John's Opportunity

Three days after Joel's destruction and disappearance at Chongyun Mountain, John was thrown into a closed space by Mr. Liang.

This enclosed space was different from the enclosed space John had entered before, which contained "Blood Beast"—as soon as the door opened, he fell into the water.

Then John saw a seemingly ordinary turtle, about the size of a washbasin, at the bottom of the water, which was about five meters deep.

But in the next instant, the turtle was no longer "ordinary." Its shell split open from the middle, instantly blooming like a chrysanthemum, and seven enoki mushroom-shaped tentacles shot out from the center, attacking him.

John was allowed to enter with the small porcelain knife again, so he didn't dodge and went straight for the seven tentacles. Relying on the recent two phases of transformation, which greatly enhanced the strength and recovery ability of his body's tissues, he prepared to quickly engage in close combat to test the abilities and characteristics of this "mutant turtle."

As soon as he became entangled with the seven tentacles, the turtle at the bottom of the water suddenly began to swell rapidly, then exploded. Black liquid stained the water black, and countless tentacles shot out from where the turtle had exploded, almost covering the entire pool.

John then realized that this was probably not a "mutant turtle." Those tentacles were its true form, and the turtle that had been at the bottom of the water was probably just its "bloodline" and disguise. Its true form was hidden beneath the turtle, disguised as the silt at the bottom of the pool.

Outside the enclosed space, Mr. Liang stood in front of the entire floor-to-ceiling screen, arms crossed, watching the struggle in the water.

Although the "Blood-feeding Creature" in the water polluted the entire pool with black liquid, obstructing the view, there was a small "picture-in-picture" in the upper right corner, which was an infrared thermal imaging monitoring image. It had been specially processed by "Tai'e" for the "Blood-feeding Creature," making the outlines of the two "Blood-feeding Creature" clearer on the screen.

In terms of his stage of transformation and intelligence, John has a significant advantage. However, the enclosed space is now in the water, the home ground of the "Blood-feeding Creature" in the water, which can make up for many of his disadvantages.

If it were John, who had just been captured by Mr. Liang a few months ago, given his mindset at the time, even with two consecutive phases of transformation and even with superior strength, he would most likely have become the "blood source" for the "Blood-feeding Creature" in the water, and be devoured.

But now, after spending several months under the Guarding Prosperity Building and going through two fierce battles, John has not only undergone two major physical mutations and evolutions, but his mental state and attitude towards survival have also changed dramatically.

It remains to be seen who will survive to the end and who will become whose blood source.

Although the battle was fierce, it did not last very long, lasting only about twenty minutes before a winner was decided and life and death were determined.

John floated face down on the surface of the pool, looking like a corpse, but in reality, he was the one who had survived.

The water in the pool slowly became clear, leaving only the tattered pieces of John's clothes floating in the water, and the small porcelain knife that had sunk to the bottom.

Mr. Liang did not pull John out; he remained outside, watching and waiting quietly.

Nearly ten hours passed, John remained in the position of lying face down in the water. Mr. Liang finally lost his patience, drained the water from the pool, and then raised the bottom of the pool to be level with the door.

After the door opened, Mr. Liang walked in, stood in front of John who was lying on the ground, and said in his signature hoarse, deep voice:

"You've been awake for seven hours, what are you pretending to be dead for?"

John's body trembled slightly. He slowly got up, half-kneeling on the ground. He opened his eyes and looked at Mr. Liang with a sorrowful expression:

"I feel so bad... Sir, please help me..."

As he spoke, he reached out his hand to Mr. Liang.

When his hand touched Mr. Liang's leg, he suddenly noticed a strange change—his skin became dry, cracked, and covered with bluish scales, while his five fingers suddenly became black and long, extending upwards from Mr. Liang's leg.

At the same time, John's mouth split open, his head snapped back as if it had been flipped off, and a chrysanthemum-shaped mouthpart suddenly sprayed a large amount of black liquid at Mr. Liang.

Mr. Liang was entangled by the five elongated fingers and couldn't escape. He only had time to raise his hand to cover his face.

