The Girl Who Threw the Pork Trotter

In the abandoned underground passage, Xiang Kun and Mr. Liang are eliminating a certain "Mutated Creature".

Yes, although there seem to be many mutated creatures, such as lizards, snakes, rats, and that mutated Chinese boy, in reality, the countless colorful mosses and mushrooms in this underground space are all parts of the same "Mutated Creature." Whether it is humans, giant lizards, or rats, they are all just hosts that are parasitized, controlled, and influenced.

When Ye Zijun first discovered the moss and mushrooms growing on her face, she thought it was hopeless and even contemplated suicide, wanting Xiao Ding to escape alive. However, the "infection" from these "Mutated Creature" was not actually that deadly. If they were not killed by the mutated man or the mutated creature itself, and escaped underground and far away from this area, such as returning home, the moss would soon disappear naturally.

The reason Xiang Kun helped Ye Zijun remove the "infected" parts before she left was to prevent her from undergoing excessive treatment or being attacked by the locals after she left.

Of course, if they were forcibly left underground, or were "secretly infected" and did not leave this area, then Ye Zijun would soon undergo a complete mutation like that boy, those giant lizards, rats and other creatures, becoming parasitized puppets, controlled and manipulated by them.

Even the controlled organisms themselves find great pleasure in this, actively helping the "Mutated Creature" find more "blood sources" and "hosts." However, the result of doing so is usually that the old hosts become the "blood sources" that are eliminated and consumed first.

Xiang Kun walked slowly through the underground passage. Beside him, wherever he went, the moss and mushrooms that had spread out of the walls, seemingly setting up the "meeting venue," were rapidly falling off or disappearing.

As for the mutated creatures that crawled out from various nooks and crannies or pits around them, they were either all eliminated by Mr. Liang was ahead of them, or they all fled frantically, not daring to come out to intercept or harass Xiang Kun.

It was obvious that the "Mutated Creature" showed extreme fear of Xiang Kun.

Xiang Kun also ignored those things, because he knew that although the moss, mushrooms and the like were all part of the "Mutated Creature's" body, controlling or eliminating them would not truly affect the "Mutated Creature." It was like plucking all the hair off a person's legs; at most, it would cause them pain, but it wouldn't kill them.

Xiang Kun walked to the small door where the Chinese boy had tricked Ye Zijun and Xiao Ding into coming for an "adventure," and stopped next to Mr. Liang at the door.

Mr. Liang is still invisible, but there is almost no light here, so it doesn't matter whether he is invisible or not, since Xiang Kun has multiple perception modes.

"I've checked him. The parasites on that man have fully erupted; he's probably beyond saving."

Mr. Liang's deep, hoarse voice rang out as he looked deeper into the passage. "To catch it, we should continue going further in." Dozens of miniature drones had already ventured deep inside to explore.

"It's alright. This thing is well hidden, but its mobility is very poor. Just leave it to Alice." Xiang Kun said, opening his satchel. Tens of thousands of "Super-Linked Object beads" rushed out from various containers in the bag, as if they were alive, and scattered into the depths of the passage.

In addition, the "Super-Linked Object Beads" that had just accompanied Xiang Kun all the way and removed the "infection" from Ye Zijun's face also followed closely behind, marching in formation in the night like an organized army.

"Is she the girl who just threw the pig's foot? The girl who appeared next to you and talked to you earlier, right? Her name is Alice?" Mr. Liang asked. "She doesn't seem to be a 'Blood-feeding Creature'?"

Earlier in the mountains, right after he finished drinking the blood, he vaguely saw a girl appear and disappear beside Xiang Kun, leaving no trace of her presence. At the time Xiang Kun only said she was a "naughty little girl".

"She is not a 'Blood-feeding Creature.' Her birth is based on my ability system. Later, when you can sense more special connections from your surroundings and feel the existence of the 'network system' I told you about, you will naturally know who she is and what her abilities are," Xiang Kun said, still not giving Mr. Liang a detailed introduction to Alice.

