Effect of the Strange Eater

Countless Mutated Beasts slaughtered one another across the battlefield, completely consumed by bloodlust.

In truth, the aroma of Zhang Ping's little bit of roasted rabbit meat had no effect on the battlefield.

The battlefield itself already reeked to high heaven—blood, feces, and all manner of foul-smelling supernatural liquids. With so many odors mixed together, the scent on Zhang Ping's side was insignificant by comparison.

Zhang Ping had walked along the edge of the battlefield once. What had left the deepest impression on him was the waves of hot blood-energy radiating from it, along with the indescribable stench. That was why he had dared to roast and eat the rabbit. He knew very well that it would not attract the Mutated Beasts' attention.

However, he had overlooked one thing.

At the edge of the battlefield, a black dog's nose twitched. Then it looked beyond the battlefield, its gaze locking onto the rock where Zhang Ping was hiding.

It was a Corpse-Eating Hound. It had appeared on the battlefield solely because it had been drawn by the scent of corpses.

Corpse-Eating Hounds had extremely sensitive noses and could smell corpses from several kilometers away.

"Awwooo! Awwooo! Awwooo!"

Having caught the scent of roasted rabbit, the Corpse-Eating Hound immediately let out a cry similar to that of an African hyena.

A moment later.

Two Corpse-Eating Hounds gathered together and headed toward Zhang Ping.

Behind the rock.

Zhang Ping tore off a rabbit leg and took a bite, his eyes lighting up slightly. This meat tasted incredible.

It was not as though he had never eaten good food before, but this rabbit meat was tastier than any meat he had ever eaten. Crisp on the outside and tender within, it was wonderfully chewy, with savory juices bursting out in every bite.

The Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit possessed numerous venom glands connected to its sweat glands. When the corrosive water mixed with blood and was heated, it not only lost its corrosive properties, but also developed a special flavor.

It was a taste one could never find on Earth.

Zhang Ping wolfed down the meat when his ears suddenly twitched. He swiftly sprang up from the ground.

Suddenly, a Corpse-Eating Hound launched an attack from behind the rock. He hurriedly leaped backward to evade it, only to find another Corpse-Eating Hound behind him.

In that split second, he released the Nether Mist Dagger in his hand.

The small dagger made of Nether Mist instantly transformed into a throwing knife and shot toward the Corpse-Eating Hound behind him with a whoosh.

The Corpse-Eating Hound reacted quickly and immediately twisted aside to dodge. But it did not know that Zhang Ping's throwing knife could turn. In the blink of an eye, the knife pierced through its head, and it fell to the ground with a wail.

No sooner had the danger behind him been dealt with than Zhang Ping continued retreating. At the same time, he swept his right hand forward. Flames burst from his palm and formed a barrier, forcing the Corpse-Eating Hound in front of him to instinctively back away. A black throwing knife blossomed from within the flames, and before the hound could react, its head exploded.

"Black fur, red eyes, human teeth... is this a Corpse-Eating Hound?"

Only after killing both Mutated Beasts did Zhang Ping have time to examine them.

But once he recognized the Corpse-Eating Hounds, his expression changed slightly. He immediately sprang up. The instant he jumped, the ground beneath his feet exploded, and a Corpse-Eating Hound burst out from underground. It opened its jaws and snapped upward, nearly biting his balls off.

Die!

Frightened out of his wits, Zhang Ping immediately controlled the Nether Mist throwing knife and blew apart the Corpse-Eating Hound's head.

Fortunately, he had learned about Corpse-Eating Hounds from Liu Tiefeng. He knew they could dig tunnels rapidly and liked to have two hounds feign attacks while the third dug underground to launch a sneak attack.

Their habits were similar to African hyenas. They were both experts at going for the rear.

When Zhang Ping thought of what would have happened if the Corpse-Eating Hound's sneak attack had succeeded, a wave of lingering fear washed over him, making his skin crawl.

It took him quite a while to calm down.

Recalling the knowledge Liu Tiefeng had taught him, he began collecting useful materials from the Corpse-Eating Hounds.

"You killed them?"

Liu Sishan returned just as Zhang Ping was using the Nether Mist Dagger to cut off a Corpse-Eating Hound's claws.

She was still spotless. Water spheres circled around her, and she held a Salt Frost Fruit in her hand. Clearly, obtaining one Salt Frost Fruit had not been difficult for her.

Zhang Ping stopped what he was doing and had just opened his mouth when a water whip appeared beside his neck.

"Sis Sisi, what are you doing?" Zhang Ping quickly raised his hands and asked in confusion.

Liu Sishan did not answer. She slowly approached Zhang Ping, first flipping up his eyelids, then circling behind him to inspect something he could not see. Only after quite some time did she withdraw the water whip.

"You encountered a Nether Mist Mutated Beast?" Liu Sishan asked sternly.

Zhang Ping sensed something from Liu Sishan's attitude, so he told her about his earlier experience.

There was mainly no need to hide it. Unless he possessed an item or ability capable of concealing his attributes, others could still appraise them after he returned to Mingzhu City. There was simply no way to keep it secret.

After hearing Zhang Ping's account, Liu Sishan fell silent for a moment. Then she turned away and took several deep breaths in succession, seemingly trying to calm herself. But in the end, she abruptly turned back, pinned Zhang Ping against a rock, looked up at him, and angrily said, "Zhang Ping, are you tired of living? You dared to eat something of unknown origin? Do you know you nearly died?"

"Nearly died?" Zhang Ping frowned in disbelief.

