Limb Replacement

The Bishop's originally withered skin began to plump and fill out.

Six newly sprouted limbs looked robust and powerful; his physique was stretched by rapidly surging muscles, and his spine seemed to have been elongated, growing to a height of over three meters!

Those new limbs altered his stance; he no longer walked on two legs, but instead moved like a spider, limbs pressed against the ground, before suddenly bursting through the narrow prayer hall!

Cold wind and rain blew in, and the church staff who had been closest to Li Wei and the Bishop were gripped by extreme panic and terror.

They tried to flee this place of disaster, but the Bishop, now completely transformed into a monster, moved as swiftly as a phantom in the night!

Three pairs of forelimbs grabbed their necks one by one, and amidst the constant pleas and wails of the priests and nuns, he tore off their heads and shoved the remaining headless torsos into his maw.

That head, covered in dozens of eyes, stared coldly at Li Wei, who stood motionless in the room.

Every single eye contained a greedy, salivating hunger.

"An ordinary human could never possess such a perfect physique. You are an anomaly, but such an anomaly could not have emerged without cause! Let me guess—the biological human the Council is hunting, the one rumored to have abducted Feng Zi's foolish daughter, is you! Am I right?"

The Bishop's words caused the Deputy Commissioner, who had been lying on the ground trembling, to suddenly lift his head!

He first glanced at Li Wei's back with a face full of terror, then turned to look at Feng Zi, who was pointing her gun at him.

Since her identity had been exposed, there was no need for Feng Zi to endure those cumbersome colored contacts; she wiped her eyes, revealing her signature azure irises.

She lowered her head to meet the gaze of the Deputy Commissioner, who was wearing a fawning smile.

"Miss, Miss Feng, I, we have met before, at, at the welcome banquet the Council held for you—"

Before he could finish his attempt to curry favor, Feng Zi smashed the butt of her pistol heavily into the back of his neck, knocking the troublesome commissioner unconscious on the spot.

When the Bishop shattered the wall of the prayer hall, Li Ming had already found the three children hiding under a pew, pulled them out, and hidden them behind the Starlight Cross.

Having dealt with the trouble at hand, Feng Zi glanced at the Guild President but ignored him, instead taking two steps forward to stand behind Li Wei.

The Bishop, having finished devouring the bodies of the priests and nuns, stood in the pouring rain and locked eyes with them. Li Wei watched his current behavior, unable to comprehend it.

"Why did you kill them? Do you intend to abandon the identity of Bishop and spend the rest of your life appearing in this form?"

The Bishop's expression looked like a smile; his maw curled upward, revealing a row of sharp teeth.

"Is the identity of a Bishop so noble? These so-called Twilight believers are nothing but a bunch of fools, including that First Pope they revere so deeply. Of all sciences, biology holds the greatest potential! Because organisms evolve, and evolution means endless progress! And what is the doctrine of the Twilight? To teach people to be good now for a reward after death?"

"A ridiculous theory. If not for the biological knowledge within the Twilight Church, I would never have left the Biology Institute to become a believer. And look, this so-called noble church is nothing more than this. Even someone like me, as long as I disguise myself well enough, can sit in the position of a Bishop in a major city district."

"Now I have obtained what I wanted. I have found the most critical knowledge regarding biological fusion within the church. After coming to Sun City, there are plenty of raw materials—tens of thousands of human bodies, hundreds of active limbs—all of which have helped me achieve true immortality!"

His voice grew impassioned, his excited tone carrying a clear sense of vanity.

"This is the true wonder of science! Organisms age because cells constantly divide, but as long as I have enough active flesh to replace my own, my body will never decay! The greatest shackle hindering individual evolution has been broken by me! Those stubborn old fools at the Biology Institute and the idiots of the Twilight Church are, in the end, merely remnants of a bygone era!"

"The only thing lacking now is one last, most brilliant, most useful limb! You are excellent, and that little girl is passable enough."

He extended his long, slender tongue, and thick saliva dripped from the corners of his mouth.

"What does this so-called Twilight Bishop identity even matter? How about it? Will you choose to merge with me? I might consider leaving your consciousness intact so you can enjoy this supreme glory alongside me!"

Listening to the Bishop's invitation, Li Wei simply extended the short sword in his hand beyond the eaves of the prayer hall, letting the rain wash away the residual blood.

"Sorry, you are disgustingly ugly."

Hearing Li Wei's refusal, the Bishop did not seem surprised.

His maw opened wide, emitting a "cackle-cackle-cackle" laugh, and in the next second, he vanished into the rain!

The moment he disappeared, Li Wei thrust his short sword forward with all his might!

With his current exaggerated dynamic vision, he could still only capture a blurred shadow rushing toward him!

Then, a force like being struck by a speeding dump truck slammed into Li Wei's entire body!

His thrusting sword was blocked by one of the Bishop's arms; the blade felt as if it were wedged into bone, unable to advance a single millimeter, while Li Wei himself was slammed into the wall of the prayer hall by the terrifying force!

The wall, built only of square bricks, could not withstand such an impact and shattered on the spot. The debris also affected the Guild President and the three children; as flying rubble fell upon them, Li Ming instinctively shielded the three children beneath his own body.

The Deputy Commissioner, who had been knocked unconscious by Feng Zi and lay on the ground, was not so lucky. He happened to be in the path where Li Wei was sent flying; while unconscious, he was stepped on by one of the Bishop's hind limbs, crushing half his body into pulp, spilling his intestines and organs across the floor, and ending his life instantly!

The Bishop pressed his two forelimbs onto Li Wei's shoulders, while his other two forelimbs clamped onto his throat, pinning him firmly to the ground after smashing through the wall of the prayer hall!

The moment Li Wei was attacked, Feng Zi took that bottle of medicine from her pocket. She swallowed a pill with some urgency, but instead of repairing her damaged body, the medicine caused her to cough up a mouthful of blood!

This type of aggressive restorative drug was not a tonic, but a chronic poison. She had already taken too much today; taking any more would completely ruin her!

It was at this very moment that Li Wei spread the five fingers of one hand.

That "force" belonging to the laws of nature entered his control at this very instant!