Mu Xiao saw that her skin was becoming almost as translucent as ice, even the blue veins clearly visible beneath it. He hurriedly said, "As long as you overcome your own emotions—the so-called 'inner demons'... then you'll definitely be fine. You may even become stronger than anyone else, better able to care for your mother. Don't dwell on dark, negative thoughts. Think of your happiest moments—the days you spent with your mother, when she encouraged you and helped you..."
Water Bailan's thin lips turned as white as snow, and the cold emptiness in her eyes grew stronger. Yet after hearing Mu Xiao's words, a little warmth returned to her expression. That icy aura gradually melted away, her skin becoming soft and dewy, while color slowly returned to her lips...
"Don't lose your will..." Mu Xiao felt the cannon in his hands give a faint tremor. Its energy buffering had finally succeeded. He shouted, "Water Bailan, get back!"
After she retreated into the innermost corner, Mu Xiao pulled the trigger of the Thunderbolt Cannon. From its bowl-sized muzzle came a stream of cyan-red high-pressure energy, igniting the air in an instant. Distorted ripples surged outward, countless electric serpents erupted, and the entire metal sheet melted into liquid metal as though an electric sphere had exploded.
A savage roar came from behind!
Mu Xiao turned around and went pale with shock. One of the genetically mutated guards had actually evolved into a Mutant Human and was slaughtering its way through the area. Only three guards remained, making their final desperate stand, while the other genetically mutated guards had nearly completed the first stage of zombie evolution.
"Go!" Mu Xiao pulled out the Thunderbolt Cannon's carrying strap, slung it over his back, then kicked open the iron door of the cell with all his strength.
At this moment, Water Bailan's expression alternated between hot and cold. She was clearly locked in a psychological struggle and could not spare the attention to leave.
Mu Xiao hesitated before saying, "I'll carry you out. Forgive me."
If Water Bailan suddenly awakened, Mu Xiao would definitely be the first to suffer. That was why he hesitated, but leaving her behind was not an option either. After all, he still needed her blood later.
Mu Xiao swiftly scooped up Water Bailan's soft, water-like body. Her long legs were supple yet firm, her waist flexible and without a trace of excess flesh. Her skin felt soft and springy, while her full, proud breasts brushed lightly against him. When he accidentally touched her skin, an intoxicatingly cold and smooth sensation passed through him, making him want to touch her a few more times.
If he wanted to die, Mu Xiao certainly could have done that. But he did not want to die, so he quickly steadied his mind and carried the stunning beauty out of the secret chamber.
"If I told people during the Age of Evolution, when heroes rose everywhere, that I once carried the Ultimate Queen, countless New Humans would definitely give me a thumbs-up..."
For now, Mu Xiao could only joke with himself to distract his trembling heart.
Fortunately, no one was in the secret chamber's passageway, so Mu Xiao quickly carried Water Bailan back to the empty room on the third floor.
Just as Mu Xiao was about to leave, Water Bailan suddenly opened her clear eyes and said, "Put me down. I'm almost unable to control the emotions in my heart. I can remain clear-headed for three minutes at most. After that, I don't know what changes will happen to my body."
After he set her down, Mu Xiao had yet to speak when Water Bailan said, "Actually, I don't trust you. But I have a feeling that you understand me very well. And I know that you couldn't have risked your life to find me merely to repay my mother's kindness. There must be something more important than life itself that made you come here."
Mu Xiao looked into Water Bailan's spring-clear eyes and felt as though everything in his heart had been seen through completely. He also knew that what he had said in the secret chamber contained many flaws. For instance, if he knew about the disaster caused by the New Human Plan, he should have found somewhere to hide instead of risking his life to come here. That was undoubtedly an extremely unwise move.
Therefore, Mu Xiao decided to state his true purpose, though he still adjusted his wording slightly.
"That's right. I came to find you for my own life." Mu Xiao said, "Your mother injected me with a special genetic medicine, so I won't mutate in this apocalypse. I may even become a New Human with great potential.
