse to suppress it. If it died, the little bug in the wooden box beside it would immediately go berserk.

And then no one knew whether he could withstand it.

After careful consideration, he felt he couldn't just discard this Ice Silkworm for now. This ability was too strange. He couldn't act recklessly until the matter was settled, or else he feared he'd regret it too late.

On the emotional side, based on the stirring he had just felt, Bai Chuan subconsciously didn't want it to die like this—especially not because of something he had caused.

He didn't like owing anyone.

But still, he couldn't find a useful solution.

What, should he look for medicinal herbs?

Setting aside the possible differences between worlds, Bai Chuan hadn't studied that sort of thing in his past life. How could he identify them?

Not to mention that he was a snake.

Faced with this moment, Bai Chuan silently sighed, feeling a bit powerless for a time.

Was this little thing simply fated to die?

He grew a little irritable as he scanned the surrounding environment, trying to find a feasible way. If only this little thing could regenerate like he could...

"Hm? Regeneration?"

Bai Chuan was startled, suddenly remembering that he possessed a regeneration ability. So how was that regeneration ability realized?

At its core, it was simply that his body contained genes capable of producing a kind of mysterious cell.

And this mysterious cell was the most primitive, unspecialized cell in a living organism—an undifferentiated cell with the potential to regenerate various tissues and organs.

Its name was "stem cell, pluripotent stem cell!"

And where were these stem cells that allowed the host to regenerate stored? They existed in various tissues of the organism, even in the bone marrow.

So, did his blood contain them?

Bai Chuan recalled the changes in his body the last time he was injured, especially regarding his blood.

He realized there might actually be something to it.

With that thought, he looked back at the tiny creature writhing in pain.

If so, whether it lived or died now depended on its own fortune.

Bai Chuan brought his tail over, glanced at it once, then decisively slashed it with his sharp claws.

After a brief sting, crimson blood began to seep steadily from his tail, gathering into droplets at the tip.

Seeing this, Bai Chuan positioned his tail above the little creature's mouth, and drop by drop, the bright red blood fell into its mouth under gravity's pull.

One droplet after another dripped down and vanished inside.

Before long, when Bai Chuan felt his tail stop bleeding and begin to heal, he ceased his actions.

"That much blood should be enough, right? If this doesn't work, then it's simply your fate to die."

After that, Bai Chuan left its side.

He had done everything he could; if it still didn't work, there was truly nothing more to be done.

That being the case, he should start preparing early.

For example, finding a safe spot to evolve the Ice Silkworm's ability, finishing it quickly to see what practical use it had.

If it turned out useless, he could still investigate the reason while the little creature was alive, and rescan to obtain the Ice Silkworm's ability model.

Otherwise, once it died, there would be no way at all.

Don't blame Bai Chuan for being so pragmatic—he had already done what he could, and now it was simply about maximizing benefits.

At the end of the day, the two were nothing more than predator and prey, like the wolf and the sheep.

If someone said a wolf could fall in love with a sheep, he'd find it laughable.

He had captured it in the first place only because the Ice Silkworm needed a suppressor; subconsciously, he already regarded that rat as his possession.

He hadn't eaten it earlier because it was the first time he'd encountered a creature that might possess intelligence, and he suspected this might be some kind of cultivation world.

Not yet understanding the world, he feared attracting a heap of unnecessary trouble, and besides, he simply didn't enjoy eating intelligent beings.

After all, in his view, that rat, though brimming with spirit, didn't count as an intelligent creature. Today's stir had merely elevated its status in his mind from prey to the level of an ordinary pet.

Even if it survived this time, once he obtained the Ice Silkworm's ability, he wouldn't keep it with him anymore. Every evolution of his abilities required entering a dormant state, and dormancy meant losing all means of defense.

That alone destined him to walk alone as a snake.

Not to mention that it had been marked by humans with some tracking method—carrying it along would be asking for trouble.

Now, he needed to go out and find a new spot to evolve.

Staying here wasn't good, even if this cave was freshly dug by him.

As long as other living beings existed, he couldn't let his guard down. The panel was tied to his entire future and couldn't tolerate the slightest negligence.

Just as human nature can't withstand temptation, Bai Chuan trusted nothing—except himself!

Evolution had to take place in a secluded spot where he was completely alone.