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00:00Anyone who has been devoured alive by a giant centipede the size of a school bus,
00:04knows that these creatures swallow their prey whole, they never tear it apart.
00:07Yet here I am, swallowing a 3 foot centipede alive.
00:10It is loaded with lethal venom, and the burning pain tearing through my throat is unbearable.
00:15But I have to, because when the purple mist spreads across the earth and most of humanity mutates into monsters,
00:20the centipede I am swallowing right now will become the Venom Centipede, a triple S rank calamity origin.
00:26The only way to evolve alongside it is to consume it first.
00:29I have been reborn two hours before the apocalypse begins.
00:32I sprint to the West Campus warehouse where the centipede is kept, only to find a rusted iron gate blocking
00:37my way.
00:38I check the time.
00:39Less than two hours left.
00:40I slam both fists against the gate.
00:42Open up, now.
00:43The guard inside hears the noise.
00:44He glances at me and waves me off with a scowl.
00:46West sectors closed.
00:47Construction.
00:48No students allowed.
00:49Go back.
00:49I don't waste a word.
00:50My eyes sweep left and right and lock onto the emergency box mounted beside the guard post.
00:55Without hesitation I drive my fist through the glass.
00:57Shards slice across my knuckles.
00:58Blood runs down my hand.
01:00I ignore it.
01:00I reach in and pull out the red fire axe.
01:02The guard yelps and topples backward off his chair.
01:04He scrambles away on all fours.
01:06What?
01:06What are you doing?
01:07Someone help!
01:08He's got an axe!
01:08I swing the axe straight into the padlock.
01:10Sparks fly.
01:11One strike.
01:12Two.
01:12The heavy thud echoes across the empty campus.
01:14On the fifth blow the old rusted lock snaps in two and clangs to the ground.
01:18I kick the gate open and stride through, axe in hand blood still dripping.
01:21I push into the overgrown west campus.
01:23Behind me the terrified guard fumbles for his radio with shaking hands.
01:26Hello?
01:27Security office?
01:28We've got a situation.
01:29There's a maniac with an axe.
01:30He just broke into C-Sector.
01:31Call the police now!
01:32I kick open the unlocked door of the abandoned warehouse.
01:35My eyes go straight to the far end of the room.
01:37A dust-coated glass terrarium sitting on a battered lab bench.
01:40I walk toward it fast.
01:41My hands are trembling as I lean over the glass and shove the rotting wood aside.
01:44The moment it moves, a massive centipede, jet black and glossy as long as a grown man's
01:49forearm, coils up fast.
01:50Hundreds of amber legs churn wildly through the air.
01:53Its razor-sharp fangs snap open and shut in warning.
01:56This is the venom centipede, the future calamity-class creature, the monster that will one day
02:00wipe out an entire military regiment.
02:02I stare at it, and my eyes burn with the hunger of a man who has found the greatest treasure
02:05in the world.
02:06There you are.
02:07I reach out to grab it but my hand freezes mid-air.
02:09Those fangs carry enough venom to kill.
02:11In my pathetic human body right now, one bite and I drop dead on the spot.
02:15I pull myself together fast.
02:16I need to pull those fangs first.
02:18I scan the room and spot a pair of rusty forceps and an empty specimen jar.
02:21I use the forceps to pinch a dead cockroach and dangle it in front of the centipede.
02:25The centipede launches itself like a spring and clamps down on the cockroach.
02:28In that exact instant, my other hand shoots in and pinches the centipede three inches
02:32behind its headplate.
02:33It thrashes violently.
02:34Its long body coils around my arm in an instant, and hundreds of sharp legs dig into my flesh,
02:39raking dozens of bloody lines across my skin.
02:41I don't even flinch.
02:42I actually laugh.
02:43You think this hurts?
02:44Try being eaten alive.
02:45I pin its head down hard against the lab bench.
02:47My other hand snatches up the rusty forceps.
02:49I jam them against its twitching red fangs and squeeze hard.
02:52The left fang snaps off clean.
02:54Black venom sprays out, hitting the bench and hissing into white smoke.
02:57Same move.
02:58One more hard squeeze.
02:59The right fang breaks off too.
03:00I let out a long breath.
