Chapter 92 – Evolution

“Huff… huff…”

For the next minute, the only sound left in the blood-soaked nightclub hall was Su Lifeng’s heavy breathing.

Gouzi stared at him, still looking as if he had not processed what had just happened. Only after a long while did it finally sink in: Su-Ge had won, and he was still alive.

Su Lifeng cut away the Black Thread on his body. With Qin Moyun’s death, the portions of Black Thread that had already pierced into him not only stopped drawing his blood, but began burrowing even deeper into his body, rapidly fusing with his flesh and blood.

On his neck, his arms, all over his body, veins bulged up and writhed beneath his skin like insects. Su Lifeng’s complexion shifted with the process as well, flickering back and forth between flushed red and deathly pale.

The wounds on his body began to heal, but absorbing Qin Moyun was an excruciating process.

When he had absorbed other Xenospecies before, it had only been a single strand of Black Thread entering his body.

This time, dozens, even hundreds of strands of Black Thread were working at the same time.

More Black Thread kept drilling out of Qin Moyun’s remaining skeleton and entering Su Lifeng’s body.

Once the Black Thread emerged, the skeleton could no longer maintain its original shape. It began to crumble piece by piece, and in the end, it was reduced to a pile of powder on the floor.

The reason for this difference was obvious: Qin Moyun had already surpassed F-class.

Just as Su Lifeng had said moments ago, while Qin Moyun’s outer shell had not yet evolved to a sufficient level, the true Xenospecies inside that shell was genuinely powerful.

For Su Lifeng, it was practically an overpowered super tonic.

But because of his severe injuries, none of that excess nourishment went to waste. Instead, as it repaired his body, it allowed him to begin this evolution more safely.

“Ah!”

Su Lifeng still could not suppress a pained groan. When the wounds on his body, along with the Bone Wings that had nearly been torn apart inch by inch, had all returned to normal, the absorption had only just truly begun.

Compared with what he was feeling now, the pain from before was nothing at all.

He felt as if all that Black Thread had gathered in one place and was about to tear through his body to burst out.

Crack, crack…

Amid a series of crisp snaps, Su Lifeng suddenly straightened, his arms spreading slightly, his neck arching backward. Countless blood vessels spread through his eyes as he cried out, “Ah!!”

Two bulges appeared at the locations of those two “cracks,” swelling higher and higher.

But when they finally forced their way out completely, they opened with a sudden whoosh.

Two new Bone Wings!

This newly emerged pair of Bone Wings was long and narrow. Though they were not as long as the pair Su Lifeng already had, their edges were covered in serrations, and the hooked bone spurs at their tips were even longer and sharper. Judging by their appearance, this pair of Bone Wings looked more like two flexible spears.

Whoosh!

Su Lifeng leaped up, and in the next instant, he was already at the other end of the hall.

Gouzi stared blankly at Su Lifeng, then slowly turned his head to look at the area he had passed through.

Bang!

Two booths split apart in an instant and crashed heavily to the floor.

A monster… Those were the only two words left in Gouzi’s mind.

Su Lifeng turned back and saw the scene as well, and even he froze for a moment.

He had not expected them to be this sharp…

Although the boost from his speed had played a role, this cutting power had truly exceeded his expectations.

After absorbing dozens of ordinary Soldier Types one after another, Su Lifeng’s Bone Wings had long since shown signs that they were on the verge of evolving. But now it seemed the result of that evolution was an even greater surprise than he had imagined.

“They’ve gotten tougher, too…” When that collision happened, Su Lifeng had been prepared for his Bone Wings to snap. But now, when he brought them around in front of him to check, he found only a few tiny cracks. Their healing speed, however, was much slower than when his body had repaired itself just now. It seemed that absorbing Qin Moyun had not made his recovery ability any stronger.

“What is this?” Su Lifeng noticed that the barbs at the tips of his Bone Wings seemed to be hollow. He gave them a slight flap, but for the moment, he couldn’t think of what use this evolution might have.

“I’ll find out soon enough.”

Su Lifeng said this to himself, then walked toward Gouzi.

Seeing Su Lifeng coming toward him, Gouzi was filled with a storm of emotions.

He had witnessed the moment of Su Lifeng’s evolution… When Su Lifeng grew a pair of Bone Wings again, he had given off an extremely dangerous aura…

But all those thoughts collapsed and vanished the moment Su Lifeng, covered head to toe in blood, used a knife to cut him free.

Gouzi’s nose suddenly felt clogged. His body went limp, and Su Lifeng helped him sit down on the ground. “Su-Ge…”

The moment those two words left his mouth, Gouzi suddenly broke down sobbing.

He didn’t even know what he was crying about. Maybe he was glad he was still alive. Maybe the terror of what he had just gone through was finally hitting him. Or maybe he was overwhelmed by the realization that, after living half his life, he had finally chosen the right big brother, one who would truly avenge him and save his life.

Not for profit. Not for face…

For the first time in half a lifetime, Gouzi suddenly felt like he was living as someone even he could respect.

“Su-Ge, I didn’t embarrass you…” Gouzi said between ragged breaths.

Su Lifeng looked at Gouzi in silence. He wanted to reach out and pat him on the shoulder, but in the end, he lowered his hand and held it out in front of him instead. “There will be a lot more things I’ll need your help with from now on.”

Gouzi froze for a moment. Then he laboriously raised his hand and slapped Su Lifeng’s palm.

Smack!

“Don’t be so polite with me.” As Gouzi spoke, the corners of his mouth twitched into a smile that looked even uglier than crying.

Su Lifeng smiled as well. Then his expression turned serious. “That Xenospecies who captured you. Where is he now?”

…After what happened to Gouzi, Su Lifeng also began considering the possibility of turning the people around him into Mutants.

But never mind the fact that turning into Mutants would make them priority targets for Xenospecies attacks. Just how accepting they would be of becoming Mutants was already hard to say.

Watching someone else become Mutants and undergoing changes in your own body were two completely different things.

Not to mention that after becoming Mutants, they would have to keep absorbing other living beings to maintain themselves. Otherwise, they would turn into Xenospecies.

“After I bring it up, I’ll let them choose for themselves.”

Su Lifeng let out a breath and set the thought aside for the time being.

After settling Gouzi, he went alone to the vicinity of another building not far from that nightclub.

Due to the economic turmoil, quite a few unfinished buildings had appeared in Ningnan during this period, and this building was one of them.

The exterior walls had nearly all been renovated, but construction could no longer continue.

At this moment, the inside of the building was pitch-black. Su Lifeng stood by the street and looked up at those dark, empty windows, his expression rather heavy.

The Xenospecies’ movements had actually reached the point where they wanted to seize full control of the public security system…

“Are they already losing patience?”

Something that could have been advanced step by step had suddenly begun being pushed forward with frantic speed…

And down below, five or six cars were already parked outside the building. The people inside them had already entered.