Lesson

"Sister Man, add the Oliver brothers to the line," Xiao He said, pressing a button on his earpiece.

"Do you need their Superpower? This enemy doesn't seem very strong," Cui Man asked hesitantly.

Xiao He replied, "My stamina is starting to wane; I need their abilities to help me recover."

"I understand, wait a moment. They're working as security guards on site," Cui Man said, then fell silent.

After a while, Xiao He overheard Oliver and Ivan chatting: "You know what, this job is actually pretty easy." "At least I can sneak out to smoke without anyone bothering me... It's better than getting beaten up in that prison."

Xiao He sensed that he had triggered the Superpower "Erosion," and then turned to the "Scorpion" in front of him.

This guy's hero outfit is red and yellow, and what's more distinctive is his mask, which covers the upper half of his face, while the back part extends to the back of his head like a Scorpion's tail, connected to his braid at the back of his head.

"I'm going to suck you dry and turn you into a mummy," Xiao He said to Scorpion with a malicious smile.

Scorpion, unaware of his fate, wasn't afraid. He merely sneered, "Don't think that what happened at the restaurant that day was all I've got. In the outside world, I can control far more inorganic matter! And you... hmph." With that, Scorpion chuckled coldly, "You're tired, aren't you?"

"How did you figure that out?" Xiao He asked with interest.

"Hmph, you've already taken down ten people, haven't you?" Scorpion sneered. "You seemed so relaxed and unhurried earlier, testing the waters with ease, but now you're in such a rush to end the fight. Tired, huh? That's good!"

After saying that, Scorpion raised his hand, and the soil and rocks around him floated up and turned into sharp spikes that shot towards Xiao He.

Xiao He completely ignored the attacks and charged towards Scorpion. But the rocks beneath Scorpion's feet rose up, carrying him away from Xiao He at a rapid pace.

Xiao He immediately raised an eyebrow: This guy has some skill.

In fact, Xiao He had seen quite a few Mutant who could control inorganic matter by now, such as the guy in Raven, but Scorpion's ability to control inorganic matter was the strongest. The speed and strength of his inorganic matter were much greater than those of the previous guys.

Furthermore, Scorpion's attack relies entirely on long-range attacks involving flying sand and stones, thus compensating for his lack of formal training.

"I see... If they haven't received any training, then they rely on their Superpower to form their own attack system," Xiao He thought to himself.

However, this was useless. These flying sand and stones were essentially physical attacks, and their kinetic energy was absorbed, so they couldn't harm him at all. Xiao He unleashed the absorbed kinetic energy under his feet, and after three consecutive bursts, he arrived in front of Scorpion.

Scorpion took a step back in fright, but Xiao He had already reached out and grabbed his arm, and the "Erosion" technique immediately began.

"You--!" Scorpion realized something was wrong. His power was being transferred to Xiao He, so he immediately threw all the flying sand and stones around him at Xiao He.

In fact, Xiao He could have dealt with Scorpion right now, but that wouldn't have been effective in educating him, so Xiao He simply used his hands to protect his head from sand and gravel getting into his eyes.

Gradually, Xiao He felt his body regain its strength, while Scorpion's body weakened little by little. Xiao He's "Erosion" rapidly Plunder the opponent's energy.

"Let go..." Scorpion's body visibly shrank, so Xiao He promptly let go, then stepped back, crossed his arms, and stared at Scorpion with a cold laugh.

Xiao He later inquired about this Superpower, Oliver brothers returned to normal after eating a few meals.

"Erosion" actually absorbs the enemy's energy, even the energy stored in fat. Xiao He absorbed all the energy from Scorpion's body, so right now, Scorpion feels...

Hunger is when every cell in your body craves energy.

"Gurgle..." A rumbling came from Scorpion's abdomen, and he clutched his stomach, looking somewhat pained.

"You're starving, aren't you?" Xiao He sneered. "So? Want to admit defeat? Tell everyone you're starving and you're not playing this match."

But Xiao He knew that Scorpion wouldn't do that: he was a Level 5 Mutant, and to be forced to admit defeat by hunger would be incredibly shameful, and it would ruin his future as Mutant.

"Damn it, why am I so hungry..." Scorpion muttered to himself in anguish, deeply missing the bowl of spaghetti he hadn't finished at lunchtime. But for now, he could only grit his teeth and continue his attack.