03:01I drop the limp centipede into the wide-mouthed specimen jar and twist the lid shut.
03:05I check my watch.
03:0612.30.
03:07One hour and 30 minutes until the midnight convergence.
03:09Step 1.
03:10Done.
03:10I lean against the bench and look at the centipede still slamming itself against the glass.
03:14Now I need to prep.
03:15The venom sac is still intact.
03:16If I swallow it and the sac ruptures before my awakening triggers,
03:19I die of poisoning before any of this even works.
03:22That would be a joke.
03:23I grit through the pain in my arm and start ransacking the lab searching for something
03:26to neutralize the venom.
03:27Then police sirens scream outside.
03:29I freeze.
03:30I move to the dust-caked window and peer out.
03:32Two squad cars are already parked at the west gate.
03:34Officers with drawn weapons advance toward the warehouse.
03:36I feel nothing.
03:37No panic.
03:38In a little over an hour the law will mean nothing.
03:40Just scraps of paper in a dead world.
03:41I turn, pick up the blood-stained fire axe, walk to the warehouse door and lock it from
03:45the inside.
03:45Then I drag the heavy lab bench and wedge it hard against the door.
03:48Listen up whoever's inside.
03:49This is Captain Zane, precinct commander for Riverside University.
03:52You are currently suspected of destruction of public property, illegal trespassing and
03:56possession of a controlled weapon.
03:58Drop your weapon and come out now.
03:59I don't even hear him.
04:00I'm half kneeling in front of the grimy lab bench, holding a brown reagent bottle labeled
04:04high-concentration ethyl acetate.
04:06I stare at the black centipede hammering itself against the glass, and the corner of my mouth
04:10curves into a cold smile.
04:11Easy there, little runt.
04:13I'm putting you under.
04:14In my memories from my past life, the venom centipede, after evolving into a calamity-class
04:18creature, developed extreme resistance to toxins.
04:21But right now it is still a little runt.
04:23My expression stays flat.
04:24I soak a rag in water, press it over my nose and mouth, then carefully pry the jar lid open
04:28just to crack with the forceps.
04:29I pour the ethyl acetate slowly down the inside wall of the jar.
04:33The black centipede, still thrashing a second ago, convulses the moment the liquid touches
04:37it.
04:37Its black shell begins seeping a faint purple fluid.
04:40That purple fluid is exactly what I need.
04:42The primal venom bead.
04:43In my past life, countless awakened humans spent their entire lives chasing after this.
04:48The blood of the divine.
04:49A flicker of hunger burns through my eyes, but my hands move fast.
04:53I seal the jar shut and shake it hard, then the battering outside goes silent.
04:56Low voices replace it, and the cold click of weapons being readied.
04:59Captain, door sealed tight, probably braced from inside.
05:02According to the guard, the suspect is highly unstable, armed with an axe.
05:05If we don't breach by force, there's a risk of self-harm or arson.
05:08Prep breaching tools.
05:09Get the tactical unit in.
05:11Snipers find your positions.
05:12I listen to them set up outside and check my watch.
05:141.15.
05:1545 minutes left.
05:16Not enough.
05:17I breathe in deep.
05:18I make an insane call.
05:19I stuff the jar with the centipede into my bag, then pick up the fire axe, still dripping,
05:23and walk straight to the warehouse door.
05:25I yank the bench away and pull the door open.
05:27Several gun barrels snap onto my forehead and chest.
05:30Don't move!
05:30Hands up!
05:30Drop the weapon!
05:31Easy!
05:31I toss the axe on the ground, then reach into my bag and pull out the specimen jar.
05:35This is anthrax from the biolab.
05:37The second I smash this, every person on this campus, including all of you, will be dead
05:41within 30 minutes.
05:42Go ahead, try me.
05:42Every officer takes a step back.
05:44The color drains from their faces.
05:46My demands are simple.
05:47I slide the jar back into my bag, pick the axe off the ground, and right in front of their
05:51terrified faces, I turn and walk back into the warehouse.
05:54Close the door behind me.
05:55For the next 40 minutes, anyone who sets foot in this warehouse, even one foot, I stop in
05:59the shadows and look back.
06:01My teeth catch the dim light, and the smile that spreads across my face makes their skin
06:05crawl.