Liu Sishan said seriously, "The Appraisal Technique can indeed provide you with a great deal of information, but that does not mean it provides all information. If the Appraisal Technique could truly provide every last piece of information, do you know how much information a single rock contains? You cannot even appraise all the information in one rock, so what makes you think you understand the things you appraise?"

"Sis Sisi, are you saying that thing I ate actually carried some kind of danger?" Zhang Ping immediately understood what Liu Sishan was trying to say.

Liu Sishan said in a low voice, "Nether Mist Mutated Beasts are creatures of unknown origin. They have no fixed form and generally reside inside certain living beings, much like parasites. But after their host dies, they burrow into one of the host's organs and wait for their next host.

"In other words, you nearly got parasitized."

"What are the consequences of being parasitized?" Zhang Ping asked.

Liu Sishan glanced at the Nether Mist Dagger in Zhang Ping's hand and answered, "Once you are parasitized by a Nether Mist Mutated Beast, it is equivalent to brain death. That black goat you mentioned was most likely a puppet of the Nether Mist Mutated Beast. What do you think the consequences are?"

Brain death was the same as being dead.

Zhang Ping suddenly remembered the faint scream he had heard when his abdomen had been in agonizing pain. Had that been the Nether Mist Mutated Beast trying to parasitize him?

Then why had the parasitism failed?

Wait.

The order in which the Appraisal Technique displayed abilities seemed to be related to the order in which those abilities had been obtained.

Strange Eater had appeared before Nether Mist Body. Could it be that I activated Strange Eater by eating something recklessly?

Then Strange Eater had digested the Nether Mist Mutated Beast?

"Listen carefully, Zhang Ping. I am telling you this solemnly: anything external that might grant you an ability carries unknown risks. There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world. If you easily obtain an item that can grant you an ability, the first thing you should do is remain vigilant.

"Think carefully. How many people in Mingzhu City possess more than two supernatural abilities? If supernatural abilities were really so easy to acquire, do you think dual-ability Awakened—or even triple-ability Awakened—would be so rare in Mingzhu City?" Liu Sishan said earnestly as she looked at Zhang Ping.

Only then did Zhang Ping realize it.

Looking throughout Mingzhu City's history, countless heroes had emerged, but there really had not been many Awakened with dual abilities.

There were exceptions, of course.

But those were abilities derived from their own original abilities.

For example, Situ Shibai's replication, and the Awakened Liu Sishan had mentioned before whose ability was "Extraordinary Adaptation." Their other abilities all came from the effects of their own abilities, rather than from external objects.

However, Zhang Ping thought of the guess he had just made.

If Strange Eater had really digested the Nether Mist Mutated Beast, then perhaps trying it again in the future was not impossible.

But he had to verify that guess first. Otherwise, he had better not casually court death.

Liu Sishan's anger faded quickly after her outburst. Zhang Ping had not only suffered no serious harm, but had instead gained an exceptionally special ability. Continuing to berate him would have been a bit excessive.

At the end of the day, she simply did not want Zhang Ping to take such risks again.

"Let's go. Something major is about to happen here," she said after glancing at the battlefield.

Zhang Ping asked curiously, "What major event?"

"Have you ever wondered why so many Mutated Beasts are fighting to the death here over just a few fruits that increase potential?" Liu Sishan asked as she walked.

Zhang Ping nodded. "I have, but I couldn't figure out the answer."

"When a Salt Frost Tree absorbs a large amount of blood in a short period of time, one of its fruits will undergo a change, transforming from an ordinary Salt Frost Fruit into a Blood Salt Fruit. A Mutated Beast that eats a Blood Salt Fruit may evolve again. That is the true treasure the Mutated Beasts need!" Liu Sishan said, turning around to hand the Salt Frost Fruit to Zhang Ping while looking at the distant Salt Frost Tree.

Zhang Ping asked in surprise, "What about humans?"

"Blood Salt Fruits are useless to humans. Mingzhu City's predecessors tested them long ago, and the result was that their bodies exploded," Liu Sishan said.

Some heavenly treasures and earthly materials were useful only to humans. But heaven was fair; there were also some that only Mutated Beasts could eat and that were instead poison to humans.

Zhang Ping and Liu Sishan returned to camp.

Quite a few salt carriers were resting in the camp at night, while others had gathered around campfires, chatting and laughing.

After the two returned to the tent, Liu Sishan took out a canteen of water and handed it to Zhang Ping. "Eat the Salt Frost Fruit quickly, then drink plenty of water."

"Okay."

Zhang Ping took the water, bit into the Salt Frost Fruit first, and his face immediately scrunched up. He hurriedly gulped down several mouthfuls of water.

It was far too salty.

Although Liu Sishan had told him earlier that Salt Frost Fruits had an extremely high salt content, he had never imagined a fruit could be salty enough to turn bitter and sour.

That sour, bitter taste was mixed with a strange fruity flavor. It was awful.

"Zhang Ping, didn't your teacher teach you not to casually drink water given to you by others in the wilderness? Even water found in nature should not be consumed carelessly," Liu Sishan suddenly asked.

In the next instant, Zhang Ping's narrowed eyes flew wide open. He discovered water crashing around inside his stomach.

"Sis Sisi, was the water I just drank pure water you created?" he asked Liu Sishan, his face turning bitter.

Liu Sishan said calmly, "Your life is now basically in the palm of my—"

Before she could finish speaking.

The pure water inside both her and Zhang Ping's stomachs lost contact with her.