Xiao He neither counterattacked nor dodged; he Erosion Scorpion's energy, so he was now full of energy and had plenty of time to wear Scorpion down.

Xiao He raised his hand, creating a Perfect Cube beside him, and then leisurely watched Scorpion attack him, sighing, "The roasted lamb chops in the cafeteria are really delicious. They're so tender and juicy; one bite and the meat falls right off the bone. Chew a bite, and the meat and fat melt in your mouth... tsk tsk."

Scorpion couldn't help but swallow hard; his stomach was rumbling more and more, every cell in his body was screaming with hunger, and he wanted to eat immediately. But to eat, he could only finish this match—either he would defeat Yinglong, or Yinglong would defeat him.

Defeating Yinglong was hopeless, but Xiao He clearly didn't intend to attack; he was deliberately stalling for time.

"If you're so tough, come and beat me! What kind of man only dares to defend?!" Scorpion said angrily.

Xiao He, resting his chin on his hand, muttered to himself, "Hmm, how about ordering a steak tonight? Grilled to medium-rare, still sizzling when it's served, along with a fragrant plate of spaghetti, a slightly charred plate of potatoes, and some buttered corn..."

Scorpion's stomach suddenly spasmed, and he swallowed a large mouthful of saliva. He launched an even more frenzied attack on Xiao He, but Xiao He was completely unaffected inside the Perfect Cube and continued talking about food.

"Cut off a piece of steak, dip it in a fried egg, take a bite, and the fragrant juices explode in your mouth. Then, before you can even swallow the juices, take a bite of spaghetti... Ah--! That taste!" Xiao He said with his eyes closed and a look of pure bliss, then quickly wiped his drool: Oh no, he's made himself hungry just talking about it...

"Shut the hell up!" Scorpion was furious. "Come and fight me! What kind of strongest Mutant only knows how to defend?!"

"Oh oh oh--! Yinglong is completely suppressed by Scorpion! Scorpion's storm of attacks, if it were anyone else, they would probably have been turned into mincemeat by now, right? Only Yinglong can barely defend against it..." The host passionately commented on the match.

Meanwhile, the unsuspecting audience and commentators were still wondering: How Yinglong suddenly fall into a disadvantageous position?

Little did he know, Scorpion on the field was actually only seeking defeat, hoping that Xiao He would quickly defeat him so he could have a big meal afterward. He had already planned what he would order: a whole pound of steak, followed by a fragrant fried chicken burger... That's right, fat! His body craved fat, craved calories! The higher the calories, the better!

But Xiao He simply didn't attack, contentedly hiding inside the Perfect Cube and talking about food.

"Please, just defeat me already..." Scorpion said weakly, his hands already too heavy to lift.

But Scorpion dared not admit defeat so easily, otherwise he would truly be disgraced and become the only LV5 Mutant to lose without a fight. In that case, he would never be able to hold his head high among Mutant again, and his life would be completely ruined. So he could only wait for Xiao He to defeat him, and could only beg Xiao He to defeat him.

"What? Are you hungry?" Xiao He asked teasingly, arms crossed.

"..." Scorpion gritted his teeth, speechless.

Xiao He continued, "So now you know how precious food is?"

"Damn it..." Scorpion's expression was pained, struggling to remain silent.

Xiao He pretended to reach into his pocket for his phone. "Hey, it seems like the show I like has been updated. Perfect, I'll finish reading today's update... Reloading save files is such a great Superpower."

"Wait, wait a minute!" Scorpion hurriedly raised his hand to interrupt Xiao He, stammering, "I... I know how precious food is now, I will never waste food again, I promise..."

"I don't believe it," Xiao He replied lazily, preparing to continue stalling.

Scorpion remained deadlocked for a while, but his hunger grew increasingly unbearable. Finally, unable to hold out any longer, he raised his hands and said, "I forfeit! I surrender!"

"Oh my god!" The host was stunned. "Scorpion was clearly in the lead, suppressing Yinglong to the point of only being able to defend, but he suddenly conceded defeat?! What happened? This goes against the spirit of competition!"