The liquid was clearly highly corrosive; it started to smoke as soon as it came into contact with Mr. Liang's body.

Mr. Liang's right palm suddenly became extremely sharp. He swung his right hand down and cleanly severed John's hand wrapped around his leg at the wrist. Then, as he moved towards the door, he shook off the fingers on his leg, which looked like dehydrated tree roots, and entered a state of invisibility.

Although John was kneeling, as he turned his head back and closed his mouth, his body followed Mr. Liang and shot out of the door, clearly having been prepared beforehand.

As soon as he stepped outside, John stood up from the ground. As he stood up, a long, thin tail emerged from his tailbone, covered with the same scales as his body, and ending in a very sharp spike.

At this point, John, judging solely from his appearance, was even more "alien" and inhuman than Mr. Liang.

Its tail tip suddenly lashed out in one direction, while its mouth opened, spraying out a large amount of black liquid to block any possible escape route.

But to his surprise, the tail didn't pierce anything; instead, it slammed into the metal wall with a sharp clang, and the tip of his tail broke off...

"How is this possible!" John was startled. Ignoring the pain in his tail, he quickly scanned his surroundings. His sneak attack, which involved spraying Mr. Liang with the corrosive venom, was intended to break his "invisibility." But why was Mr. Liang nowhere to be found in the location he thought he had prepared for?!

He suddenly noticed that there were many tiny flying machines, about the size of grapes, floating around him.

A thought flashed through his mind, and he instantly realized that his misjudgment just now was because of these aircraft.

Mr. Liang appeared not far away, looking at John expressionlessly. "It seems you can now sense the target's location through heat."

He had just simulated his various sensory information using multiple miniature drones, John immediately focused on the thermal simulation—including the data on corrosive venom.

John looked at Mr. Liang's intact, intricately textured skin and gritted his teeth, saying, "You're not injured..."

Mr. Liang shook his head. "Resistance to corrosion is one of the greatest characteristics of my skin. You're too hasty. You haven't achieved complete integration in the three stages of transformation. You've simply made their characteristics manifest through superficial organs. The actual function is much weaker than they originally were. This won't work."

"No? Do you dare not hide, do you dare not fight me openly, to the death?" John roared. His head was bald, replaced by long, thin tendrils like enoki mushrooms that stretched from the top of his head to his tailbone.

"You can't do it." Mr. Liang shook his head again. "You can wait a little longer, go through another phase of transformation, and maybe you'll have a little more chance."

John grinned, his mouth stretching to his ears just like Mr. Liang's. "It's because I haven't met your 'bloodline' requirements yet! When I undergo the next stage of transformation and meet your 'bloodline' requirements, you'll 'eat' me right there in my slumber! There won't be the slightest chance!"

"My only chance is now!" John said, and then charged at Mr. Liang.

He was prepared for Mr. Liang to dodge quickly or go into stealth mode, and he had also planned a series of follow-up attacks. But what he didn't expect was that he went straight to Mr. Liang, and the tail with its newly grown barbs pierced Mr. Liang's heart, lifting him up. Throughout the whole process, Mr. Liang did not make any movement, did not dodge at all, and did not even change his expression.

John, who had landed a successful blow, looked at Mr. Liang, who was lifted more than 30 centimeters off the ground by his tail, but he felt no joy at all. Instead, he felt even more nervous.

Mr. Liang, whose heart had been pierced, looked down at John and said in a hoarse, metallic voice, "Do you think there's even a sliver of a chance now?"

John didn't dare respond to Mr. Liang's words. He moved slightly, and his already naked upper body "split open" from his navel, revealing a strange mouth with several tentacles ready to extend. He was clearly prepared to use every means at his disposal on Mr. Liang, regardless of the consequences.

But before the tentacles in the giant mouth could shoot out, John suddenly noticed that the tiny drones that had been hovering in the corners of the room, seemingly insignificant, suddenly flew over quickly and attached themselves to him one by one, like lice, extending their metal parts to hook into his flesh. Even though his skin was now covered in scales, he couldn't resist them.

John was startled, and before he could react, the dozen or so miniature drones attached to him suddenly began to heat up.

