Absorption

Actually, Blood Pupil's physical attacks had been both powerful and bizarre. If he hadn't accidentally carved the Blood Pupil Wood Carving ahead of time, he would probably have died back then.

He wasn't Superman, and he couldn't see the future. There was no way to know what other anomalies he might encounter, and making a wooden carving was a time-consuming, labor-intensive task.

Shen Xing surmised that if he encountered another anomaly, then without knowing of any other methods, he would probably have to learn its characteristics and then find a way to pin it down—not carve an identical wooden carving right there on the spot.

And to learn an anomaly's characteristics, he first needed to ensure he had enough ability to protect himself, or even fight back against it.

Shen Xing took the Blood Pupil Wood Carving from the workbench and set it in front of him. Staring at it, he forced himself to calm down and think carefully.

At present, his understanding of Blood Pupil's characteristics stood at 70%.

In summary, he currently understood Blood Pupil's characteristics in three ways. First, Blood Pupil had belonged to Lin Wanru and mutated after she died. Second, it could separate from its original host's body and exist independently. Third, it could seize another person's or animal's eye socket, then parasitize and control their body.

He had originally deduced these characteristics based on his encounters with Lin Wanru after she became a corpse, his struggle with the Mange Dog, and his close confrontation with Blood Pupil.

As for what other characteristics he might not understand, he couldn't think of anything at all.

However, after encountering Skin Face, Shen Xing seemed to have gained a new insight.

Staring at the Blood Pupil Wood Carving before him, he began murmuring to himself about ten minutes later. "Blood Pupil's true form actually doesn't belong to Lin Wanru. It's an outside entity."

[Blood Pupil, current understanding of its characteristics: 85%.]

Shen Xing's eyes brightened slightly, but he continued his deductions without showing it. "It didn't form from Lin Wanru's resentment after her death. It was hidden inside her body, or around her eyes, until Lin Wanru died unexpectedly. Then it immediately seized her body. Blood Pupil's purpose is to keep searching for better bodies."

[Blood Pupil, current understanding of its characteristics: 95%.]

It worked. With his understanding this high, he could directly begin absorbing its characteristics.

Suppressing his excitement, Shen Xing silently repeated in his mind, Absorb Blood Pupil's characteristics.

A line of silvery-white text immediately appeared in his mind.

[Blood Pupil, current understanding of its characteristics: 95%. You can absorb its characteristics. Begin now?]

[Tip 1: If your understanding of its characteristics reaches 90% or higher, there is a high chance of discovering and absorbing Blood Pupil's latent skill during the process.]

[Tip 2: Blood Pupil possesses a latent skill.]

"Begin."

Shen Xing immediately repeated the command.

Just as he had guessed, Blood Pupil did possess a latent skill, unlike Fake Hong Bin.

The next second, the Blood Pupil Wood Carving trembled slightly. A sharp crack rang out in Shen Xing's mind.

At the same time, what Shen Xing didn't notice was that the wooden carving of Fake Hong Bin, not far away, trembled slightly as well.

He kept his attention on his hands, especially his fingers. Beneath the skin of both hands, a faint red glow spread like heat from a red-hot iron. The Physical Strength progress bar beneath the corner of his eye rose to "Mortal Body 88%."

Compared to his previous 52% Mortal Body, that was a full 36 percentage-point increase!

Judging by his previous absorption of Fake Hong Bin, Blood Pupil's characteristics were stronger to begin with, so Shen Xing had expected his Physical Strength to rise to this level.

But at the same moment, more text appeared in his mind.

[Acquired latent skill: Strange Pupil

Type: Active skill

Effect: Show you a different world

Cost: Mental energy consumption varies according to the extent of use

Side effect: Your right eye may suffer temporary blindness, which can last up to six hours.]

Shen Xing carefully read the prompt about the acquired latent skill.

The skill was called "Strange Pupil," and it was related to absorbing Blood Pupil's characteristics. In other words, once activated, he should be able to see a different visual scene through the Strange Pupil that had fused with his right eye.

The skill was classified as an "active skill," which meant he could choose whether to activate it.

But by contrast, there were probably latent skills classified as "passive skills" as well. He just hadn't encountered one yet.

As for the mental energy cost, using the latent skill would consume a variable amount of mental energy, depending on how extensively he used it. But he would have to try it to find out exactly how it worked.

The final side effect was clear enough. Using Strange Pupil might cause temporary blindness in his right eye, but it wasn't guaranteed to happen, and if it did, it would last no longer than six hours.

Perhaps his vision would return in less than six hours.

He looked down at his hands again. Now, it wasn't just his fingers—even his arms and elbows felt brimming with power.

But his hands hadn't become bulky like Popeye's. At a glance, they still looked perfectly normal.

Wanting to test how strong he was now, Shen Xing took out the Ironwood on which he had left five finger marks last time. He gripped it in one hand, gathered all his strength, and squeezed hard.

With a crack, the Ironwood broke apart instead of merely denting.

Shen Xing jolted and quickly released it. The sturdy Ironwood had split into nine irregular pieces. He had crushed it outright!

With strength like this, he could probably put on a show by punching holes in bricks with his fingers!

Ever since he first absorbed an anomaly's characteristics, his body had been changing little by little. It had started with his fingers, and now the changes had spread to his forearms.

He now had Mental Antibody to resist the effects of anomalous mental attacks, and he had also gained a foundation for physical confrontation and raw strength.

Absorbing Fake Hong Bin's and Blood Pupil's characteristics had given Shen Xing more than just the calmness he needed when facing anomalies. It had also given him the confidence to confront them directly.

But soon, Shen Xing felt that something was wrong. Something about the room seemed to have changed.

He glanced beneath the workbench, but there was nothing there. He turned to look at the head of the bed. Everything seemed normal.

He paused. The strange feeling only grew stronger. Something still felt wrong.

He got up from the edge of the bed and looked toward the bedroom door. At the sight, his whole body shuddered. He froze as if encased in ice, staring wide-eyed at the doorway, forgetting even to breathe.

Since it was daytime, he hadn't closed the bedroom door. He had only shut the living room door and windows.

But now, behind the half-open bedroom door, the crouching figure of an adult was visible!

The person's head was turned toward the other side of the door. Shen Xing could only see half of their crouching body, but it was clear they weren't deliberately hiding. They were simply crouching there as naturally as could be, without any concern about being seen.

"W-when did this person... get into the house?!"

Shen Xing's heart began to race. He hadn't heard a thing, and he hadn't noticed that the Fake Hong Bin wooden carving had vibrated in sync with the Blood Pupil Wood Carving.

Who could have imagined that someone would be crouching behind the bedroom door right then?!

After his momentary shock, Shen Xing quickly calmed down. He made no sound, but clenched both fists. With his current strength, he could probably kill a bull with one punch. He had at least some confidence in facing a crisis now.

Ever since he'd spotted the person in the room, he hadn't looked away. He began walking slowly toward the crouching figure.

It was afternoon, and there was plenty of light in the room. He could see everything clearly without turning on a lamp. As he approached the bedroom door, the surprise in his eyes only deepened.

The person crouching behind the door hadn't moved at all. They looked like someone trying to fool themselves by hiding their head while leaving the rest of their body exposed.

From the part of the person's body that was visible, Shen Xing could tell they were wearing dark jeans and a sky-blue short-sleeved shirt. Half of one shoe showed from behind the door. It looked like... a slipper!

Shen Xing jolted and stopped despite himself. He didn't approach any further. Instead, he looked down at himself.

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

A pair of identical slippers!

Thanks, everyone, for the tips and votes! Bows!!!