06:05I'll take this entire city down with me.
06:07The door slams shut.
06:08I sink back against it, sliding to the floor like the last air has left my body.
06:121.50
06:13Outside, the sky begins to change.
06:15The blinding afternoon sun has turned hazy, stained with faint purple.
06:19The overture has begun.
06:20I get to my feet, walk to the lab bench, and pull the jar from my bag.
06:23I set it on the bench.
06:24Inside, the black centipede seems to sense something calling to it.
06:27Its hundreds of legs begin twitching on their own, and the shell along its back is cracking
06:31open, visibly, rapidly, exposing raw red flesh beneath.
06:35This is the sign of evolution beginning.
06:36The purple mist is a genetic override code from a higher dimension.
06:39It carries a massive concentration of active viral agents that force-activate ancient gene
06:43fragments dormant inside every living thing on Earth.
06:46The weak collapse and become zombies.
06:48The strong are rewritten and awaken.
06:50I'm out of time.
06:51The antennae on the centipede's head are sprouting tiny barbed spines.
06:53If I wait any longer, this thing will wake up fully.
06:56I breathe in deep and grab a scalpel from the shelf.
06:59No hesitation.
07:00I drag it hard across my left palm.
07:02Blood wells up.
07:03I press my bleeding hand over the mouth of the jar.
07:05Purple mist seeps through the opening and into the wound.
07:07A searing pain tears through me, like a thousand needles crawling up through my veins.
07:11Outside, the blazing sky turns black in an instant.
07:13A thick, ink-dark purple.
07:15The purple mist roars down from the clouds like a living tidal wave, swallowing the entire
07:19university in seconds.
07:20Swallowing the whole city.
07:21Everywhere the mist touches skin, people mutate instantly.
07:24Ah!
07:25Help me!
07:25And I!
07:26I have just pushed the last inch of the centipede's tail past my lips and swallowed.
07:30My whole body crashes to the floor, curled up like a shrimp.
07:33My skin blackens fast, then shreds away, revealing pale flesh underneath.
07:37Hard and segmented like an insect's shell.
07:39I can feel it clearly.
07:40The centipede I swallowed is not fully dead.
07:42Its fragmented consciousness slams against my mind, trying to seize control of this body.
07:46Chaos.
07:47Savagery.
07:48Hunger.
07:48The impulses hit me in waves.
07:50I roar from the depths of my mind and forge that tide of rage into a mental blade, driving
07:54it hard into the centipede's chaotic consciousness.
07:56The writhing presence shatters instantly, dissolving into thousands of tiny sparks of
08:00light that pour into every inch of my body.
08:02Then a surge of massive energy explodes from my gut and floods through every vein in my
08:06body.
08:07My eyes snap open.
08:08I look at my hand.
08:09One thought, and five jet-black bone spikes punch out from my fingertips, sharp as drawn blades.
08:13A glowing panel materializes in front of me, talent awakened, calamity symbiote, triple
08:18S rank, current stage, tier one venom devourer, abilities, poison immunity, limb regeneration,
08:23exoskeleton hardening, venom mastery.
08:25I close my fist, and a slow deep laugh rumbles out of me.
08:28It worked.
08:29Ha!
08:30Then the warehouse door blasts off its hinges and slams into the wall.
08:33A twisted figure fills the doorway.
08:34Captain Zane.
08:35In the first wave of the purple mist, Zane had been in a state of extreme agitation.
08:39He breathed in deeply and skipped the standard zombie stage entirely, mutating straight
08:42into a tier one mutant.
08:44Mutant Zane lets out a bestial roar.
08:46Those clouded eyes lock onto me in the center of the warehouse.
08:48I feel nothing.
08:49No fear at all.
08:50I roll my neck.
08:51It cracks.
08:52Perfect timing.
08:52I need something to test this freshly evolved body on.
08:55Mutant Zane roars again and charges like a runaway tank.
08:57He swings his mutated arm straight at my skull.
08:59I shift barely an inch to the side.
09:01The movement is so fast it leaves a blur in the air.
09:03Zane's fist hammers the concrete and punches a crater the size of a basin into the floor.
09:07Chunks of concrete fly.
09:09I'm already beside him.
09:10My eyes are ice.