Because Mr. Liang had already established contact with the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving's" Emotion-Infused Object Level-2 Network, Xiang Kun knew that sooner or later he would be able to sense something through the "Super-Linked Object" that were now ubiquitous in various cities and human settlements. At that time, he would naturally be able to gradually realize what kind of being Alice was, who was omnipresent within the "Super-Sensing Item System" and responsible for allocating various "Super-Linked Object" and "Emotion-Infused Object" resources.

Just like someone who uses a Xiaomi phone, Xiaomi smart home devices, and all devices in the Xiaomi ecosystem, they will eventually come into contact with "Little Ai" (Xiaomi's AI assistant).

Xiang Kun's words sparked a flurry of thoughts in Mr. Liang's mind, leading to various speculations. He still couldn't quite understand how a non- Blood-feeding Creature human, especially a little girl, could appear and disappear so mysteriously and at any moment. Moreover, based on his own sensory judgment just now, as well as the implications of Xiang Kun's words, the little girl was not a visual illusion, but a real person.

Furthermore, judging from Xiang Kun's actions, the "magical steel balls" he carries seem to be directly related to the little girl "Alice." Could it be that the "little girl's" true form is those "steel balls"?

"Shouldn't we go help?" Mr. Liang couldn't help but ask when he saw Xiang Kun standing still.

He had initially thought that Xiang Kun had rushed over with him because this "Mutated Creature" was troublesome and difficult to deal with, but now it seemed that wasn't the case. Xiang Kun's leisurely demeanor made it seem more like he was there for a stroll and to watch the battle.

"No need, it will be resolved quickly," Xiang Kun said.

The "Mutated Creature" they are facing is not actually very strong in combat, but eliminating or controlling it is not so easy because it is too big and too widely distributed, making it difficult to find its "fatal weakness" or "key parts".

However, just like when they dealt with the underground "Mutated Creature" on the mountain, where Little Radish was a natural counter, when facing this "Mutated Creature" that was "divided into smaller parts, "Alice, with enough "Super-Linked Object" to support her, could easily crush it.

At the level of "extrasensory information," all of that "Mutated Creature's" attempts at breaking down into smaller parts, hiding and parasitizing, and possessing another's body are as transparent as transparent and utterly meaningless.

Compared to that "Mutated Creature," Alice and her "Super-Linked Object army" controlled through the "Super-Sensing Item System" were truly fragmented, resulting in a one-sided crushing defeat.

Of course, if Xiang Kun were willing to spend the time, he could enter a "Hyper-Sensory State" himself, slowly control the Super-Linked Object to deploy, perceive and explore cognitive information, and with the assistance of scent tracking and thermal imaging visual modes, he could eventually find the core of that "Mutated Creature." But it would take much more time. Since Alice could do it for him, why should he bother?

Less than ten minutes later, a faint light flashed in the distance through the passage. Mr. Liang discovered that all the drones he had sent out had instantly lost contact, only to regain it a few seconds later. He couldn't help but look at Xiang Kun beside him, who casually said, "Found them. Let's go over there."

This time, Xiang Kun no longer strolled slowly as before, but started running with long strides. The passage was pitch black, but all the terrain and obstacles were clearly visible to him, so he ran without any worries and at a very fast speed.

Mr. Liang naturally followed closely behind; even without the targeted "Biological Component," his own athletic ability was extremely strong.

After running through the passage with Xiang Kun for a while, they turned into a small door on the side. They twisted and turned in the narrow and cramped space, and then went down an iron ladder to a space underground. Mr. Liang immediately smelled something burning.

"Turn on the lights." Xiang Kun was in front, stopped.

Mr. Liang turned on the light he was carrying as instructed, and then saw a huddled-up, round creature about two meters in diameter, covered with moss and small mushrooms. Countless tiny, hairy tentacles extended from its body, but it seemed to be afraid of something and dared not touch the ground.

