Taking advantage of Little Black's absence, Feng Qi left the Star City Shelter ahead of schedule.
His next destination: the Crimson Research Institute's secret base, hidden within the ruins of the city.
At last, one of his longstanding questions was answered—why the mysterious creature Suction Cup remained in that specific area.
It was because Suction Cup was created in the secret base.
According to the natural progression of events, the Crimson Research Institute had always been suppressed by the shadowy forces. Eventually, they retreated into their secret base.
The base had long been prepared as their escape route. While the Crimson Research Institute appeared to be eradicated on the surface, it continued to exist underground as a resistance faction.
Perhaps many of Feng Qi's lingering doubts could also be resolved in the Crimson secret base.
[What if, in this timeline, the Crimson Research Institute's secret base was discovered and destroyed? What if Suction Cup was never created?]
Feng Qi scowled. "Don't jinx it."
Rolling his eyes at the comment, he began his journey eastward along familiar routes.
Though the surroundings had changed, he wasn't worried. As long as he kept his direction roughly correct, he believed he could locate the Crimson secret base.
After an unknown period of travel, Feng Qi left the Bone Pile Zone behind.
Ahead lay the ruins of a city. The remnants of its skyline were bathed in the eerie glow of a blood-red moon suspended high above. The entire city was shrouded in a crimson haze, exuding an ominous and eerie atmosphere.
But what caught Feng Qi off guard was the sight of a camp in the ruins ahead.
The camp itself was strange. The rooftops of every building burned with green flames. And these structures weren't stationary—they moved, slowly shifting their positions like living organisms.
Feng Qi could make out figures wandering around the perimeter of the camp. From a distance, he couldn't clearly identify the type of creatures they were.
His curiosity piqued, Feng Qi asked aloud, "Narrator, scout the area ahead. Should I take a detour?"
[Scouted. There are about 76 humanoid domain creatures in the camp. If you think you can handle it, go ahead. I'll take an early vacation. Thanks, boss.]
Feng Qi: "..."
Feeling exasperated, he decided to take a detour around the camp, avoiding its perimeter to approach the ruins from a different angle.
Crouching low, Feng Qi advanced quietly along a side route, moving closer to the camp. His view became clearer as he approached.
The buildings within the camp appeared to be constructed of flesh and blood. Their surfaces pulsed and writhed as if alive, reminiscent of the blood-flesh caverns he had encountered in abandoned cities before.
The green flames atop each building seemed to act as a kind of energy source, continuously absorbing spiritual energy from the environment.
Suddenly, the largest building at the center of the camp flared to life. The flames atop it surged, and a ghostly green eye materialized within the fire. A beam of light shot out, sweeping across the surroundings.
When the light touched him, Feng Qi felt no discomfort, but the shock made his heart skip a beat.
[Oops, you're busted. That building seems capable of detecting nearby lifeforms. You've been spotted. Time to run.]
Without hesitation, Feng Qi turned and sprinted northward.
The camp stirred into action. A group of figures emerged, rapidly closing the distance to his location.
If Feng Qi had turned to look, he would have recognized them immediately. These creatures were the goat-headed demons he had previously encountered.
Their forms were grotesque—antelope-like heads, humanoid torsos, deer-like hindquarters, and goat hooves for feet. A scorpion tail extended from their backs, its venomous tip ignited with a green flame.
Twenty of them pursued him as a pack.
Glancing over his shoulder to assess the situation, Feng Qi activated his mental powers to further increase his speed.
If there was one skill he had honed in the dream realm, it was running away. After all, there were countless beings capable of killing him there.
Still, he was puzzled. Goat-headed demons were known for their cowardice, often fleeing from Little Black before a fight even began. Why were they so intent on chasing him now?
[Have some self-awareness. Little Black could wipe out their entire family. Can you? One common trait of intelligent creatures is that they can assess strength and weakness. In other words, they're bullies. They think you're an easy target, so they're hunting you. If it were Little Black, they'd be the ones running.]
Feng Qi: "..."
Though the narrator's words stung, they made sense.
Clearly, the goat-headed demons saw him as prey, and that was why they were relentlessly chasing him.
Without activating his Blood Source ability, Feng Qi's running speed couldn't match theirs. Realizing he was about to be caught, his determination hardened.
He had intended to save the Blood Source ability for hunting, hoping to acquire a new talent. But survival took priority.
With a sharp intake of breath, Feng Qi activated the Blood Source ability.
His heartbeat surged. Blood mist emanated from his chest, enveloping his entire body. As he ran, layers of muscle grew over his frame.
His height expanded to over two meters as his muscles stretched and strengthened.
The transformation threw off his balance, causing him to stumble and roll a dozen meters along the ground.
But once he got back on his feet, his speed had more than doubled. Each step carried him twice the distance it had before.
Feeling the surge of power coursing through him, Feng Qi was tempted to turn back and fight. But he quickly dismissed the thought. Against twenty goat-headed demons, his chances of survival were slim. Escaping was the better option.
With the Blood Source ability active, Feng Qi began to outpace the goat-headed demons, gradually widening the gap between them.