09:11I shape my right hand into a blade and let the bone spikes extend from my fingertips.
09:15I draw them lightly across Zane's thick neck.
09:17No resistance at all.
09:18A thin red line appears across his throat.
09:20Zane's massive body goes rigid.
09:22It sways once.
09:23Then the body crashes down.
09:24One hit.
09:25One kill.
09:25I walk to Zane's body, open the chest with my bone spike, and pry out a small gray crystal,
09:30barely the size of a grain of rice.
09:31A tier one soul core.
09:32The currency of the apocalypse.
09:34The fuel of evolution.
09:35I toss it into my mouth, crunch it like a piece of candy and swallow.
09:38A wave of warmth floods my belly.
09:40The tiny bit of energy I spent in that fight refills instantly.
09:42Not enough.
09:43Way too little.
09:44I look up toward the campus outside.
09:46Already swallowed in purple haze, screams rising from every direction.
09:49A predator's smile spreads across my face.
09:52Let the feast begin.
09:53I pick up the fire axe, step over Zane's body and walk out of the warehouse.
09:56The campus I once knew has become a slaughterhouse.
09:59Students sprint and get tackled and torn apart by the people running right behind them.
10:02Three freshly turned zombies catch the scent of living flesh and stagger toward me in a
10:06loose circle.
10:07I hold the axe loosely in one hand, letting the blade scrape sparks along the ground.
10:11Three dark shapes lunge at me in a triangle formation.
10:13They are fast, but in my violet red slit pupil eyes, every movement these monsters make is
10:17broken down frame by frame.
10:19They look like they're doing slow warm-up exercises.
10:22I watch them with cold detachment.
10:23All force, no balance, no technique.
10:26The instant one zombie reaches me.
10:27I press my right index and middle fingers together.
10:29The half-inch black bone spike on my fingertip erupts to a full foot in length.
10:33My silhouette crosses through the zombie as my right hand sweeps lazily upward.
10:37The zombie splits in two.
10:38The cut's so smooth it looks like polished glass.
10:41The other two freeze, but I don't give them time to think.
10:43I shift my footing and slip between them like a ghost.
10:46Venom devour.
10:47Corrode.
10:47I open my left hand and slam my fingers over the left zombie's face.
10:51My palm erupts with a thick burst of acidic purple mist.
10:53A sizzling, teeth-on-edge hiss fills the air.
10:56The zombie doesn't even get to scream.
10:57It dissolves into a puddle on the spot.
10:59At the same time, my right leg snaps out like a whip.
11:02The bone spike from my toe punches straight through the right zombie's knee socket,
11:05pinning it to the ground.
11:06I flick my spike, sever its spine, and dig out the crystal core inside.
11:10I pop both cores into my mouth.
11:12That warm rush of energy pulls a satisfied sigh out of me.
11:15Still not enough.
11:16These low-level scraps aren't even worth a snack.
11:18Then chaotic footsteps, and humans screaming tear through the mist ahead.
11:21This way.
11:22Run this way.
11:23West Sector has fewer of them.
11:24Help.
11:24Professor John got eaten.
11:26Stop pushing me.
11:26Get off.
11:27About a dozen students come pouring out of the academic building like headless chickens.
11:30Behind them, a massive crawler is closing in.
11:33Out in front of everyone, Leo clutches a mop handle and shoves the people beside him aside.
11:36Anything to get even a step ahead.
11:38The crawler's belly splits open, revealing a wide mouth lined with jagged teeth.
11:42A long tongue shoots out like a javelin and coils around the slowest student.
11:45A heavyset guy at the back.
11:46Leo glances back.
11:48He doesn't stop.
11:48He runs faster.
11:49Out of my way.
11:50Leo spots me standing with both hands in my pockets blocking the path.
11:53He swings the mop handle at my shoulder with everything he has.
11:56I extend a single finger and stop the blow cold.
11:58Leo's eyes go wide, like he's staring at a ghost.
12:00Then I flick.
12:01The mop handle explodes into splinters.
12:03The shockwave rips back through his grip and snaps his arm at a 90 degree angle.
12:07Ah!
12:07Leo shrieks like a stuck pig and crumbles to his knees, clutching his broken arm.
12:11The students who had been running freeze at the sight and stop without thinking.