A large amount of fine dust could be seen floating in the air. Mr. Liang realized that these things had the ability to "infect". He was about to switch to the air-filtering breathing "Biological Component" when he suddenly remembered that Xiang Kun was right next to him. So he did not take any action, but just acted as a "searchlight" behind Xiang Kun.

"Is it a fungal Blood-feeding Creature that devoured a moss-like Blood-feeding Creature, or the other way around?" Mr. Liang couldn't help but ask.

"They are in a state of incomplete symbiosis," Xiang Kun said, reaching into his bag and taking out a handful of green seeds, which he threw directly at the clump of things.

As the seeds were thrown, tens of thousands of "Super-Linked Object beads" lurking in the surrounding darkness instantly swarmed forward, completely enveloping the Moss Mushroom cluster that seemed about to make a move, turning it into an iron ball that shrank considerably in size.

Clearly, what that "Mutated Creature" was afraid of were those orbs.

"You mean... to use them to plant trees?" Mr. Liang asked in surprise.

He had seen those seeds before and knew that they originated from the numerous "crooked-necked trees," strange vines, and various seemingly ordinary "seed plants" in the forest controlled by Xiang Kun.

He knew very well how terrifying those plants were. Whether it was the "giant raptor" before or the "giant Blood-feeding Creature" underground, they were both easily controlled and held hostage by those plants, without any power to resist.

He never understood whether these plants were a special kind of "Blood-feeding Creature," or a part of Xiang Kun, an "extension of his limbs."

"Your description is very accurate," Xiang Kun said.

Mr. Liang frowned and asked, "So... it's not my next blood source?"

"I've already said, our purpose this time isn't 'hunting'," Xiang Kun said, looking at the large sphere that was constantly changing shape, as if something was trying to break through the steel ball barrier. "Don't be fooled by how big this thing looks, and how much noise and impact it makes, but in terms of transformation, it's actually quite rudimentary and far from meeting your current needs."

"Did we rush here to save those two girls?" Mr. Liang asked.

He had checked Xiang Kun's records and knew that Xiang Kun had a "heroic" streak. In the period immediately after his mutation, he repeatedly assisted the police in arresting and rescuing people, and even received a lot of rewards. He was also the one who created the large-scale illusion in Montamira, with the aim of stopping the riot targeting Chinese tourists.

"That's part of the reason," Xiang Kun said, "But it's not the main reason."

As he spoke, he walked over and patted the enclosed, now mostly still, iron ball, saying, "This thing is a 'tool' the 'Ultimate Predator' used to test us. Or to be more precise, that boy, and those two girls just now, were all its 'tools'."

"The Ultimate Predator's... tool?" Mr. Liang instinctively became wary upon hearing this term.

Xiang Kun sensed the change in his emotions and smiled, "Don't worry, it can't understand our communication right now. As I said, for it to perceive and acquire information, it needs to go through the transformation of certain functional organs and parts, it needs to process it through the consciousness of other beings, and it needs other beings to help it make judgments and calculations. In other words, at this moment, unless you or I have a part of us that has been transformed by its hidden factors, it simply has no way of knowing what we are saying."

"Was it... a deliberate act to lure you here? Using those two girls?" Mr. Liang seemed to understand something. "You know them?"

"The Ultimate Predator has actually been testing us all along. During our previous 'hunts,' a lot of things were happening around us. It knows that your transformation level is constantly increasing. It may have sensed that we seem to be targeting it, but it doesn't know exactly what we're going to do. It's also wary of me and doesn't dare to confront me directly. Moreover, the increase in your transformation level is something it wants. So it can only use some random methods to try to attract our attention, test us, and try to plant 'spies' around us," Xiang Kun said.

"I've ignored its probing before, but this time, I wanted to conduct an experiment, so I decided to come over," Xiang Kun said, "And rescue someone while I'm at it."

Ye Zijun is also someone who has established a connection with the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving" secondary Emotion-Infused Object network, so Alice is able to have real-time perception and monitoring of her whereabouts and changes in state through the "Super-Sensing Item System".

Alice was aware of the situation she was facing and was able to anticipate it to some extent.

