Absorption

In truth, the Blood Pupil's physical attacks were both powerful and bizarre. If he hadn't stumbled upon carving the Blood Pupil Wood Carving in advance, he likely would have died that day.

He was no superman, nor did he possess the ability to foresee the future. It was impossible to know what anomalies he might encounter next, and crafting wood carvings was a time-consuming and laborious task.

Shen Xing speculated that if he encountered other anomalies without knowing any other methods, he would likely have to rely on understanding their characteristics and locking onto them to resolve the situation, rather than trying to carve an identical replica on the spot.

The prerequisite for understanding an anomaly's characteristics was, at the very least, ensuring he had sufficient ability to protect himself or even counter the anomaly.

Taking the Blood Pupil Wood Carving from the workbench and placing it before him, Shen Xing stared at it, forcing himself to calm down and think seriously.

Currently, his understanding of the Blood Pupil's characteristics was at 70%.

To summarize, there were three known aspects: first, the Blood Pupil belonged to Lin Wanru and mutated after her death; second, it could detach from the original host's body and exist independently; third, it could seize the eye sockets of other humans or animals, subsequently parasitizing and controlling their bodies.

Shen Xing had deduced these traits based on his contact with the zombified Lin Wanru, his brawl with the Mange Dog, and his close-quarters confrontation with the Blood Pupil.

As for any other characteristics he didn't know about, he couldn't think of a single one.

However, after coming into contact with the skin mask, he seemed to have gained new inspiration.

Staring at the Blood Pupil Wood Carving before him, after about ten minutes, he began to mutter to himself: "The Blood Pupil—its true essence doesn't actually belong to Lin Wanru; it's an external entity."

[Blood Pupil, current characteristic understanding: 85%.]

Shen Xing's eyes brightened slightly, and he continued his speculation calmly: "It wasn't formed by the resentment of Lin Wanru after her death, but was hiding within her body or around her ocular organs, waiting for her accidental death to immediately seize the vessel. The Blood Pupil's goal is to continuously seek out better bodies."

[Blood Pupil, current characteristic understanding: 95%.]

It worked. With such a high level of understanding, he could now directly initiate the absorption of its characteristics.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Shen Xing chanted silently in his mind: "Absorb Blood Pupil characteristics."

A line of silver-white text immediately popped up in his mind.

[Blood Pupil, current characteristic understanding 95%, can absorb its characteristics. Start now?]

[Hint 1: If the understanding of its characteristics reaches over 90%, there is a high probability of discovering and absorbing the Blood Pupil's Latent Skill during the absorption process.]

[Hint 2: The Blood Pupil possesses a Latent Skill.]

"Start."

Shen Xing repeated the command immediately.

Just as he had guessed, this Blood Pupil indeed possessed a Latent Skill, unlike the previous Fake Hong Bin.

The next second, the Blood Pupil Wood Carving in front of him gave a slight tremor, and a snap echoed in Shen Xing's mind.

At that same moment, Shen Xing failed to notice that when the Blood Pupil Wood Carving trembled, the nearby wood carving of Fake Hong Bin also gave a slight shudder.

He had been focusing on his own hands, especially his fingers. He saw the skin on his hands turn a faint red, as if heated by a branding iron, and the Physical Strength progress bar beneath his eye corner rose to "Mortal Body 88%."

Compared to the previous 52%, it had increased by a full 36 percentage points!

Compared to absorbing Fake Hong Bin, the Blood Pupil's characteristics were inherently stronger, so this increase in physical strength was entirely within Shen Xing's expectations.

However, at the same time, text popped up in his mind again.

[Obtained Latent Skill: Strange Pupil] [Type: Active Skill] [Effect: Grants you a different world.] [Consumption: Mental energy consumption varies based on the level of use.] [Side Effect: The right eye may experience temporary blindness, recoverable within a maximum of six hours.]

Looking at the text prompt for the obtained Latent Skill, Shen Xing carefully processed the information.