12:14I don't spare Leo a glance.
12:15My eyes cut through the crowd and land on the crawler, which is halfway through swallowing the heavyset student.
12:19The creature senses something, a presence far above its rank.
12:22It spits out the half-eaten student.
12:24The mouth on its belly lets out a low, rattling hiss.
12:27And in those savage slit eyes, a flicker of fear.
12:29Since you've had your fill, how about you hand over your crystal core and call it even?
12:33I say it casually and vanish.
12:35The crowd just sees a flash, and then I'm already on the crawler's back.
12:38One hand grabs its greasy, tangled hair.
12:40The bone spike on my right hand spins like a drill and bores straight down through the top of its
12:43skull.
12:44The massive body crashes down, sending up a cloud of purple dust, dead silence.
12:48The watching students stand there open-mouthed, staring at me on top of the creature's body.
12:52The terror on their faces shifts to blank shock, then into desperate burning hope.
12:56Oh my, you're incredible.
12:57Save us, please, take us with you.
12:59I'm the student council vice president.
13:00Get us to the admin building, and I'll make sure the school puts you in for accommodation.
13:04They surge forward all at once, grabbing at my pants leg.
13:07Leo, broken arm and all, forces himself up off the ground and squeezes out a sweat-soaked smile.
13:11That was my bad back there.
13:13I didn't know who I was dealing with.
13:14I captain the basketball team.
13:16I'm strong, I'm useful, I'll follow your lead.
13:18I lower my head.
13:19Those violet-red-slit eyes sweep across the crowd.
13:21Anyone caught in that gaze feels stripped bare, thrown naked into a freezer.
13:25Their very souls go cold.
13:27My voice stays quiet, but it cuts into every single ear like a blade.
13:30Who said you could make me your bodyguard?
13:31I reach into the creature's skull and pull out a dark green crystal core the size of a thumbnail.
13:35I wipe it on my shirt.
13:36I jump off the body and shove through the crowd and walk.
13:39Behind me, a wall of shrieking rises from the academic building.
13:41Louder, denser.
13:43The noise we made has drawn a full zombie horde.
13:45Good luck.
13:45I drop those two words and disappear into the haze.
13:48At the university's campus convenience store, dozens of zombies pound relentlessly against
13:52the glass.
13:53Inside, a crowd of survivors shakes with terror.
13:55At the center of it all, Vivian, the campus beauty, stands on top of a table, megaphone in
14:00hand.
14:01Everyone stay calm.
14:02I've already called my uncle outside campus.
14:03He's a senior military officer.
14:05The army is coming for us.
14:06All supplies must be centrally distributed.
14:08Guys hold the door.
14:09Girls sort the shelves.
14:10Anyone caught hoarding food will answer to me.
14:12She's barely finished when, boom.
14:13The fire door at the back of the store takes a hit that shakes the entire frame, as if something
14:17just swung a sledgehammer into it.
14:19The guys lunge to block it, but the door is already kicked clean off its hinges.
14:22Through the dust and smoke, I walk in.
14:24Fire axe in hand, dripping black blood.
14:26Everyone assumes a zombie just broke in.
14:28They scramble and crawl backward in a panic, but Vivian sees the face clearly.
14:32She can barely believe what she's seeing.
14:33Kai?
14:34In her memory, I was nothing.
14:35Quiet.
14:36It broke, invisible, the kind of guy who'd steal glances at her with that pathetic mix
14:40of longing and shame, but the person standing here now radiates something.
14:43Raw bloodlust and killing intent.
14:45Thick as smoke.
14:46The pressure coming off me is more terrifying than the zombies outside.
14:48I ignore every stunned face in the room and walk straight to the high-calorie section.
14:52I tear open a pack of expensive imported dark chocolate and, without bothering to chew,
14:57swallow it whole.
14:58Then I crush a can of energy drink in my fist and pour it straight into my mouth.
15:01Vivian's top lap dog, Chad, wants to impress her.
15:04He puffs himself up and steps forward.
15:05Hey, what do you think you're doing?
15:07Supplies are being distributed fairly.
15:08Do you understand the rules?
15:10I keep going and tear open a bag of jerky.
15:12Rules?
15:12I turn around, jerky hanging from my mouth and say between shoes,
15:15Whose rules?
