Seconds later, the iron cover lifted with a series of light “clicks.”
The sight of the black fog outside immediately tensed Xu Shuhan again.
This time, it wasn’t about waiting for the enemy to come to them; they were taking action right under the Monster’s nose… Even following behind it earlier hadn’t felt as intense as this moment…
Yuwen Xuan was the first to crawl out, followed by Ling Mo. When it was her turn, a hand reached in from outside, steadying the trembling Xu Shuhan somewhat. She grabbed Ling Mo’s hand, then jumped down after him.
“I’ve already passed this area before, so what we’re about to explore is completely unknown. Be careful and follow me; at least I can still use sounds to gauge the Monster’s whereabouts. But for Sensing, we’ll need your help, Ling Mo,” Yuwen Xuan whispered to the two after descending.
At this point, he suddenly asked, “So… Host Xu, what’s your ability?”
“I… I’m quite fast. Good hearing and smell too, and vision as well.”
Xu Shuhan stuttered her reply. What abilities did she really have… She had some when she was human, but now they were just part of a physical mutation. Even the transformation abilities like those of the Giant God Warrior were just mutations… Of course, superhumans by nature were also mutants… But this was something she had only recently come to understand.
“That’s quite comprehensive!” Yuwen Xuan exclaimed, surprised. He thought for a moment and said, “Okay then, if you hear anything, let me know in advance so it’s not too late by the time I hear it. With Ling Mo’s Sensing too, we might not completely avoid it, but we should have some reaction time at least. This way, we’re minimizing the risks.”
“Bring those underwear along,” Ling Mo suggested.
“What use are they…” Xu Shuhan was puzzled.
Yuwen Xuan exclaimed in surprise, “Wait… don’t tell me you’re collecting them for Yalin…”
“I’m not collecting them, okay! Not even Senior Sister’s!” Ling Mo replied exasperatedly. “Aren’t you the one with the Elemental Ability for fire breath? Those can be used to make a simple fireball… Just enough to start a fire. We might find a use for it later…”
The two were momentarily dumbfounded… They had indeed overthought it, and hadn’t hit the nail on the head. With all the black fog around, if they could create even a small fireball, it could be used both for exploration and to distract the Monster at crucial moments. It was a handy item they had completely forgotten about…
“With my ability, I can send the fireball up into the sky,” Ling Mo added. He had planned this from the beginning; if the Monster charged at them, the best case was to restrain it with a Tentacle net, but if not, he could use the Flashlight to temporarily distract it, allowing Xu Shuhan to carry him and escape.
This method would only work here, not in narrow passages like the ones earlier…
“Good idea!” Yuwen Xuan went back to stuff those items into his pocket, then patted his rear and said, “Let’s go then, follow me.”
He was ready to move on… As soon as his words fell, he took a step forward and vanished into the black fog. Xu Shuhan hurried to follow, just about to turn and pull Ling Mo along when she found him already alongside her.
“Right… his Sensing Ability…” Xu Shuhan withdrew her hand that she had stretched out. Clearly, Ling Mo had already locked onto Yuwen Xuan’s position and didn’t need her to lead anymore. Yet, for some reason, Xu Shuhan felt a twinge of inexplicable loss… ℝÃô𝔟ĚŚ
“Ah!” She suddenly raised her hand to cover her face, but it slapped into the mask with a “smack.”
“Are you okay?” Ling Mo immediately turned to her, concerned.
“No… I’m fine…” Behind the mask, Xu Shuhan felt her face heat up… What was she thinking about at a time like this! No, this couldn’t continue, or she’d need to find a hole to crawl into…
“I’ll help him watch the road…” Xu Shuhan muttered softly, then quickly took two steps forward to keep up with Yuwen Xuan.
Ling Mo followed at a leisurely pace, periodically scanning the surroundings.
Silence enveloped them in the black fog; not a single sound could be heard. Yuwen Xuan was right; the Monster had fed and was quiet now. But recalling its terrifying approach, Xu Shuhan couldn’t help but feel frightened. The black fog, rather than offering any quietude, seemed all the more sinister…
After about a minute of fumbling forward, Xu Shuhan suddenly whispered, “There! I see something!”
She vaguely spotted a piece of clothing, and Yuwen Xuan immediately grabbed it.
He used a unique method… quickly reaching into the pile, a spark flew, and he grabbed it. Shielded by his body, no other Creature could notice this tiny spark. This demonstrated that Yuwen Xuan’s fine control abilities had reached a considerable level… It seemed he hadn’t been idle during his time at the Miracle Base.
With that brief spark, he also got a clear look at the garment… “A woman’s dress,” Yuwen Xuan motioned, “with a low neckline. That Monster sure has style…”
“It does have style…” Ling Mo looked ahead, “If my guess is correct, there should be various styles here. I think initially, the Monster didn’t know what to wear, so it experimented with different things. Those human Survivors were its reference, and perhaps even the Zombies.”
“That makes sense…” Xu Shuhan nodded thoughtfully, then focused on searching again.
After finding the dress, they continued forward and soon discovered a second garment.
As Ling Mo had said, it was a completely different piece…
Soon, the scattered or discarded clothes in the area became more numerous, some even forming piles.
Styles, genders, and even colors varied. From the Monster’s perspective, these were indeed trials.
During the search, a terrifying realization began to dawn on all three…
This Monster… could it possibly be…
“Suitable for men, women, and even transgenders…” Ling Mo finally couldn’t help but utter.
Yuwen Xuan picked up a jacket, frowning as he said, “And also varies by height and weight…”
“Omnipotent transformation…” Xu Shuhan echoed.
The more they observed, the more horrifying it seemed… This meant the Monster could completely transform into hundreds of different people. Once blended into a crowd, even if someone noticed something off, it could quickly change its appearance, completely overturning any previous impressions.
Such a capability was terrifying!
Among them, Ling Mo felt the most unnerved…
He had previously suspected the authenticity of Fang Ying… Now, it seemed, every Monster he had encountered could have been a transformation of that Progenitor.
What led Ling Mo to this conclusion was not just the transformation ability, but also the so-called Ranch… If he were a Monster, he would certainly keep a close watch on it himself!
But Monster’s thoughts are hard for humans to fathom… There were too many questions here, and the closer they got to the truth, the more puzzled he felt.
Whether Zombies or these Humanoid Monsters, their evolution seemed to be converging towards humanity… Was there a common thread here? If they could evolve towards humanity, could it mean that they might indeed become completely human?
“Cough cough… Isn’t that thinking too far ahead? Such stories of Monsters lurking among humans and eventually integrating, even marrying and having children, are stuff of myths, right? Like, I haven’t had kids with Senior Sister!”
Ling Mo suddenly felt a bit depressed. Although the other party’s ability was just transformation, the thought of how long he had been striving towards this goal made him slightly irate.
But upon further thought, even if he were offered such a self-deceptive ability, he wouldn’t want it. However, he was indeed very interested in the principle behind it… Being able to transform into a human in a short period of time must involve a key element, right?
And that element must be hidden within the Progenitor…
“Shush!” At that moment, Yuwen Xuan suddenly spoke up.