Armor

Lu Heng strode over, his boots rustling as they stepped on the fungal powder.

The clump of things huddled at the base of the rock wall, less than half a meter in diameter. The dark red Mycelium was shriveled together, its surface covered with dry wrinkles, like a dried-up heart. It was still alive—a faint pulse emanated from it, so slow it was almost stagnant, with long intervals between each beat, as if it might break at any moment.

Scattered around were piles of collapsed corpses.

After losing their energy supply, the horde of zombies became true corpses. Some remained frozen in place, still in their charging posture, their fingernails filled with mud from the cracks in the rocks; others lay prostrate on the remnants of Mycelium, their limbs twisted, their faces frozen in the blankness of their final moments before death.

The entire underground cavity was empty, with only this small, dark red mass still moving.

Lu Heng stopped in front of it and looked down at it.

Killing it is easy. Just raise your hand, and the heatwave will burn this thing to ashes. It won't even struggle.

But he didn't move.

A thought surfaced in my mind—could this thing still be controlled?

He had just plundered the Blood Taisui's essence, and could feel the texture of that energy remaining within his body. It was turbid, hungry, and imbued with a strong instinct for gravitating towards it. If its consciousness had been reduced to mere instinct...

Lu Heng's eyes flickered slightly.

Give it a try.

He closed his eyes and mobilized his Mental Energy.

The mental sea, enhanced by the Greedy Wolf Star Power, was more than twice as thick as before the battle. A pale blue halo rippled out from the depths of his consciousness, pressing forward, and invisible mental ripples enveloped the remaining Mycelium, slowly tightening with an irresistible rank.

The anticipated resistance did not materialize.

There was no impact, no struggle, not even the slightest fluctuation of resistance.

The dark red clump of Mycelium trembled violently—not in resistance, but in terror. Lu Heng clearly sensed that the faint mental fluctuation was surging with fear. Pure fear, etched into the very bones after being crushed countless times.

It recognized this power.

The power within the raiders.

Fear tumbled around the edge of the pale blue halo for a few seconds, then Lu Heng sensed it had changed. A hesitant, tentative recognition arose within the fear—it was recognizing that energy, recognizing the energy that had once torn it apart and pulled it back from the brink of collapse.

The ultimate goal of recognition is conformity.

A faint, almost pitiful, spiritual fluctuation timidly emerged from the depths of the Mycelium. Like a young animal turning over and emerging from its soft belly, it actively met his spiritual ripples, cautiously rubbing against the edge of the pale blue halo.

Recognize God.

Lu Heng opened his eyes, a hint of surprise flashing in them.

The Wristband on my wrist lit up automatically, and a pale blue screen popped up. A scanning beam swept over the Mycelium of mycelium, and a few lines of text quickly appeared:

[Biotype: Blood Taisui | Rank: Black Iron Tier]

[Description: A fungal parasitic Aberrant, originally Silver Tier individual undergoing advancement, but significantly degraded to the Black Iron Tier due to massive loss of its essence; it survives by devouring life energy and spiritual essence, possessing the ability to reshape its Mycelium and parasitize, but its consciousness is incomplete, and it instinctively gravitates towards higher-level energy.]

Black Iron Tier.

Lu Heng stared at the line of text on the panel, his gaze lingering for a moment: Silver Tier advancement in progress—if he were to use this up to his full potential, the trouble would be ten times greater than it is now.

Now it's nothing. Just a clump of Mycelium has accepted its master.

A faint mental fluctuation was detected once more.

This time it wasn't about recognizing a master, it was a plea. Lu Heng discerned it and understood that the fragmented consciousness was repeating the same message over and over again—

Hungry.

It's about to dissipate. Its source is exhausted, its consciousness is fragmented, and it's only its last shred of willpower that keeps it from collapsing. It needs energy, it needs nourishment, it needs something to be poured into its parched veins to pull it back from the brink of collapse.

Lu Heng remained silent.

He had just absorbed a large amount of the Blood Taisui's essence, and his body was full of energy. His spiritual sea was also full of the Greedy Wolf Star Power. Dividing off a small portion of it would not cause him any real damage.

But he didn't move immediately.

Feeding it means establishing a two-way channel. He feeds it energy, it tastes his flavor, and from then on, they are bound together. This is not charity, but a risky but controllable test—he wants to verify whether this remaining consciousness has truly lost its threat, and also to verify whether he can establish a one-way control channel through energy transfer.

If it dares to harbor even the slightest disloyalty the moment it receives the energy, the heat wave from his palm will burn it to ashes in a fraction of a second.

After a moment's consideration, he made his decision.

