"Ptooey!"
"Wait, I'd better play it safe and eat it this way!"
At first, this capybara had almost swallowed the Wood Bud Crystal on reflex.
But the next moment, he instinctively spat it back out.
Then he opened the black hole behind him, which was over five meters across.
Swallowing it directly risked making him explode.
But using my black hole meant I'd be 100% safe!
And while absorbing this energy, I could also increase the black hole's diameter.
Why not?
"Zzzzt!"
Just as expected, the results were more or less what I'd imagined.
But the energy contained in this crystal was a little beyond my expectations.
Even after I put it directly into the black hole, it couldn't be completely devoured in an instant.
The crystal seemed to have sunk into a bog, slowly sinking bit by bit.
The process was quite slow, but the effects were obvious.
Even the system in my mind kept reporting my progress.
[Ding! Congratulations! You have gained 5,000 points of pure energy] [Ding! Congratulations! You have gained another 13,000 points of pure energy] [Your level has reached the late Lord-level stage] [Ding! Congratulations! You are steadily advancing toward becoming a King-level Monster]
Excellent.
As the black hole devoured the crystal,
wave after wave of violent energy swept through my entire body.
The muscles on this capybara's body, every blood vessel within him, and every cell
seemed to be undergoing an incredible transformation.
The difference between an ordinary monster and a Lord-level Monster was simply that the energy within it became more terrifying.
Its size also changed noticeably.
But advancing from the Lord level to become a King-level Monster wasn't nearly so simple.
It was a leap in the very level of one's life.
To use a rather imperfect analogy,
it was like an ordinary beast turning into a legendary monster.
Like a green snake transforming into a Dragon King.
Who could have imagined it?
This kind of myth becoming reality was happening right before my eyes, in the body of a capybara.
Incredible!
The striking transformation didn't just fill the surrounding monsters with fear and send them fleeing.
It also drew the attention of a pair of eyes deep beneath the ground.
The owner of those eyes wasn't human.
It was an intelligent life-form named Babata.
Ever since she had crashed onto Earth with her master's ship 50,000 years ago,
Babata had been waiting and searching for the right candidate.
Her goal was to find an inheritor who could carry on her master's power.
The powerful monsters in the surrounding area, along with the Wood Bud Crystal that had given off a rice-like aroma, were all part of Babata's plan.
But today, an unexpected variable had appeared.
A monster that looked adorable had somehow managed to use spatial power to devour a Wood Bud Crystal.
The scene immediately piqued Babata's interest.
Her gaze was just like Christopher Columbus's when he discovered the New World.
"Hey, what kind of monster are you? How come I've never seen one like you before?"
As Ye Xiu focused entirely on feeling the surging energy coursing through his body and the wondrous process of his life level rising toward that of a King-level Monster,
he had no idea that every move he made was being watched by an invisible pair of "eyes" deep underground.
Below Mist Island, inside the Meteor Starship,
the intelligent life-form Babata floated in the main control room with her legs crossed, watching the holographic projection before her with keen interest.
The projection showed the round, chubby capybara and the pitch-black black hole behind him, slowly devouring a Wood Bud Crystal.
"Goodness gracious!"
Babata let out an exaggerated gasp, her red eyes gleaming with intense curiosity.
"What kind of monster is this?
There's no match in the database at all! Could an Earth-native mutation really produce something like this?"
She watched the swirling black hole, rubbing her chin as she mused aloud.
"Tsk, tsk. The feel of those spatial fluctuations... It's still very undeveloped, but its underlying nature is incredibly high!
There's no way an ordinary monster's innate ability could explain it.
And that devouring speed! It's treating a Wood Bud Crystal like a piece of candy!
Even the human geniuses I carefully selected don't have digestion abilities this ridiculous, do they?"
She watched Ye Xiu's aura climb higher and higher in the projection, as his life level underwent a fundamental transformation. The more she watched, the more interested she became.
"Planetary Level! Hmm? This energy response...
He's just entered the first rank of the Planetary Level, yet his base Gene Multiplier seems to have already reached 3?"
Babata abruptly sat up straight, her face filled with disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me!
For an ordinary Earth Human at the first rank of the Planetary Level, a Gene Multiplier of 1.2 would already be considered excellent!
What on earth is this furry little thing?"
She watched the black hole behind Ye Xiu expand to ten meters in diameter, emanating a chilling fluctuation.
She also sensed the nascent internal space that had just opened up within him, brimming with potential.
"A black hole talent, a growing internal space, an extraordinarily high Gene Multiplier... Tsk, tsk, tsk."
Babata tapped the control panel with a finger, her expression unreadable.
"After waiting for 50,000 years, all I got were a bunch of human boys following the usual path. A few of them were decent enough, I suppose.
But compared to this little monster, they're utterly dull!"
A sly glint appeared in Babata's red eyes, along with the excitement of someone about to break the rules.
"My master's inheritance is meant for humans...
But he never explicitly said I couldn't give it to another species, did he?
Especially not to a little fellow with potential this outrageously high?"
Babata rubbed her chin, lost in thought.
"Maybe... I should watch him for a while?
Those human boys are progressing too slowly anyway. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to find a particularly unusual 'backup option'?"
She watched the capybara in the holographic projection, who had just completed his advancement and was looking around in confusion. A meaningful smile curved her lips.
"Little guy, you'd better do well. Don't disappoint me...
Who knows? Maybe you're the 'unexpected surprise' I've been waiting for."
Meanwhile, back on the surface, Ye Xiu had just advanced to King-level and was feeling pleased with himself, ready to make his mark. He had no idea what was going on.
He just had an instinctive feeling that something was watching him from the shadows. But when he searched carefully, he found nothing.
"Was that my imagination?"
Ye Xiu shook his round head, casting the suspicion aside as he excitedly felt the surging new power within him.
"King-level! I finally made it!
Next, I'll sweep across this continent, devour more energy, and advance to an even higher level!"
However, just as this capybara was about to leave,
he caught the familiar scent of rice again.
No way.
There's more?
It seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.
He had clearly checked earlier, and there had only been one Wood Bud Crystal buried beneath this willow tree.
"Could someone be leading me on?"
The next moment, as a transmigrator, he thought of a very likely explanation.
That was also how Babata had led Luo Feng deep underground in the original story.
So, was she using the Wood Bud Crystals to lead me to the spaceship hidden underground?
What exactly was Babata trying to do?
Before you continue