In the middle of the forest.
The three of them briefly recounted their experiences since entering. Once the information was synced, Long You spoke bluntly: "I came here to devour powerful life forms to fuel my evolution. I need my strength to reach the Super-God level as quickly as possible."
"I'm the same as you," Ren replied with a shrug. "I'm looking for some high-quality 'snacks' to break through to Super-God as well."
Long You gave Ren a curious look. "You can also evolve through devouring?"
"Of course," Ren nodded. "Actually, I have you to thank, Corpse King. If it weren't for your zombie virus genes, I wouldn't have reached the God-level so quickly."
Long You thought for a moment and realized Ren must have used his genes as a base to develop a new genetic strain. He couldn't help but remark, "Fate is truly unpredictable."
Bai Xiaofei looked between the two of them, suddenly feeling like he was lagging behind the times. Wait, what are you two talking about? Why don't I understand a single word?
Long You turned his gaze toward Bai Xiaofei and noted, "Your strength is a bit lacking."
I'm being looked down on...
Xiaofei didn't want to talk. He swore to himself that he would reach the Super-God level and give the Corpse King a piece of his mind!
In this timeline, because Ren had controlled the zombie outbreak early in Yanhuang, Xiaofei hadn't experienced the agonizing losses of the original story. He had simply become a peerless master and lived a relatively happy life. Thus, after the initial shock of learning Ren was working with Long You, he accepted it quickly.
The three moved forward and soon reached the edge of the forest. "Where to next?" Xiaofei asked.
Long You looked up at the sky. "The simplest way to the next floor is to punch straight through!"
Just as the Corpse King prepared to start "digging," Ren stopped him and pointed at the ground. "There's good stuff down there!"
"Hmm?"
Long You watched in confusion as Ren transformed into a "Super Pangolin" and started clawing through the dirt. Both the Corpse King and Xiaofei were speechless. They hadn't expected Ren to have such a move.
After the brief shock, a look of realization dawned on Long You's face. "I see. You've modified my genes. You've gained the ability to devour and evolve without being infected by my consciousness!"
Ren didn't hide it, admitting openly, "Correct. In recent times, I've integrated genes from almost every significant creature on Earth. You could say I'm practically immortal now."
"Tardigrades? I've devoured those as well," Long You noted.
Their casual conversation about biological godhood left Xiaofei reeling. "Wait! Brother! Since when did you become this monstrous?"
"I've always been this monstrous!"
CRACK!
The rock shattered, and the three dropped into a pitch-black cavern. It was so dark they couldn't see their own hands. Ren pulled a high-powered tactical flashlight from his pack. When he clicked it on, the world turned blindingly white!
"Holy crap! Why did you bring such a powerful flashlight?" Xiaofei shielded his eyes, the sudden glare stinging his retinas.
"A flashlight is a camping essential," Ren said. "Why wouldn't I bring one?"
"You call this camping?!"
Ignoring the retort, Ren looked up at the ceiling, which was covered in a dense thicket of pale arms. His skin crawled. "What are those?" Xiaofei asked, his vision returning.
"Looks disgusting," Ren muttered. He began to walk forward, pushing his Observation Haki to its limit. If any "Magic Hands" tried to grab them, he'd know instantly. Among the three types of Haki, Observation and Conqueror's were usable here, while Armament—being an energy similar to internal power—was suppressed.
They had only taken two steps when a pale hand reached down for their heads. Before they knew what it was, the Corpse King tilted his head back and swallowed the hand whole in one bite! To him, if it was organic, it was nutrition.
Xiaofei winced. "Corpse King, don't you find that gross?"
"Gross? Blood-food is a delicacy to me! Why would it be gross?"
Xiaofei shut up.
As they progressed, more hands lunged at them. Ren and Xiaofei swung their Level-1 Civilization weapons, slicing through the pale limbs with ease. They sped up, wanting to leave this place behind.
Soon, a tunnel exit appeared. The three blurred into afterimages, bursting out of the hole. Before they could steady themselves, they saw a hideous, black-skinned creature staring at them with soulless white eyes.
The Broodmother was also stunned. She was currently in the final stages of possessing the body of the Angel, Gabriel. Who were these intruders? Sensing their power—two of them had physical bodies at the peak of the God-level—she realized she might be outmatched in a direct brawl.
With her plans at stake, the Broodmother's gaze turned cold. Four of her "Nana" egg-sacs suddenly detached and thudded onto the ground!
"What the hell?! Is this how aliens say hello?" Xiaofei screamed, clutching his head.
Ren gripped his black spear, his posture tense. If he remembered correctly, the eggs contained the Nebula Twins, the Fire and Water brothers. In the original story, they had nearly killed the Corpse King's evolved form. He had to strike first.
The Broodmother gave Xiaofei a deep, lingering look before turning to flee.
The next second, the four black eggs shattered. Four bizarre creatures began to emerge. Before they could even get their bearings, Ren blurred into motion. His spear was coated in Conqueror's Coating, and a phantom dragon coiled around the shaft!
"What—?"
The Nebula Twins hadn't even finished hatching when a single spear thrust obliterated their heads!
BOOM!!
Ren's spear intent didn't dissipate; it blasted through the twins and slammed into the cavern wall, piercing the rock until it hit the resilient "Star Wall."
"This...!"
The Corpse King was genuinely shocked. He hadn't expected Ren to possess such terrifying instantaneous lethality.
Ren exhaled, watching the headless bodies slump over. The Nebula Twins' ability, "All Things Captured," was incredibly dangerous—it could even capture conceptual attacks. He couldn't afford to give them a single opening.
Looking at the corpses, a grin spread across Ren's face. "Now these are high-quality materials!"
Rubbing his hands together, Ren pulled out two test tubes and began harvesting their tissue.