15:16Chad squares his shoulders.
15:17Vivian's.
15:18It's a crisis.
15:18Everyone follows the chain of command.
15:20What you're doing is theft of communal property.
15:22Vivian snaps back to herself.
15:23She clocks the axe in my hand, the blood on my clothes, the posture of someone who has been
15:27in real fights.
15:28Her mind moves fast.
15:29If I can bring this maniac under my control, I can run this apocalypse.
15:32She rearranges her face into something soft and helpless and says gently,
15:36Kai, it's chaos out there.
15:37We need to stick together.
15:38You're clearly capable.
15:39Join my protection team and I'll make you second in command.
15:42Double rations guaranteed.
15:43I laugh.
15:44My shoulders shake.
15:45I walk toward Vivian.
15:46Chad tries to step in.
15:47I backhand him without looking and he goes flying, crashes into a shelf and blacks out before
15:51he can scream.
15:52I stop in front of Vivian.
15:53She has gone completely white, stumbling back onto the table, voice trembling.
15:57What are you doing?
15:57We're classmates, Kai didn't use to like me.
15:59You.
15:59I reach up and grip Vivian's jaw.
16:01The bone spikes ease out just slightly and rest against the artery in her neck.
16:05I was blind back then.
16:06But in this world now, what the strong give is a gift.
16:09What the weak demand is a death wish.
16:11And right then, the crumbling glass wall of the store takes a hit like a wrecking ball.
16:14A zombie nearly three meters tall smashes through the barricade of shelves and crashes
16:18in.
16:19Tier 1 Mutant.
16:20Bone Crusher.
16:21The crowd erupts.
16:22Everyone screams and floods toward the back exit.
16:24A brutal stampede.
16:25The Bone Crusher swings its massive fist and drives it straight down onto the slowest girl
16:29in the crowd, slamming her flat.
16:30Vivian shrieks and claws at my sleeve.
16:32Save me, Kai.
16:33Save me.
16:33I'll do anything you say.
16:34I look down at her trembling in front of me.
16:36A cold amusement flickers in my eyes.
16:38You want to live?
16:39Then make yourself useful one last time.
16:41I grab the back of Vivian's collar and hurl her straight at the roaring Bone Crusher.
16:44The creature's instincts kick in.
16:46It swings its bone hammer at the incoming object and drives Vivian into the wall.
16:50In the two seconds she buys me.
16:51I move like a current of electricity.
16:53I'm at the Bone Crusher's side in an instant.
16:56I leap high, land both feet on its shoulders, and drive both sets of bone spikes into its
17:00clouded eyes.
17:01The Bone Crusher gets out half a scream before its body crashes down.
17:04I land, pull the crystal core out like I've done it a hundred times, then sweep a large
17:08backpack off the nearest shelf and load every high-calorie item in sight into it.
17:12Done.
17:12I sling the bag over my shoulder and walk out through the wrecked front entrance, never glancing
17:17at Vivian barely breathing in the corner, or at the room full of half-dead survivors.
17:21Unhurried.
17:21Unbothered.
17:22The zombie horde pours through the opening behind me.
17:24The store becomes a real slaughterhouse in seconds.
17:27After I leave, I notice my body running hot.
17:29It's the signal.
17:30After consuming the venom centipede and multiple soul cores, my genetic sequence is rebuilding
17:33itself at the base level.
17:35I need prey.
17:35Not ordinary zombies.
17:37Elite creatures that have undergone unique mutations in the purple mist, carrying rare gene
17:41fragments.
17:41My target is the botanical garden in the southeast corner of campus.
17:44In my past life, three hours after the purple mist fell, the old groundskeeper inside the
17:48garden underwent an extremely rare wood fusion symbiotic mutation.
17:52It turned the entire garden into a massive living trap.
17:54A fully armed tactical unit walked in and never fired a single shot.
17:57Every one of them ended up hanging from the trees as fertilizer.
18:00I stand at the garden entrance and breathe in deep.
18:02The pheromone concentration is high.
18:04My violet-red slit pupils contract slightly, and my vision shifts into thermal bio-wave detection
18:08mode.
18:09In this view, the garden is not a forest at all.
18:11It is one enormous living stomach.