But if Alice wanted to save them, she could only warn them in advance and find a way to prevent them from being taken into the underground passage by the "host." Although she could control the "Moss Mushroom"-like "Mutated Creature," it required sufficient "Super-Linked Object" to support them, which they didn't have at the time, either around them or in the underground passage. If given enough time, she could use the internet and the control of the entire social system to arrange and deploy enough "Super-Linked Object" in the underground passage.

After she informed Xiang Kun the situation, Xiang Kun decided to come directly with Mr. Liang to respond to the "Ultimate Predator's" probing.

The special factors on the "Moss Mushroom" have been activated, forming a control system that governs and drives its behavior.

The Chinese boy parasitized by the "Moss Mushroom" also had micro-organs formed by special factors. Even Xiao Ding's special factors had been activated before entering the underground passage, but before any obvious effects or manifestations appeared, they were eliminated by Xiang Kun and Alice, like a spy hidden in the body, caught and killed before they could gather any information. When Xiang Kun was helping Ye Zijun treat the moss on her face, he was actually using the surrounding "Super-Linked Object" to unknowingly help Xiao Ding eliminate the special factors and his special body tissues.

Of all the people, only Ye Zijun was unaffected by the "Ultimate Predator".

Because of the connection established with the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving" Level Two Emotion-Infused Object Network, as long as Ye Zijun is in a certain location with "Super-Linked Object," Alice can ensure that the special cognitive information and special factors of the "Ultimate Predator" on her body will not be transformed or activated into substances that can affect her body and consciousness, or form some kind of micro-organ. If necessary, Alice can even notify Xiang Kun to remotely help Ye Zijun remove the special factors from her body.

Strictly speaking, Alice also has ways to prevent and control the special factors affecting the others around Ye Zijun, but right now her prevention and control efforts are mainly focused on the domestic area, around those people Xiang Kun had instructed, such as Xiang Kun's parents, Lao Xia, Little Apple, Tang Baona, and others, to ensure that they are not directly affected by the "Ultimate Predator" and will not be implanted with special factors again.

Therefore, Alice wouldn't expend too much effort on others unless instructed by Xiang Kun or within the "Emotion-Infused Object" level two network, as her protective capabilities have limits. Xiang Kun's previous plan was to infinitely enhance Alice's protective and monitoring abilities, effectively paralyzing the "Ultimate Predator's " ability to control the fate of other creatures. However, this method required a long time and gradual planning. The incident of the "Ultimate Predator" controlling the "mutated bird" to attack the passenger plane made Xiang Kun change his plan, preparing to use a more radical and rapid method to solve the problem.

As the tiny steel balls scattered, the moss changed from its multicolored hues to a single shade of green, and the various small mushrooms and surrounding tendrils disappeared, Mr. Liang asked in surprise, "This is... being swallowed?"

"It's not what you think of as 'devouring,' it's more like assimilation," Xiang Kun said. "The fungal part was dried up, and the moss part became a branch of 'Little Radish.' It's no longer a 'Mutated Creature' or 'Blood-feeding Creature' in the traditional sense."

"Little Luo... Bu?" Mr. Liang was somewhat confused. He felt that in front of Xiang Kun, he was clearly the "senior" who had mutated more than ten years earlier, he was clearly the "regular army" with "professionals" like Academician Shen leading the research, and he was clearly much older than Xiang Kun, but why... did he feel like a newbie in front of a pro? The longer he spent with Xiang Kun, the more he felt that he knew too little.

However, this did not bring him any sense of frustration, but rather a sense of novelty and a touch of absurdity.

As he watched the clump of moss seemingly remain unchanged in its place, Xiang Kun knew that outside, all over the world, in the forests controlled by various "Little Radish," and even in some cities, this new kind of "moss" was quietly growing.

Xiang Kun did not answer Mr. Liang's question about the "Little Radish." Instead, he bent down, picked up a small piece of moss, turned around, and walked back to Mr. Liang, asking:

Have you ever wondered what a world would be like without the 'Ultimate Predator'?