Whenever there was another way, Wang Zhen didn't want to use any of his other abilities in front of Zhang Jie.
But the world was unpredictable, and things never went according to plan.
Plans never kept up with changes.
Wang Zhen had already tried to give the Cat Xenomorph's strength every bit of due respect, but when it appeared, it still hit him like a sledgehammer.
Although the Cat Xenomorph hadn't attacked Wang Zhen, Zheng Zha, who was right beside it, hadn't even had time to react. In just two or three seconds, he'd nearly been disemboweled, with his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys yanked out, along with his colorful intestines left hanging in the open!
Zheng Zha had unlocked his Gene Lock, stimulating his body to fuse with and transform into the Mutant Vampire Bloodline. Though he'd only unlocked it a few times, the stimulation had been immense, and his body had undergone a considerable transformation. His physical abilities were now close to the human limit. Yet even so, he hadn't reacted in the slightest. That showed just how fast the Cat Xenomorph was—and how stealthily it moved!
What's more, the Cat Xenomorph had torn through Zheng Zha's body as easily as ripping a napkin. If those small, plump paws of its landed on Wang Zhen...
Wang Zhen's clothes had just been broken down and reforged with a Transmutation Circle. They were as strong as bulletproof plates capable of stopping 12.7 mm rounds, but even so, he wasn't at all confident!
To save his own life, Wang Zhen couldn't afford to worry about the risk of exposing some of his abilities!
He immediately used a method he'd analyzed and deduced after numerous attempts, though it had never been tested!
Transmutation Circle... Activate!
Wang Zhen flicked his thumb against his index finger with his left hand, hidden inside his sleeve, releasing a special mist he'd transmuted.
The mist was actually made up of incredibly tiny dust particles. They spread through every inch of the surrounding space. If anything disturbed them, their creator would see it!
So once the dust particles had filled every corner of the area, even the Cat Xenomorph's powerful stealth wouldn't be enough to evade them. Unless it could enter Subspace or use some other space-based ability, it would disturb the particles—and Wang Zhen would see what had touched them!
Wang Zhen's mental energy had permeated every one of the particles. Disturbing them was like touching his mental energy, so he could naturally see it.
But these dust particles were a double-edged sword. They revealed mental energy that would otherwise be invisible, making it easy for an enemy to target it and trace it back to Wang Zhen, putting him at a disadvantage.
If it weren't for the Cat Xenomorph's incredible stealth and the fact that its first move had nearly killed Zheng Zha, Wang Zhen would never have used this Transmutation Circle, which was still in the research stage!
Now that he'd spotted it, he couldn't let it escape!
The Cat Xenomorph was clinging to the ceiling on all fours, hanging upside down in the shadow of the upper-left corner. It hadn't realized it had been exposed and remained there at its leisure, watching the three of them with keen interest.
The Cat Xenomorph had inherited the feline family's good looks. It no longer had a beautiful, silky coat, but its pure-black hide shimmered with a metallic sheen, lending the once-gentle, adorable cat a fearsome, imposing air. Its pair of red, glowing eyes looked like two high-purity rubies, while the tips of its four claws gleamed like razor-sharp blades.
This Cat Xenomorph looked just like the metallic leopard Scar, who'd come from the front lines at Molten Core on Mount Hyjal! (The Cat Xenomorph's design was based on Scar, the rare pet that took N attempts to finally capture.)
Since he'd already used the incomplete Nebula Storm Transmutation Circle (based on Andromeda Shun's ultimate technique from Saint Seiya), he might as well go all out and finish off this little kitty that could kill someone with a touch in one fell swoop!
Wang Zhen wouldn't allow anything stronger than himself to exist in this world!
So when he saw the Cat Xenomorph hiding in the shadow where the ceiling and wall met, he couldn't help admiring how it had truly mastered the art of being a cat. It could hide in such an absurd nook! No wonder he'd spent so long searching with complete concentration and found nothing. It had been hiding up there, while he'd been looking in the corners on the floor. What a ridiculous oversight!
As Wang Zhen made his move in secret, the corner where the Cat Xenomorph was hiding became a trap. Three of its sides were made of alloy plates. Although that meant the Cat Xenomorph only had to watch the one open side, this was also exactly the kind of corner Wang Zhen liked best!
He only had to activate his Transmutation Circle in secret to take control of the three metal plates!
Then metal bands as thick as fingers shot out from all three alloy plates, wrapping around the Cat Xenomorph layer upon layer, like a spider cocooning its prey.
Next, Wang Zhen flicked his finger again. From the dark corner, the metal cocoon restraining the Cat Xenomorph suddenly shot dozens of metal spikes inward, catching it off guard and giving it a taste of its own medicine.
The Cat Xenomorph was an eerie, imposing creature with a strange kind of beauty. Now it was tightly bound from head to toe, unable to stretch out a foot, wiggle a leg, or even arch its slender back. Naturally, it couldn't exert enough force to break free of the metal cocoon.
Wang Zhen was so wary of it that he hadn't left it the slightest room to move. As a result, it couldn't even deliberately injure itself and use its corrosive bodily fluids to eat a hole through the metal cocoon binding it!
So when the metal spikes shot out from inside the cocoon and plunged straight into the completely immobilized Cat Xenomorph...
"Holy crap! It was hiding there!" Wang Zhen raised his right hand, and flames hovered in front of him. He gathered them into long, blue-white spikes of fire, which shot straight toward the metal cocoon like bullets.
The fiery spikes easily pierced the Cat Xenomorph, which was already on the brink of death, triggering another explosion that blasted the terrifying, incredibly fast hunter into a pile of scraps!
"Kid, you've got more than just Fire Control, don't you?" Seeing Wang Zhen casually kill the Cat Xenomorph that he hadn't even managed to see clearly, Zhang Jie remarked thoughtfully.
"Brother Zhang, everyone has a few secrets, don't they? Especially in a fucked-up place like Infinite Space. If you lay everything out in the open, you won't be far from death. Wouldn't you agree?" Wang Zhen knew his move had definitely caught Zhang Jie's attention, but he wasn't worried.
Hearing Wang Zhen's honest reply, Zhang Jie had nothing more to say. Just as Wang Zhen had said, everyone had a few little secrets.
This was Infinite Space, full of uncertainties and danger. Who knew what they'd encounter next? In such a dangerous place, how could anyone expect everyone to reveal all their secrets?
"Wang Zhen, where's that Cat Xenomorph? Let me smack it around a couple times. I won't be able to settle down otherwise!" Zheng Zha said resentfully, gripping the Dragon-Subduing Mace, his clothes hanging off him in tatters. "I didn't even get a clear look at the thing before it nearly disemboweled me. That was way too fucking exciting!"
"Over there. That pile on the ground is what's left of it..." Wang Zhen said with a laugh, pointing casually.
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