18:12The root network below pulses like veins, and dozens of red heat signatures, mutated
18:17monkeys, move fast through the canopy.
18:19Come out, old man.
18:20I step inside.
18:21Without warning, the bushes around me begin moving without wind.
18:23Thick vines, as wide as a wrist, slide silently out of the soil behind me.
18:27Their tips split open, revealing rings of inward-curving teeth like a lamprey, and they
18:31lunge from my limbs all at once.
18:33Too slow.
18:34I don't even turn my head.
18:35My spine shifts beneath my skin, shredding my shirt from inside.
18:38Four jet-black bone lances erupt from my back.
18:40They move like they have eyes, thrusting backward and pinning all four vines to the ground with
18:44perfect precision.
18:45Green acidic blood sprays from the severed ends as they writhe.
18:48You already said hello, so stop hiding.
18:50My bone lances brace against the ground like spider legs and slowly lift me into the air.
18:54I hover there and stare coldly at the massive ancient fig tree at the center of the garden.
18:58A human face carved into the trunk wrenches its mouth wide open, releasing a low boom like
19:03rolling thunder.
19:04Then, the whole garden erupts.
19:05The ground tears open, and hundreds of thick roots burst upward, crashing toward me like
19:09a tidal wave.
19:10Aerial roots weave together into a net above me.
19:12A vicious smile spreads across my face.
19:14I don't dodge the wave of roots bearing down on me.
19:17I charge straight into it.
19:18Venom oath.
19:19Toxic domain.
19:20Centered on me.
19:21A deep purple mist detonates outward like a poison bomb.
19:24Every root that touches the mist, iron hard one second, rots into black sludge the
19:28next.
19:28My silhouette cuts through the haze like a bolt of purple lightning.
19:31The four bone lances on my back go into a frenzy turning into a shredder.
19:34Every swing throwing out clouds of splinters and green sap.
19:38Strike.
19:38I reach the base of the fig tree.
19:40My right hand becomes a massive toxic bone blade, and I bring it down hard on that human
19:44face.
19:44The tree wraith shrieks and thousands of roots rush together to form a shield, but the
19:48moment the blade cuts through, venom floods through the vascular system straight into the
19:52tree wraith's core.
19:53Every root that was thrashing goes rigid.
19:55Got you.
19:56I plant one foot on the trunk and drive my bone blade deep into the center of that face,
20:00and twist hard.
20:01Out comes a fist-sized crystal core glowing with jade green light.
20:04As the great tree wilts, the face lets out one final wail, and collapses into a heap
20:08of rotting wood.
20:08Every attacking vine around it goes limp and drops to the ground.
20:11I land, catching the still pulsing jade crystal core, wood-type life energy, perfect for healing
20:16the muscle tears from forcing out my bone lances.
20:18I don't hesitate for a second.
20:19I bite into the fist-sized crystal core like an apple and swallow.
20:22Immediately a massive wave of life energy floods every inch of my body.
20:25The torn muscle on my back, ripped open forcing those bone lances out, closes up visibly,
20:30right before my eyes.
20:30I'm about to leave when a glint of metal catches my eye in the wreckage at the tree's base.
20:35I walk over and brush aside the rotting leaves, a tactical flashlight, an assault rifle, and
20:39a black tactical backpack.
20:40I open it.
20:41Three frag grenades, two blocks of explosive, and a map soaked in blood.
20:45Scrawled across it, it's a nest.
20:46Do not approach.
20:47They are hatching.
20:48I narrow my eyes, the restricted zone on the map, the library.
20:51In my past life, the library was indeed a forbidden zone.
20:54It had been consumed by a strange fungal carpet.
20:56A spark of excitement crosses my eyes.
20:58It seems my rebirth has already started a butterfly effect.
21:01I turn and walk out of the garden.
21:02I move down the second floor corridor of the academic building, and with every classroom
21:06I pass, I can hear low growling and wet chewing sounds through the doors.
21:09I ignore them.
21:10Right now I am at the critical threshold of evolution.
21:12My skin alternates between burning and freezing.
21:14Deep inside my bones, cracking sounds keep going off.
21:17I need to find somewhere to complete my tier 2 evolution.