Pale blue Mental Energy seeped from his fingertips, condensed into a line, and gently touched the dark red Mycelium.

The Mycelium mass trembled violently.

The moment that Mental Energy, imbued with the Greedy Wolf Star Power, poured in, its pulsation frequency suddenly increased. Lu Heng could even feel the emotion it was conveying—not satisfaction, but ecstasy.

That energy, imbued with Star Force, was something it had never tasted in all its years of existence.

Superior nutrients.

As Lu Heng watched the Mycelium clumps visibly change color from dark red back to deep red, and the wrinkled surface regained its plumpness, he knew clearly what he had buried.

This thing has tasted the Greedy Wolf Star Power.

It will no longer be able to satisfy its needs with ordinary energy.

The Mycelium clump moved.

Deep red Mycelium emerged from the Mycelium clump, moving upstream close to the ground at a slow pace, with a clear direction—heading straight for Lu Heng.

He didn't dodge.

The Mycelium climbed up his boots, spreading upwards along his calves. Lu Heng looked down, feeling the cool touch against his skin. The Mycelium didn't erode flesh; it even deliberately avoided intact skin, only wandering on his surface, as if searching for something.

Found it.

His Combat Suit, after several battles, was torn and damaged in many places. His shoulders, ribs, and cuffs were all ripped open by bone blades and Mycelium, and the fibers were curled up, almost falling apart.

The Mycelium adhered to those cracks.

The first sensation was coolness, raising a fine layer of goosebumps where it touched the skin. This was followed by an itching sensation, like countless tiny needles gently pricking the edges of the pores. Deep red threads seeped into the fabric's seams, intertwining, wrapping, and reforming along the torn edges.

Lu Heng watched as the dark red Mycelium, like living needles and thread, stitched up every tear in his Combat Suit, bit by bit.

No, it's not just about mending.

As the Mycelium filled the cracks, it spread outwards, covering the intact fabric and the exposed skin, layer upon layer, pressing it down. The moment the armor tightened and fastened, his chest was briefly constricted, his breath hitched, and then the restraint automatically relaxed, adjusting to a comfortable fit.

Dark red Mycelium armor spread from his torso to his limbs.

The moment it took shape, a lingering feeling of something foreign adhered to his entire body—like an extra layer of living thing on his skin, rising and falling with his pulse, slightly cool, supple, and heavy.

The Wristband vibrated again.

A pop-up screen appears, unlocking a new entry:

[Equipment: Blood Armor | Tier: Black Iron Tier]

[Description: A living battle armor formed from the parasitic transformation of a degenerated Blood Taisui. As long as the Blood Taisui itself does not perish, the armor can continuously and autonomously repair its damage; the armor's strength evolves in tandem with the Blood Taisui's energy absorption and level increases.]

Lu Heng raised his arm and rotated his wrist.

The dark red Mycelium armor undulated slightly with his movements, its surface shimmering with a matte finish, like congealed blood. The Mycelium was thinnest at the joints, not hindering movement; the Mycelium on his chest and back was thickest, and when pressed, it had a resilient rebound.

He tried to amplify the heat wave.

The high temperature surged along the meridians to the surface of the body. The Blood Armor was not burned. Instead, as if responding to his will, a very faint dark red light pattern rose on the surface, evenly guiding the heat wave to the whole body.

Immortal and indestructible, constantly repairing itself, evolving along with its master.

Lu Heng lowered his arm and gently tapped the nail of his chest with his fingertips.

Deep within the Mycelium, that faint, dependent consciousness trembled, like a pet being patted by its owner.

He stood still, feeling the cool touch of the Blood Armor armor against his skin, his eyes calm.

This thing feeds on energy, especially Mental Energy imbued with the Greedy Wolf Star Power.

He subdued the Aberrant that had nearly killed him and obtained a living suit of armor. But a new burden was also placed upon him—it needed to eat, and after feeding it once, he could never go back to the way things were.

Deep within his eyes, a hint of Greedy Wolf rage stirred within him.

It was like smelling the scent of one of their own.

Lu Heng lowered his eyes, his senses sinking down along the Blood Armor to the faint consciousness huddled deep within it. It was greedily sucking up the lingering essence of its own origin within the armor, trembling slightly with satisfaction.

Within his body, the Greedy Wolf Star Power simultaneously stirred a barely perceptible, instinctive covetousness towards that remaining trace of origin.

Both sides are eyeing each other.

Lu Heng withdrew his senses, his face expressionless.

He turned and walked towards the cavity exit. The dark red Blood Armor gleamed faintly in the darkness, beating like a second heart with each step he took.