Devouring

The Mutant Woman's face had been smashed into a bloody pulp. Like an injured beast, she crawled on all fours, her blood-red eyes filled with venomous hatred. At the same time, she had become cautious, not daring to attack rashly. Her fierce gaze remained fixed on Mu Xiao as though he were prey.

"This is bad! The Mutant Monster actually has emotions, and decent intelligence too!" Mu Xiao found himself in a difficult position. He had run into the worst-case scenario. If he fled now, this cunning Mutant Human would immediately attack. If he did not flee, his body would only grow hungrier. He did not know whether he could hold on long enough to kill the Mutant Woman. If another Mutant Human appeared, he would be dead for sure.

Mu Xiao had personally witnessed a guard evolve into a Mutant Human in the secret room on the fifth floor, but it had not been this Mutant Woman.

However, under normal circumstances, Mutant Humans could not remain in the same place together for long. They also possessed the urge to devour one another's flesh. Once two of them met, they would fight. Thus, the chances of Mu Xiao encountering two Mutant Humans were low, but he was currently at a disadvantage, so he could not help worrying.

There was no way he could scare her off. The hatred in those blood-red eyes was clearly the look of a fight to the death!

"I'm going all out!"

Mu Xiao took the initiative. His body bent like a bow as Mental Power gathered in his feet. His muscles, tendons, and bones were like springs compressed to their limits before suddenly exploding into action!

His body shot out like a cannonball, carrying a desperate, frenzied will. Telekinesis covered his fist as he struck at the Mutant Woman's head again.

The instant Mu Xiao closed in on the Mutant Woman, he knew her reactions were swift. So he overextended his Telekinesis, releasing several invisible threads that wrapped around her limbs and restricted her evasion speed.

A heavy thud rang out!

The punch landed squarely. Several chunks of flesh fell from the Mutant Woman's face, and her entire body flew backward like a rag doll before crashing to the floor.

Overextending his Telekinesis made Mu Xiao's face turn pale. His stomach caved in, and he felt as though his belly were pressed against his back from hunger. But he knew he had to finish off the Mutant Woman quickly. Otherwise, he would surely be the one to die.

The Mutant Woman's head buzzed. She was only a newly evolved Mutant Human, and her strength had not yet been fully developed. That was why Mu Xiao had managed to beat her into such a state.

Although the Mutant Woman had intelligence, it was limited to basic thought. She had yet to regain her former memories and wisdom. However, her resistance to blows and attack power were clearly much higher than Mu Xiao's. Otherwise, her blade-like nails would not have cut into Mu Xiao's muscles as easily as slicing tofu.

At that moment, Mu Xiao had no combat techniques. He rushed forward, simple, direct, and brutally violent. He grabbed the Mutant Woman's white hair, slammed her hard against the wall, intensified his Telekinesis into sharp forms around his fist, and crazily hammered her head!

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"...

Cracks appeared on the wall. Mu Xiao beat her mechanically, completely absorbed in the act. The Mutant Woman's hair was as tough as steel wire, refusing to break no matter how he pulled it.

The Mutant Woman's face could no longer be recognized. It was nothing but chunks of bloody pulp, and even her eyeballs had burst. Mu Xiao's fists were aching and numb, but he knew she was not dead yet. A Mutant Human's flesh and blood was incredibly rich and scarlet, and it carried a strong bloody stench, though not the gray-black rot of zombies.

The Mutant Woman resisted again, her blade-like nails slashing across Mu Xiao's abdomen and splitting open his skin. If his body had not been so strange and bloodless, his intestines would have spilled out. Even so, he did not feel well. The pain of being cut open made him feel as though his intestines had been sliced apart.

Mu Xiao gritted his teeth and endured it, turning pain into strength. His Telekinesis formed the striking surface of a hammer as he pounded without regard for his life! He beat her as though he were smashing meat into paste!

He had only barely cultivated "Mind Force," an extremely crude martial method that simply used Telekinesis and Mental Power as attack and support. Yet their combination was one of Mind Force's effects. Without proper cultivation, Telekinesis naturally could not unleash much power. Only by raising his realm could Mind Force truly improve.

Mu Xiao had evolved into a New Human from the very beginning. Though he possessed a wealth of cultivation experience, he could not quickly turn it into combat strength. That was why he had fallen into such a passive situation.

Sometimes, knowing too much was not necessarily a good thing. It often led to preconceived notions. Cultivation also required gradual progress. If one cultivated recklessly without regard for the consequences, one's bloodline genes and soul consciousness would be unable to withstand the impact of energy, and the only outcome would be bodily explosion and soul destruction.