But the genetic medicine has a flaw. It can only become perfect with your blood." "I understand. How much do you need?" Water Bailan treated her own blood as though it were merely water.
But Mu Xiao's heart stirred with excitement. He could obtain her Primal Genetic Blood so easily!
"Enough." Mu Xiao suppressed his excitement and gave an approximate amount. After all, if the medicine had no effect, even if Water Bailan gave him all her blood, it would be useless.
Water Bailan found a cup in the room and took the Scorching Saber from Mu Xiao's hand. Even without its scorching function activated, the blade remained razor-sharp. She lightly cut her snow-white wrist, and a streak of icy blue blood surged from her artery, flowing into the cup like a stream. Yet the blood quickly returned to a bright red color.
"This is where we part." Water Bailan handed the cup of blood to Mu Xiao and simply bandaged her wrist. With her extraordinary physique, the wound quickly stopped bleeding. At this moment, her expression gradually turned cold and indifferent, clearly nearing the limit of her emotional control.
Mu Xiao accepted the blood once sought after by countless New Humans. Yet now, it had become the key to changing his fate.
Watching Water Bailan prepare to leave, Mu Xiao handed her the laser pistol and Scorching Saber. "I know you're looking for a place to fight your inner demons, but it's dangerous outside too. Take this gun and blade for protection. I have the ability to protect myself. Lastly, remember what I told you. Your gentleness may bring even greater sorrow, but don't let the power of sorrow control you. Once your inner demons overcome your will, you'll no longer have any hope of redemption."
"I don't understand, but I'll remember your words." Water Bailan put away the two weapons, looked deeply at Mu Xiao, then turned and walked out of the room.
As Mu Xiao watched her departing back, he seemed to see her bearing the burden of becoming an enemy to the entire world, battling against fate, and transforming into a slaughtering ultimate weapon.
"I'm not the protagonist of this world, nor do I possess your grand spirit. Even knowing about the New Human Plan, I can't stop it. In the end, I'm just an insignificant person struggling to survive." Mu Xiao sighed as he looked at the cup in his hand, filled with Water Bailan's bright red blood. His mood inexplicably improved again. "If I really obtain the BUG Bloodline, I'll definitely help you break free from fate..."
He knew that according to the future, Water Bailan had mutated and evolved in the secret chamber into the "Ultimate Queen, ruler over all ultimate kings"... But now, he had "saved" Water Bailan, and she had listened to his advice, doing her utmost to control her emotions. As a result, Water Bailan's fate had undergone subtle, unforeseen changes.
Water Bailan might be able to control the emotions from the first stage of evolution, but when she heard that news next time, Mu Xiao did not know whether she would completely lose her humanity and transform into the most terrifying humanoid biological weapon.
At this moment, Lawyer Building had become a chaotic, bloody hell. Piercing screams, miserable cries for help, agonized sobbing... The frantic pleas for salvation inside and outside the building, along with the disorderly hysterical noises, chilled the hearts of the sane. An apocalyptic aura of death spread through everyone's thoughts.
Mu Xiao knew that battle would be unavoidable if he went outside now, but he had to find a safe place to take the medicine and evolve into a New Human. Only then would he have the strength to protect himself, and only then could he absorb the "source"—the so-called experience points—from monsters such as Mutant Humans, Mutant Beasts, and zombies, thereby increasing his genetic level through evolution.
The third-floor room was unoccupied. Mu Xiao first locked the entrance door, then shut the metal door to the secret chamber. He used the Thunderbolt Cannon at low power to fire an energy beam that melted the metal door's control switch, preventing it from opening automatically unless someone forcibly destroyed it.
Although a Mutant Human had appeared in the secret chamber, it would not necessarily come to this third-floor room. There were many passageways inside the chamber, leading to rooms on the fourth or fifth floor, as well as underground. The third floor was dangerous, but it was far less dangerous than going outside now.
Mu Xiao searched the room for somewhere concealed. Even if a monster unfortunately broke into the room, perhaps it would not discover him.
