Devouring the Blood Demon

Inside the Blood Demon House, Xia Shou stood in the center of the collapsed church dome, slowly devouring the Blood Demon.

He had no idea how much time had passed, but devouring the Blood Demon felt worse than devouring that charred corpse.

How could he put it... it felt like indigestion.

Strange as that description was, it was the first and most fitting impression that came to mind.

[Devouring progress: 100%]

[Devouring complete. You have obtained the skill-[Heal Wounds with Blood]]

[Description: Blood, fragments of life... gather the fragments of life, and even bare bones can grow flesh.]

[Effect: Your blood can fill wounds, reconstructing even bodily tissue that cannot regenerate; when you are suffering blood loss, the food you digest can be converted directly into blood.]

[Cost: Using this skill will increase your Deep-Dive Level (your depth in that ■■■■ sea).]

Xia Shou studied the red text before him. A few words were too blurred to make out.

Still, he understood that the deep sea he had seen in his dream was also a kind of cost, and a universal one at that, something like MP in a game.

As he pondered this, the bloody text before him changed again, revealing another line of information.

[You have obtained the limit-breaking skill-[Blood Rampage]]

[Description: Blood only deserves attention at the instant it spills.

[Limit-Breaking Level: 1] (A limit-breaking skill's activation priority is your own Anomaly Level plus the skill's Limit-Breaking Level.)

[Effect: Manipulate blood within a certain range. If the blood has a host, your Anomaly Level must be at least one level higher than theirs.]

[Cost: None, but as your understanding of blood deepens, "He" will grant you trials.]

"A limit-breaking skill..." Xia Shou mulled over the words.

As he understood it, although his Anomaly Level was only one, using [Blood Rampage] would let him deliver the output of a level-two Transcendent with the capabilities of a level-one Transcendent!

If he leveled up in the future, the skill's priority would rise along with him.

The text vanished a moment later, leaving only a few notifications.

[Although you ate all of it, you have only digested 50%. You need a stronger stomach to digest the remainder.]

Xia Shou breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the number in his left eye, which had now risen to 1,100 meters.

After eating the Blood Demon, not only had he risen more than two hundred meters, but his sinking had slowed considerably. It was almost imperceptible to the naked eye. Clearly, the Blood Demon had provided him with a great deal of buoyancy.

"Looks like if an enemy is too powerful, I might not get all their power even after eating them. Still, with this much buoyancy, I shouldn't sink below the red line anytime soon," Xia Shou muttered to himself.

This time, Xia Shou did not devour the Tamer's corpse.

He intended to use it as a misleading clue to support a lie.

Composing himself, Xia Shou retraced his steps to the Entrance Hall.

Now that the Blood Demon was dead, he should be able to leave through the Entrance Hall.

When he arrived, he saw Su Weiyu crouched there, hugging her knees.

"Ah! You're back!" Su Weiyu sprang up from the floor and ran excitedly over to him. "What about the Blood Demon? Did you take care of it?"

"Yes, more or less. We should be able to leave now." Xia Shou took hold of the Entrance Hall's door handle and opened the door.

Outside lay the familiar stretch of open woodland and the yellow perimeter tape, but there were far fewer staff members than before he entered. Only the site supervisor who had greeted him on arrival and the masked man remained.

The moment Xia Shou stepped out of the house, gray shadows flashed past him from all four directions.

Before he could react, three swords were already pressed to his neck, while a fourth pointed at his heart in the left side of his chest!

But someone moved even faster than his ambushers!

Just as the female executioner's blade was about to touch Xia Shou's neck, Su Weiyu drew her katana beside him and, with lightning speed, severed the arms of every executioner, including the woman.

She moved so quickly that even Xia Shou had no time to react.

Just as when she had killed the Tamer, that bizarre "disregard" effect took hold as naturally as a law of nature.

The executioners showed no surprise whatsoever after Su Weiyu cut them, and everyone else nearby likewise turned a blind eye to their abnormal injuries.

Everyone present accepted the fact that the Execution Squad had lost both arms as perfectly "natural."

"Plan B!" the burliest executioner said in a low voice.

In an instant, every executioner around Xia Shou pulled back.

Then the air before him warped strangely, and a translucent scene appeared within it like a mirage.

With a single glance, Xia Shou recognized the giant lizard's room he had visited earlier that day!

The giant lizard in the illusion seemed able to see what was happening on this side as well. It lunged toward him like a tiger pouncing on prey, its translucent head growing larger and larger before Xia Shou. As its head crossed some invisible boundary, it suddenly became real.

By the time it reached Xia Shou, the Dragon Lizard's head had become fully solid!

Its gaping maw, packed with fangs, reeked of rotten meat mixed with fresh blood. A blast of hot, damp air hit his face, nauseating enough to make him faint.

The Calamity Crystal Dragon Lizard struck as fast as lightning. Its powerful tongue coiled around Xia Shou's body like a python, with enough force to crush a person's ribs effortlessly!

"Don't eat him!"

The dagger-like teeth stopped three centimeters above Xia Shou's forehead.

Xia Shou raised his head. Disgusting, clear slime kept dripping onto his forehead from the sharp, yellowed teeth.

The Dragon Lizard slowly withdrew the tongue wrapped around him. Its eyes narrowed into slits, revealing a subtle expression that only a human should have, as it cast a sidelong glance at Su Weiyu.

"Ohhh~~ you're here too. They called me over. Said they'd give me extra food if I ate this brat."

The Dragon Lizard spoke in an almost mocking tone, but there was a subtle hint beneath its words.

"678, what are you doing? Eat him already!" the Execution Squad captain roared.

The Dragon Lizard ignored him entirely and continued staring at Su Weiyu. "These people have mistaken this brat for an anomaly. Not that I care whether I'm eating a human or an anomaly. After all, you have to work to get fed, and every prisoner wants extra food~"

Su Weiyu remained calm and waved a hand at Xia Shou, signaling that he needn't

worry. Then she held up two fingers and told the giant lizard, "Double. I'll offer double!"

The giant lizard shook its head, looked at Xia Shou, who was trying to sneak away, and gave a strange laugh. "Guess how quickly I could eat you?"

Xia Shou recalled how quickly its tongue had wrapped around him and abandoned the idea of putting some distance between them. If this beast truly wanted to eat him, there was no way he could evade it.

For now, he should leave the situation entirely in Su Weiyu's hands. She and this monster seemed to be old acquaintances, and she appeared quite confident that she could persuade it.

Su Weiyu glanced at Xia Shou, took a deep breath, and asked as calmly as she could, "Then what do you want?"

"Throw in a month of reading books aloud to me. That's not too much to ask, is it?"

Su Weiyu frowned, clearly reluctant, but ultimately nodded. "Fine. Deal!"

"Heh heh. The generous shall be generously rewarded." With a harsh, grating laugh, 678 slowly withdrew its head into the wormhole. Its black scales and golden pupils became translucent once more, and it finally returned to the cell within the mirage.

Seeing the Calamity Crystal Dragon Lizard return to the other side of the wormhole without doing anything, every member of the Execution Squad froze in shock.

"It actually retreated..."

Although the Calamity Crystal Dragon Lizard was a high-risk Anomalous Entity, it was highly intelligent, could communicate, and was willing to cooperate. As a result, it had worked with the Containment Bureau many times over the past several decades.

In every previous collaboration, negotiating terms with 678 had been the most troublesome step. But once a deal was struck, 678 always fulfilled its duties diligently and delivered on its promises. Never before had it abandoned an agreement without any explanation, as it had today!

What exactly had made 678 give up on devouring the Blood Demon's host?