Therefore, after being reborn, Mu Xiao had been eager to cultivate quickly. He inevitably grew anxious and could not remain calm.

However, if he combined Telekinesis and Mental Power before attacking, it would certainly be stronger than using Telekinesis alone. But his physique could not support the output of power beyond his limits. Thus, Mu Xiao could only fight desperately while preserving himself as much as possible.

Moreover, his physique was only SSS-grade, while this Mutant Human's physique had clearly reached the initial level of Apex Physique, a whole tier above his. That was also why he had fought so miserably. Still, Mu Xiao's body was special. He could barely continue fighting normally even under the blows of an Apex Physique.

"I've died once. Evolution hurt so badly I wished I were dead. Why the hell would I be afraid of pain now?"

The pain Mu Xiao had endured during evolution made the pain he was suffering now seem like child's play.

The Mutant Woman's bones were like a turtle shell. Mu Xiao did not know how many times he had struck her. He had nearly beaten all the flesh off her face, exposing white bone, yet it still had not cracked. She still had not died, and from time to time, she would slash at Mu Xiao's abdomen before being stunned again by another blow. The process continued in fits and starts.

It showed just how powerful a Mutant Human's vitality was.

Yet Mu Xiao had the ruthless determination to smash the Mutant Woman's head apart even if it killed him. He clutched her hair so tightly that veins bulged on his arms, without loosening in the slightest.

"This won't do! If I don't break open her head, I'll die from exhaustion!!"

Mu Xiao was frantic, his face drained of all color.

"I'll overextend myself one more time!"

Mu Xiao's face twisted as he made his decision.

Suddenly, faint golden blood vessels spread across Mu Xiao's eyes. Furious Telekinesis surged out like a tide, while the hunger in his body felt as though it were devouring his intestines.

His thoughts blocked out the hunger and pain. The entire world seemed to fall silent for an instant, and time slowed to an extreme.

Mu Xiao's golden eyes clearly saw what lay before him: shredded flesh, bloody pulp, and a white skull. Mental Power and Telekinesis fused into Mind Force in an instant, flooding over the Mutant Woman's skull like a tide.

A flash of understanding echoed within Mu Xiao's heart.

Mu Xiao shifted his Telekinesis, compressing it into a cone attached to his fist. "Break."

A calm, cold voice sounded.

With one punch, he met no resistance and drove straight into the Mutant Woman's skull. In an instant, his fist felt warm brain matter wrapping around it, bringing an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

The Mutant Woman's presence rapidly dissipated, while an Evolutionary Power Source richer than any he had received before flowed into Mu Xiao's body.

Warmth and joy surged through Mu Xiao's body. As his tense mind relaxed, he nearly collapsed unconscious on the ground.

It took nearly five minutes before Mu Xiao recovered from the exhaustion in his body and mind.

Twenty Gene Resonances were equivalent to a level-twenty Mutant Human. At that moment, the Evolutionary Power Source gave Mu Xiao three consecutive breakthroughs, directly raising him to the eighteenth Gene Resonance.

His Consciousness Sea refined another abundant and incomparably pure source. Mu Xiao also realized the gap between his physique and a Mutant Human's, so he continued adding the source to strengthen his body. It transformed into gentle energy that continuously nourished the injuries he had just sustained. Even several deep wounds gradually healed.

At present, he already had one foot in the realm of an Apex Physique New Human. The main reason was that he had just overextended himself by using complete Mind Force, resulting in side effects. After all, his body had not truly been optimized to the Foundation Establishment realm. Forcing himself to use the cultivation martial art Mind Force without his body and soul collapsing was already proof that his bloodline genes were special enough.

Thus, Mu Xiao had improved overall to a certain extent, but his mind was still sluggish, his face sallow, and he looked half-dead from hunger, completely weak. This was the consequence of using Mind Force as his primary attack method for that brief instant, causing severe side effects.

Suddenly, his nose caught waves of an intensely fragrant scent that made his mouth water, and he overlooked the existence of an Ability Source.

That fragrance was actually drifting from the Mutant Woman's shattered head. Thick, dark-red, paste-like blood was still slowly flowing down from it.

Devour! Devour! Devour!...

A demonic, tempting voice echoed repeatedly in Mu Xiao's mind.

"This thing's blood has an enormous allure for me."

Mu Xiao was not so hungry that he felt dizzy. His consciousness remained perfectly clear.

In the end, he was human. Devouring one of his own kind would inevitably make him feel some resistance.

Mu Xiao felt the same way.

"It smells so good!" Mu Xiao's urge to devour grew stronger and stronger.

Then he cursed, "Damn genes!"