21:20I force myself through the pain and reach the multimedia lecture hall at the end of the
21:24hall.
21:24The doors are shut, tables and chairs piled up against them from the inside.
21:27Clearly there are survivors barricaded inside.
21:29I don't knock.
21:30I kick the door.
21:31Silence for a few seconds.
21:32Then the door cracks open and a wary face appears, but before the person can even see who
21:36I am, a hand shoots out and grabs them by the collar, and they go flying.
21:39I walk in.
21:40I pull the door shut behind me and wrap a length of wire around the handle.
21:43About 20 students are huddled inside.
21:45They take one look at the dark purple killing aura rolling off me, and go completely silent.
21:49I don't acknowledge any of them.
21:50I walk straight to the front and drop my bag on the desk, then sit cross-legged on the
21:53floor.
21:53Everyone move to the back.
21:55Anyone who makes a single sound dies.
21:56The students scramble over each other to squeeze into the far corner of the room, pressing
22:00their hands over their own mouths.
22:01I close my eyes and begin channeling the energy within me.
22:03This evolution is a complete physical reconstruction.
22:06Three options surface in my mind.
22:07System alert.
22:08High purity life source energy and venom source energy detected.
22:11Initiating gene fusion.
22:12Select evolution path.
22:14Option A, agility type.
22:15Shadow assassin.
22:16Option B, power type.
22:18Titan.
22:18Option C, defense and command type.
22:21Bone tyrant.
22:21In my past life, I went with the agility assassin build.
22:24Strong survivability, but when it came to massive zombie hordes and boss level threats, I had
22:28nothing to offer in a straight up fight.
22:30This time, I need to be a tank.
22:31I need to be able to take a hit and hit back harder.
22:33Crush everything.
22:34I choose option C without hesitation.
22:36The moment the choice is locked in, the energy inside me goes completely out of control.
22:39My head snaps back.
22:40A guttural roar tears out of me.
22:42My shirt explodes off in pieces.
22:44My body begins to change in terrifying ways.
22:46Every trace of human presence fades from me entirely.
22:48What replaces it is something ancient and overwhelming.
22:51Evolution complete.
22:52Current rank.
22:53Tier 2 initial.
22:54Bone tyrant.
22:54New abilities unlocked.
22:56Bone armament.
22:5630% full body coverage.
22:58Ancient aura.
22:59Passive.
22:59300% strength amplification.
23:01I open my eyes slowly and stand.
23:03I roll my body out and the bone plates across my body click and lock into place.
23:07This feeling of power.
23:08I could get drunk on it.
23:09This is Tier 2 strength.
23:10Right then, the back door of the classroom explodes with a violent impact.
23:13Ah!
23:14Monster!
23:14There's a monster at the door!
23:16The students in the corner break down, screaming.
23:18Quiet.
23:18I shoot them a cold look, then turn to face the splintering door.
23:21It finally gives way, and a massive Tier 2 aberrant, a stitcher, forces itself through
23:26the frame.
23:26The stitcher spots me.
23:27All three of its heads let out eager, shrieking howls, and it charges, arm swinging.
23:31I stand at the front of the room and watch it close the distance.
23:33It drives its arm into my chest with full force.
23:36A ringing crack of bone against metal.
23:37Its claws scrape across my black bone armor and leave nothing but a faint white scratch.
23:42All three of the stitcher's heads go still at the same time.
23:44That's it?
23:45I look down at the scratch on my chest.
23:47Something like disappointment crosses my eyes.
23:49Then I move.
23:50No technique.
23:51No flare.
23:51Just a straight punch.
23:52My right fist cuts through the air trailing a purple blur and connects with the stitcher's
23:56center head.
23:57The head detonates.
23:58The shockwave snaps its spine clean through.
24:00The lower half of the body rockets backward and punches half the wall down with it.
24:03I lower my fist and flick the blood off my knuckles.
24:06I turn to the students, all of whom look completely hollow with shock.
24:09I'm clearing out the rest of the building.
24:10I reach into my bag and pull out a combat knife.
24:13I drop it on the floor.
24:14This spot is safe for now.
24:15The knife is yours.
24:16And I step over the stitcher's body and walk out of the classroom, leaving behind a
24:19silhouette that is equal parts terrifying and magnetic.
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