"The monsters are all first-generation genetic mutants right now, and they've only just mutated, so they won't have many abilities. Mutant Humans are mentally confused as well, unlike the cunning ones in the later stages. Besides, most monsters are still evolving. They've lost their thoughts and intelligence and are driven only by a hunger for flesh and blood. As long as I conceal my presence, I should be able to hide from them."
Mu Xiao found a side room, locked the door, piled furniture against it, then entered the bathroom. He filled the bathtub with water, stripped naked, and lay fully submerged. Using the water's lack of scent, he concealed his own smell. Then, he removed the small metal tube from the hidden compartment in his shoe sole and set aside the Optical Brain from the metal sheet. Neither item had been damaged.
"Success or failure depends on this!" Mu Xiao viciously stabbed the small metal tube into the artery in his neck, tilted back his head, and drank Water Bailan's blood in one gulp. Evolutionary fusion was just that simple.
The icy, bloody taste filled Mu Xiao's entire mouth, and his whole body grew cold. At the same time, the medicine in his artery was like a fiery brand, seeming to ignite his blood as it clashed against Water Bailan's icy blood. Soon, the two temperatures gradually fused, and an unknown transformation truly began...
No one had ever completed this kind of medicine before. It was merely a theory proposed by future ability users, so Mu Xiao had no idea what would happen next.
As the sensation of ice and fire gradually faded, Mu Xiao thought the evolution had failed. Then his entire mind boomed as if a thunderclap had exploded beside his ears, seeming to rupture his eardrums. At that instant, his head felt as though it were about to burst apart.
"Aah!"
Mu Xiao clutched his agonized head and let out a beast-like growl filled with unbearable pain.
Struck by sudden agony, Mu Xiao desperately wished he could faint at once. His head felt as if it were about to explode, and faint golden lines appeared across his face. If someone dissected his head, they would find pale golden blood vessels throughout it, rapidly spreading from his head to every part of his body.
The pain spread from his head to the rest of his body, tormenting him from head to toe. He slammed his head against the side of the bathtub, while his body felt like flesh being seared in a red-hot iron pan. Burning pain, like skin being flayed and bones being scraped, erupted from the outside in.
In pain so extreme that it extinguished all vitality, Mu Xiao could neither faint nor die. His brain, internal organs, muscles, flesh, tendons, and bones seemed to shatter and reform all at once. This torment was beyond human endurance. His voice and throat had broken, leaving him unable to make a sound. He could not exert any strength and lay paralyzed in the bathtub, enduring supreme agony. His pupils dilated, and he was nearing the limit of pain—nearing death.
I won't accept this! I won't die so easily! Since I was able to be reborn, I'll surely shatter every fate of death!
Mu Xiao clenched his teeth until pale golden blood seeped from them. His face had twisted into something savage and terrifying, but the light in his previously unfocused eyes slowly became firm and resolute.
Suddenly, an ice-cold current swept through his Consciousness Sea. In an instant, it passed through his shattered body. His wounds felt as though salt and chili had been poured onto them, and every injury and pain intensified at once. The overwhelming agony shot straight into his brain. Unable to endure it, his Consciousness Sea was directly shattered. His vision went black, and he completely lost consciousness.
More and more golden blood threads emerged throughout Mu Xiao's broken body, soon covering him entirely. They began optimizing each cell, while Water Bailan's blood fused into his genes. Combined with the Impossible Effect of the Miracle Serum, his body gradually underwent an unknown transformation.
His shattered Consciousness Sea was repaired by the golden blood threads, becoming seemingly sturdier and more expansive. It even carried a vast pressure of consciousness like that of a god.
The S-Rank Physique Enhancement Drug Mu Xiao had taken earlier also exceeded its usual effect during his body's optimization, accelerating the enhancement of his S-Class Physique. Even after all the drug's potency had been exhausted, his physical strength continued to rise.
Before long, his physique broke through S-Class and reached SS-Class Physique.
His physical strength continued rising until it broke through into SSS-Class Physique, only then slowing down.
Mu Xiao's genes evolved in an unknown direction, as though he had pushed open a mysterious door...
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