The name of this Latent Skill was "Strange Pupil," related to absorbing the Blood Pupil's characteristics. This meant that once activated, he should be able to see visual scenes different from the past through this Strange Pupil, which had already merged with his right eye.

The skill was labeled an "Active Skill," meaning he could control whether or not to activate it.

Analyzing it from the opposite perspective, there were surely Latent Skills that were "Passive Skills," though he hadn't encountered any yet.

As for the mental energy consumption, it meant that using the skill would drain an indeterminate amount of mental energy depending on the intensity of use, but he would only know the specifics after trying it out.

The final note on side effects was clear: using the Strange Pupil might cause temporary blindness in his right eye. This wasn't guaranteed to happen, and if it did, the duration would be at most six hours.

Perhaps it would recover in less than six hours.

He looked down at his hands again. Now, it wasn't just his fingers; his arms and elbows also felt like they were bursting with power.

Yet, his hands hadn't become thick and bulky like Popeye's; they still looked quite normal at a glance.

Wanting to test the depth of his current strength, Shen Xing took out the piece of Ironwood that he had previously left five finger indentations in. He gripped it with one hand, channeled all his strength, and squeezed hard.

With a crack, the Ironwood shattered instantly rather than just denting.

Shen Xing was startled and quickly released his grip. The sturdy Ironwood had split into nine irregular pieces—he had actually crushed it!

With this level of strength, he could probably perform the feat of stabbing his fingers through bricks!

Ever since he first absorbed the characteristics of an anomaly, his body had been changing bit by bit, starting with his fingers and now extending to his forearms.

He now not only possessed a Mental Antibody to resist the influence of anomalous mental attacks, but he also had a foundation in physical confrontation and raw power.

The absorption of the Fake Hong Bin and the properties of the Blood Pupil Wood Carving meant that from now on, when facing anomalies, Shen Xing would not only possess psychological composure but also the confidence to directly confront them.

However, Shen Xing soon felt that something was off; it seemed as though an unusual change had occurred within the room he occupied.

He glanced curiously under his workbench, but there was nothing there. He turned his head toward the headboard, yet everything appeared as usual.

He paused, but the sense of anomaly grew increasingly intense; he still felt that something was wrong somewhere.

He simply left the edge of the bed, stood up, and looked toward the bedroom door. With just that one glance, his entire body shuddered violently, as if he had been frozen in place by ice. He stared at the bedroom doorway, dumbfounded, even forgetting to breathe.

Since it was daytime, he hadn't closed the bedroom door, only the doors and windows of the living room.

And right now, behind the half-ajar bedroom door, a crouching adult was visible!

The person's head was turned toward the back of the door, revealing only half of their crouching body. It was clear, however, that they weren't intentionally hiding; they were just crouching there in an extremely natural manner, without the slightest concern about being seen.

When... when did this person... enter the room???

Shen Xing's heartbeat began to accelerate. He hadn't heard any movement beforehand, nor had he noticed the Fake Hong Bin wood carving vibrating in sync with the Blood Pupil Wood Carving.

Who could have known that at this very moment, a person was crouching behind the bedroom door?!

After a brief moment of shock, Shen Xing quickly calmed down. He didn't make a sound, instead clenching his fists. With his current strength, he should have no problem killing a cow with a single punch, giving him a bit of confidence in the face of danger.

Ever since he discovered this person in the room, his gaze had not shifted away. He began to move, slowly approaching the crouching figure.

Because it was afternoon, the room was well-lit, making everything clearly visible even without turning on the lights. As he neared the bedroom door, the look of astonishment in Shen Xing's eyes grew ever deeper.

The person crouching behind the door had not moved at all, giving off the impression of someone burying their head in the sand, ignoring the rest of their body.

From the part of the person's body that was exposed, it was clear they were wearing dark jeans and a sky-blue short-sleeved shirt. The half of the shoe visible from behind the door appeared to be... a slipper!

Shen Xing was struck by a sudden jolt and involuntarily stopped, no longer approaching the figure, but instead looking down at himself.

A sky-blue short-sleeved shirt, dark casual jeans, and slippers on his feet...

A pair of identical slippers!