The next instant, more than a dozen drones linked together in pairs, simultaneously emitted laser beams, and then began to rotate rapidly.

After several laser beams connected directly inside John's body spun rapidly and erratically, his body instantly shattered and exploded into a cloud of blood mist.

The dozen or so miniature drones didn't even spin for long before they succumbed to the intense heat and exploded, causing another wave of explosions.

In the blink of an eye, John was left with only the half of his "tail" stuck in Mr. Liang's left chest and his two legs standing on the ground; the rest of his body was shattered.

Mr. Liang slowly pulled out the half of the tail. The organs inside the pierced left chest could even be seen beating, but it was clear that there was no heart in that location.

He took two steps forward and "bathed" himself in the blood mist that erupted from John's shattered body.

A few minutes later, apart from some tattered pieces of clothing, there was no trace of John in the underground space. Mr. Liang opened a hibernation pod-like container protruding from the metal wall and lay down inside.

John was actually wrong about one thing. He had already met Mr. Liang's "bloodline" requirements, but Mr. Liang did want to see if he could continue to improve and undergo further transformation.

Unfortunately, John believed that now was the best opportunity, and that he had the ability to turn the tables.

Meanwhile, in Chongyun Village, nearly a thousand kilometers away, Xiang Kun, in Hyper-Sensory State, witnessed John devouring the "Mutated Creature" in the water, from John's battle with Mr. Liang to his "instant kill" and being devoured.

Alice also recorded images using the recording equipment in the secret underground space of the Guarding Prosperity Building. However, apart from those enclosed spaces, there was no recording equipment in the main hall that could maintain a constant view. The recording equipment would only extend when Mr. Liang used some of the equipment on the control panel, and the shooting angles were very limited.

Fortunately, the ventilation ducts in the underground space were filled with a large number of "Super-Linked Object," so even if Alice couldn't control the recording equipment, she could still simulate and recreate the scene to some extent through her super-sensory information.

Xiang Kun opened his eyes, exited the "Hyper-Sensory State," and prepared to sense Mr. Liang's dream through the Rabbit Woodcarving.

In fact, Mr. Liang is now almost completely unguarded by Xiang Kun.

If Xiang Kun were willing, he could go to Peng City now and enter the underground secret space of Peng City without any hindrance, given that Alice has completely taken control of Tai'e.

However, Xiang Kun has no need to deal with Mr. Liang at the moment. On the contrary, Mr. Liang is a potential ally of his in some respects.

Taking this opportunity to sense Mr. Liang's dream, figure out some things, and know his thoughts is a better choice and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—it seems that Mr. Liang has never undergone the Blood-Drinking Sleep before, so he has never been able to sense his dream.

A few minutes later, Xiang Kun successfully triggered Mr. Liang's dream through the Rabbit Woodcarving, allowing him to perceive a lot of sensory information.

He saw a scene of Mr. Liang playing with the young Lu Cheng'an and a beautiful, intelligent young woman during his childhood, and felt a mix of joy, sadness, and nostalgia.

He saw Mr. Liang lying on the bed, unable to move, only able to look out at the sky through the window of the room. He felt despair, helplessness, and longing, but also a trace of anger and resentment.

He saw Mr. Liang lying in the hospital bed, learning through pre-recorded video lessons. Although he was somewhat agitated and anxious, he managed to suppress it with his patience.

He saw that Mr. Liang sensed the approach of death, his emotions were calming down, but then came a strong smell of blood and an intense feeling of hunger;

He saw Academician Shen, and a simple yet spacious laboratory where all the equipment and materials were neatly organized. Mr. Liang was excited and thrilled.

He saw a beautiful girl with long, flowing hair, around twenty years old, and a very serene demeanor. He sensed the stirrings of first love in Mr. Liang.

He saw Mr. Liang hear the noise, push open the laboratory door, and find Academician Shen's body dismembered and held in the hands of that pretty girl, whose brutal, sadistic, blood-red eyes were staring at him.

In the book review section, our event assistant posted a joint event featuring multiple books on the theme of supernatural abilities. It seems the rewards in Qidian coins are quite generous. Interested readers can check it out.