So Many

You killed an A-rank Contaminant (pseudo). Points awarded: 110.

You killed an A-rank Contaminant (pseudo). Points awarded: 80.

Messages kept popping up on the panel, while the Points rewards gradually decreased.

Huangfu Miaomiao gripped her hammer, panting heavily.

She wiped away her sweat and said to Feng Ling, "The Points rewards have already been halved. There's a 'pseudo' marker after the Contaminant's name, and the mission progress has stayed at 0%. I don't know why."

Feng Ling said calmly, "Keep going."

Huangfu Miaomiao grinned foolishly at Feng Ling. "Okay!"

Getting rich overnight was nothing compared to this.

Huangfu Miaomiao felt as though she were in heaven, her joy beyond words.

This special Contaminant carrying Slime seemed capable of breeding life. As long as a corpse was stuffed into the Slime, a new Contaminant would hatch before long.

No wonder it had worn Zhou Diao out through a battle of attrition.

However, perhaps because the corpses had been reused too many times and no longer had any nutrients left, the Contaminants hatched later were not only smaller, but also resembled the ordinary crawling creatures they had encountered at the beginning.

As usual, Feng Ling swiftly chopped off the most dangerous mandibles, leaving the rest for Huangfu Miaomiao to handle.

"Ah... the reward is only 10 Points now." Huangfu Miaomiao skillfully swung her hammer, working hard as she spoke. "Ten Points is still quite a lot..."

She did not think it was too little.

Feng Ling said, "After you finish this one, kill the big one too."

Huangfu Miaomiao paused and turned to look at Feng Ling, somewhat uncertain. "...Can I do it?"

Feng Ling had been silently calculating the time. Hearing that, she raised an eyebrow. "Why can't you? You'd better hurry up. The Supervision Bureau will probably send people down soon."

After all this time, no one had come down. Feng Ling guessed that Zhou Diao had most likely told Su Yuqing what was happening below. The two of them knew she was helping Little Skeleton earn Points, so they had deliberately left them time to pick up the leftovers.

Huangfu Miaomiao looked troubled. "It's so big..."

It was such a huge Contaminant, and an A-rank one at that. Huangfu Miaomiao had no confidence.

Under normal circumstances, Feng Ling would probably have teased her a little.

But the waves of hunger had already worn away Feng Ling's patience. Frowning, she grabbed Huangfu Miaomiao's hand and forced her to grip the iron hammer tighter, then swung it at the Contaminant!

Perhaps Feng Ling was simply too strong, or perhaps repeatedly breeding life had left the Contaminant especially weak. With a single blow, a huge hole opened in its body, and flesh, blood, and pus kept pouring out.

"Don't stop." Feng Ling released her hand and motioned for Huangfu Miaomiao to continue.

Huangfu Miaomiao gritted her teeth and followed the same stance and force as before, swinging the hammer down again!

Flesh and blood flew everywhere, while pus splattered in all directions.

She did not dare stop. She kept smashing away with her head lowered! Only when her palms became sticky and slick, nearly unable to hold the hammer handle, did the mission progress suddenly jump from 0% to 100%!

At the same time, a notification appeared—

You killed an A-rank Contaminant. Points awarded: 850.

"850!" Huangfu Miaomiao's eyes lit up. In her excitement, she forgot all her earlier fear and hesitation. "This Contaminant is worth 850!!!"

She eagerly wanted to share this joy with Feng Ling, only to be stunned by the sight before her!

Silver Cards began separating from the enormous Contaminant's corpse. One, two, three, four...

Huangfu Miaomiao's eyes widened, and even her heart seemed to stop beating.

Eight, nine, ten...

They were still emerging!

She had never seen so many Cards!

The Forum said that most Cards from Contaminants would collapse due to Gene Pollution. Getting more than two was considered lucky, so why did this Contaminant have so many Cards?!

...Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen! They still had not stopped emerging!

Huangfu Miaomiao was completely dumbfounded.

If she had not been afraid of leaking the news, she would have wanted to take a photo right now and throw it onto the Forum for every Player to see!

So many!

So many!

Feng Ling was much calmer than Huangfu Miaomiao. She had assumed this was normal.

Only after absorbing a Card could one learn its exact effect, but its illustration could still provide a rough idea.

Feng Ling carefully studied the abstract patterns on each Card, muttering as she looked through them.

"Ants, spiders, Centipedes... Is this a bird? A Crow or an eagle? I can't tell... Why is there another Centipede?... Ants, Centipedes, Centipedes, what is this? A lizard?... Squirrels, Centipedes, Centipedes..."

A total of seventeen Cards emerged.

The Centipede and ant Cards repeated the most. Every other type of Card appeared only once.

Feng Ling calculated silently.

Although Centipedes seemed unrelated to the Mother Nest, they felt very similar to Mantises. When she had digested the Killer Bee and Mantis Cards before, her Corruption Value had only risen by 3%. Did that indirectly mean she could safely digest Centipedes too?

Moreover, there were many duplicate Centipede Cards. As long as one was safe, she could take them all.

Choosing the Centipede Cards offered excellent value.

After thinking for a moment, Feng Ling asked Huangfu Miaomiao, "You said before that leader Bosses have high-rank Cards, right?"

After a long moment of shock, Huangfu Miaomiao finally came back to her senses. "...Yes. Leader Bosses possess high-rank Cards, and they have completed at least three digestions."

"Can high-rank Cards digest high-rank Cards?" Feng Ling asked.

Huangfu Miaomiao nodded again, her expression grave. "In theory, yes. But the risk is huge. Unless the Cards are especially compatible, the Corruption caused by digestion will be extremely severe!"

Feng Ling pondered for a while after hearing that, her gaze falling on the seventeen silver-glimmering Cards.

If she prioritized high-rank Cards, she would probably choose that one—the Card whose illustration showed two creatures resembling Lizards standing back-to-back in a symmetrical pattern.

Compared to ants, spiders, and Centipedes, this Twin Lizards Card was the most likely to be a high-rank Card.

High-rank Cards were always more alluring than other Cards.

But...

The risks brought by high-rank Cards were also greater than those of other Cards.

After considering it over and over, Feng Ling decided to play it safe and reached out to grab a Centipede Card.

The Card was absorbed the moment she touched it—

You obtained the Card "Crimson Ghost Centipede."

Crimson Ghost Centipede: Able to move freely in complete darkness, extremely fast, possessing Fangs and Claws with astonishing biting force. However, the Card holder is prone to losing rationality and becoming insect-like.

Feng Ling waited patiently for a while.

The words in her mind began to change.

"Crimson Ghost Centipede" has been digested.

Card Deck growth obtained. Corruption Value: 8%.

New limbs have grown within your body. They can rapidly transform into indestructible Fangs and Claws. Your night vision has also improved. Please name your new skill.

Feng Ling's lips curved upward.

She had guessed correctly!

Her Corruption Value had only risen by 1%!

The Centipede Card was indeed similar to the Mantis Card. Not only did it cause very little Corruption, but the new skill gained after digestion was also similar!

She touched her abdomen—was it just an illusion? After digesting this Card, that intense hunger seemed to have eased somewhat.

This greatly relieved Feng Ling's anxiety and put her in a much better mood.

She smiled. "Since there's already Mother's Longing and Mother's Scourge, this one will be called... hmm, Mother's Embrace."

New skill successfully named.