Mu Xiao could clearly sense that every gene in his body was reacting fiercely, becoming exceptionally active. They displayed an intense desire to evolve. Could this be the opportunity that triggered the characteristics of his Miracle Bloodline?

After all, during the future Age of Evolution, no one knew what characteristics this "nonexistent bloodline" possessed. He had only created this BUG Bloodline among miracles at the beginning of this era after returning from the future, something countless people in the future had been unable to create. Naturally, he did not know whether his urge to devour was normal.

This Miracle Bloodline Formula had been considered a hopeless existence because of the infinitely terrifying Water Bailan. She came and went without a trace, sometimes vanishing for long periods. Whenever she reappeared, she brought a rain of blood and slaughter. Gradually, no one dared set their sights on that female killing god.

Even the False Gods on the moon were deeply wary of Water Bailan, but the two sides stayed out of each other's affairs, as if bound by some agreement, and rarely clashed.

But now Mu Xiao possessed this BUG Bloodline among miracles... It had been formed from Water Bailan's original bloodline genes, then fused with Mu Xiao's own bloodline genes and completely restructured into an unknown transformation.

After all, everyone's bloodline genes were different. Therefore, consuming the Miracle Bloodline Formula produced different reactions and effects. For instance, the changes occurring in Mu Xiao's body now might not occur in anyone else. As for what abilities his body possessed, he could only explore them slowly in the future.

Mu Xiao had many doubts, making him uncertain whether this was an opportunity to unlock his own bloodline.

"If I absorb the blood from this heart, there's a high chance my strength will rise rapidly."

"One Mutant Human already left me in such a miserable state. What if there were two or three? They're constantly evolving, definitely faster than New Humans. And greater crises will come later. I must speed up my gene optimization and begin cultivating! Otherwise, I won't be able to take a single step in this chaotic world!"

"Absorbing the blood now will benefit me. These Mutant Humans are no longer truly human, so drinking their blood should not make me feel disgusted or guilty. Besides, Blood Beads, Blood Crystals, and Crystal Cores all come from Mutant Humans and zombies. Aren't they also formed from coagulated blood? Then there should be nothing wrong with drinking blood directly, right?"

"Evolution is a food chain. Zombies eat humans, Mutant Humans eat humans, Mutant Beasts eat humans, and New Humans kill zombies and consume Blood Beads. Eating the flesh of Mutant Beasts is the same principle..."

Mu Xiao comforted himself, reducing the resistance in his heart. To ensure it was safe and let himself devour it without worry, he released a thread of Mental Power to inspect the Mutant Human's corpse.

Although Mu Xiao had severely overextended himself, he could still condense and force out some Mental Power within a small range. The price was that his hunger became even more ferocious.

Mu Xiao's face was haggard, his lips dry, and he seemed to have aged several years. Yet his eyes remained bright as he completely forgot his physical condition. His Mental Power entered through the Mutant Human's rotten head, then separated into thin strands to inspect its interior.

"After a Mutant Human dies, its skin, bones, and every other part of its body show signs of weakening." His Mental Power fed back a simple piece of information.

As he probed deeper, Mu Xiao suddenly overturned that conclusion.

"No! Energy is being transferred from every part of the body and concentrated in the heart! All this blood flowed from the heart!"

Mu Xiao disregarded whether his body could endure it and increased the strength of his Mental Power scan.

"As expected, a Mutant Human's genes are countless times stronger than a zombie's genes. They are extremely unique and contain enormous evolutionary potential!"

Mu Xiao had long expected this, but personally confirming it still surprised him somewhat.

"I have to devour it!!"

Mu Xiao no longer hesitated. First, he needed to confirm his body's bloodline. Second, he needed to increase his strength.

Slaughtering zombies took no effort, but Mutant Humans were an invisible threat, especially now that he was injured. Even if he ate all the food, it would be difficult to repair the hidden damage in his body. In contrast, if he devoured the rich blood contained within the Mutant Woman's heart, he had a feeling that he would definitely break through his physique's limits completely.

He released Telekinesis and wrapped it around the heart, the source of the Mutant Human's blood. Then he severed every blood vessel, shattered the defenseless and fragile flesh, and pulled the heart out through the chest.

The fresh-colored heart was as large as an infant's head, like a blood-red gemstone—heavy and beautiful.

Mu Xiao's skin seemed drained of color, and his mind was slightly listless, but his gaze burned as he stared at that extraordinarily delicious heart.

"I have a feeling that eating it will definitely make me stronger." Mu Xiao licked his dry lips and used Telekinesis to suspend the heart above his head.

His Telekinesis slowly contracted, squeezing the blood-red heart. A thick stream of blood dripped down and slowly fell into Mu Xiao's mouth.