Yet, to his dismay, the goat-headed demons refused to give up. Their shrill cries echoed behind him, sounding almost like commands summoning reinforcements.
As Feng Qi continued to run, a growing unease began to gnaw at him. Something wasn't right.
Compared to the mist-shrouded western path, the northern route seemed to harbor its own set of horrors.
The ground ahead was littered with eggs of unknown origin, their surfaces pulsing faintly. Through their varying hues, Feng Qi could make out lifeforms wriggling within.
As he approached a brown-colored egg, it suddenly burst open. A twisted, grotesque creature lunged at him, its emaciated body dragging a small tail. Its brown skin glistened with mucus, and its expression was unnervingly malevolent.
Fortunately, Feng Qi had been prepared. He swung a heavy punch, smashing the creature mid-air.
"Splat!"
The twisted being exploded into a mist of blood. But the red fog didn't dissipate or get absorbed by Feng Qi. Instead, it flowed toward the nearest egg, which immediately cracked open. Emerging from it was an even larger, more menacing creature that lunged at him once more.
Having no other choice, Feng Qi struck out again.
What unfolded next made his scalp tingle. Like a chain reaction, one egg after another began to rupture, unleashing a swarm of twisted monstrosities. They came at him en masse, filling the path ahead with an overwhelming tide of grotesque attackers.
What was worse, each creature that fell seemed to trigger a fusion effect, with the nearby monsters growing progressively larger and more resilient.
[If I'm not mistaken, these eggs are all part of a single entity. Killing one doesn't help—it's useless. Stop moving forward, or you won't even know how you ended up dead.]
Hearing this, Feng Qi didn't hesitate. He turned and began fighting his way back while shouting, "Narrator, what do you mean by saying these eggs are one entity?"
[Most likely, a powerful lifeform split its body into countless fragments, using a method similar to parasitic cultivation to grow. The ultimate goal would be self-reintegration, creating a superior being that transcends its original state.]
[For example, let's say a high-tier domain creature felt it had reached a bottleneck in its growth. By dividing itself into numerous cells and letting each absorb spiritual energy, these cells could grow independently. Eventually, they would fight and devour one another. The last surviving fragment would reintegrate into a single, stronger lifeform. It's a form of self-evolution.]
The explanation left Feng Qi stunned.
"So, every piece of its body is alive? What kind of monstrous power did its original form possess?"
[I'm just theorizing. It might not literally be cells—it could be other forms of life fragments. The specifics, I can't say.]
"I see," Feng Qi muttered as he realized the northern path was impassable. His retreat became his only option.
Yet the situation was dire. The twisted creatures around him were merging at an alarming rate, growing stronger with each step he took. When a towering abomination over three meters tall appeared before him, he found himself unable to defeat it with just two punches.
Out of options, Feng Qi decided to use his dwindling reserves of mental energy to leap over the monstrosity. But just as he prepared to channel his power, the pursuing goat-headed demons reappeared.
Several orbs of ghostly green fire hurled from the demons struck the towering abomination, disintegrating it into a blood mist that was immediately absorbed by other nearby creatures.
"Are they helping me?" Feng Qi asked, bewildered by the scene.
[Don't flatter yourself. This is like hunters seeing a wolf pack about to steal their kill. Of course, they'd drive the wolves away to secure their own prey.]
Feng Qi: "..."
Caught between a horde of twisted monsters and the goat-headed demons, Feng Qi felt his chances of survival dwindling.
If Suction Cup had been here, things might have been different. But without her, his current abilities were woefully insufficient for an escape.
To his surprise, the goat-headed demons surrounded him and began pushing him away from the battlefield.
Seeing this, Feng Qi decided not to resist. Any attempt to fight them now would be futile. It was wiser to cooperate for the moment and figure out an escape plan later.
As he retreated, the endless tide of twisted creatures suddenly stopped pursuing. The monstrous entities crouched low, their surfaces hardening with a layer of calcified material, as though they were reverting to their egg-like state.
"What's going on now?" Feng Qi asked, perplexed.
[The main body probably imprinted territorial instincts on these fragments during the division process. They're programmed to remain within a specific area, ensuring their energy doesn't dissipate or get wasted outside the designated zone.]
"Put simply, they can kill and grow within their domain without losing energy. But if any fragment ventures too far, the energy it absorbs becomes irretrievable, making it a loss for the main body."
Understanding the logic, Feng Qi clenched his fists and turned his gaze toward the goat-headed demons escorting him.
It was time to fight back, no matter the odds.
But before he could make his move, the goat-headed demons did something entirely unexpected. They dropped to their knees, raised their hands in reverence, and began muttering incomprehensible words as though they were worshiping him.
Feng Qi: "..."
Caught mid-preparation for his Tiger Fist stance, Feng Qi froze in disbelief.
"What the hell is this, Narrator?"
[How should I know? Could it have something to do with that divine statue you destroyed and absorbed last time?]
As if on cue, the kneeling demons raised their hands higher and prostrated themselves, chanting fervently.
Feng Qi's confusion only deepened. "Narrator, translate whatever gibberish they're spouting."
[They're calling you an idiot.]
Feng Qi: "..."