The audience and the host were too far away to hear Xiao He and Scorpion's conversation. Furthermore, Scorpion was relentlessly unleashing a barrage of dazzling attacks, so the audience and cameras were focused on Scorpion, assuming Xiao He was being overwhelmed by the onslaught. However, Scorpion inexplicably chose to concede defeat despite being in a dominant position...

"Hush--!" The audience booed loudly. "He must have been bribed!!" "He bet on himself! He must have bet on himself to lose, right?!" "Shameless! He has no sportsmanship at all!" "This guy calls himself a Level 5 Mutant?! Pah!"

But Scorpion didn't care about any of that anymore. He ran back to the preparation room in a disheveled state and went downstairs to find something to eat.

In fact, Xiao He never intended to let Scorpion go in the first place. His goal was to starve him until he couldn't take it anymore, until he didn't care about winning or losing the competition or his personal glory anymore. Then he would realize the value of food.

"I hope you'll repent and change your ways, and become someone who doesn't waste food." Xiao He nodded in satisfaction. "So, who will be your twelfth opponent?"

After the commentator's rambling, A Continent Team's third player soon took the field.

Originally, A Continent didn't even have a single LV5, only one LV4 Mutant. So now, four of the five people in their team were given to them by their master, M Country, and the only native member is a substitute.

Therefore, the third member on this side is also Mutant that the M Country bought from other countries in the past.

This is a Black woman. Xiao He remembered that this woman had helped Scott during the conflict at the restaurant. Her ability seemed to be to launch fireballs from her hands.

Her heroic nickname is "The Black Witch".

"Black Witch? Could it be using magic?" Xiao He wondered to himself.

The Black Witch was the first female Mutant he encountered in this tournament, but when it comes to opponents, gender doesn't matter.

As per the previous rules, we must first ascertain the opponent's Superpower before defeating them.

The Black Witch raised his hands, making a mysterious gesture. Then, a ball of flame emerged from his left hand, and a ball of lightning from his right. Judging from this, he really seemed to be a magical Mutant.

The woman's hands danced, and the flames and lightning on them grew increasingly intense. Xiao He frowned as he watched, then instinctively unleashed a burst of energy and appeared before the Black Witch.

The Black Witch was startled, seemingly not expecting Xiao He to suddenly attack, since Xiao He had always patiently allowed his opponents to attack. So she hastily blasted the flames in her hand at Xiao He, but instead of a fireball, she launched a thick fire dragon. Xiao He absorbed the flames with Kinetic Energy Absorption, and the Black Witch took the opportunity to create distance.

As she retreated, she continued to gather lightning in her right hand. Upon landing, she raised her hand and unleashed the lightning, which transformed into a giant wolf that pounced on Xiao He. Xiao He shattered the wolf with a wave of his hand and continued to approach the Black Witch. The Black Witch, meanwhile, continued to gather power, still wielding flames in her left hand and lightning in her right, but this time she unleashed the lightning from her right hand first.

Lightning formed several crows that flew over, Xiao He once again shattered these thunderbirds.

"The power is weaker than before..." Xiao He thought to himself, then pressed his earpiece and said, "Sister Man, her Superpower should be to charge up flames or lightning and then release the spell. The strength and appearance of the spell depend on the charging time."

"They'll be a real problem in team competitions," Cui Man murmured into her earpiece.

While Xiao He was reporting intelligence, the Black Witch had been charging up the lightning and fireballs in her hands for quite some time. The lightning and flames began to emit a black glow, clearly indicating that their power had reached its peak.

"Hmph, letting me reach my maximum charged state will be the biggest mistake you've ever made!" the Black Witch sneered, raising his hands towards Xiao He, black lightning and flames intertwining. "Fire and Lightning Strike!"

"Actually... I'm a mage too." Xiao He said, raising his hand to summon Perfect Cube to shield himself. Black flames and lightning struck the outer wall of the Perfect Cube, but they posed no threat whatsoever, not even leaving a single crack.

"This... how is this possible!?" the Black Witch muttered to himself in astonishment.

But the next moment, Xiao He burst forth with kinetic energy and appeared in front of her, raising his hand. The Black Witch was so frightened that a fireball followed by a bolt of lightning struck Xiao He's face, but Xiao He was completely unaffected, and a sharp rap on the head struck her. The Black Witch's body shuddered violently, then she swayed and collapsed to the ground.