Chapter 14 – Queen Ant

Shortly after Su Lifeng entered the Metal Building, another group of people arrived outside.

Han Fei and the others hadn’t caught up with Cheng Xiaomei, but Zhang Hai had managed to find his way here by following the tracks on the ground.

Zhang Hai didn’t care much about Cheng Xiaomei, who had disappeared to who-knows-where. His eyes were immediately captivated by the scene before him.

“What is this place?” A male student stepped forward two paces in shock, only to suddenly let out a blood-curdling scream.

He hadn’t expected this Gelatinous Substance to possess mobility, let alone move so rapidly.

The moment his feet were enveloped, he felt as if countless fine needles were drilling into his pores. The male student clawed frantically at the ground, shrieking, “Save me! Help me!”

The others watched him with faces drained of color. From their vantage point, they could clearly see that the parts of the student covered by the Gelatinous Substance were already beginning to fuse, becoming a part of the mass itself. At this stage, there was no point in saving him.

At the thought that this Gelatinous Substance might be composed of the previously missing injured people, or perhaps even dissolved marine life like the octopus, a wave of horror washed over them.

Only Zhang Hai showed a flicker of excitement in his eyes as he witnessed this scene. “Various organisms being absorbed and fused together… with such characteristics, they truly can no longer be considered ordinary biological entities. No wonder Su Lifeng calls them Xenospecies. Once I get back, these discoveries alone will make me a world-renowned biologist.”

Han Fei hadn’t expected Zhang Hai to be obsessing over such things at a time like this, and he couldn’t help but frown. However, before he could speak, his heart skipped a beat at the look Zhang Hai suddenly shot him. An ominous feeling instantly took hold. “Zhang Hai, what’s wrong with you?”

“Did you know? Most social organisms, especially those with collective behaviors, share a common trait: a clear division of labor,” Zhang Hai said with a bizarre expression.

The group didn’t understand why he was suddenly telling them this, but his strange tone made them all feel uneasy. The way Zhang Hai looked at them was like a scientist observing lab rats in an experimental chamber.

“Su Lifeng definitely knows this better than I do… What’s out here isn’t the core of the Xenospecies. The truly useful part is inside. He must have found a way in. You all know how weird he is. Others might not be able to enter, but he certainly can…”

By this point, Han Fei had guessed Zhang Hai’s plan. His face went pale as he said in disbelief, “You… you want to go in…”

“That’s impossible,” another male student added foolishly.

Zhang Hai’s smile grew even more distorted. He looked toward the Gelatinous Substance, where the first male student had stopped screaming because only his head remained, slowly sinking into the mass. “Look, it takes about ten seconds for one person to dissolve. All of you combined will be enough for me to get across. Don’t worry, you’re contributing to a great scientific discovery. I’ll remember you.”

Before Zhang Hai could finish, Han Fei swung a punch at him. Although Han Fei didn’t dare fight the Xenospecies out of fear of the unknown, he knew Zhang Hai’s background well. Even if the man looked like a lunatic now, in terms of physique, Han Fei was much stronger than a bookworm like Zhang Hai.

However, just as his fist was about to strike, Han Fei’s movements suddenly halted. He slowly lowered his head, watching in disbelief as Zhang Hai pulled his mouth away from his throat.

That mouth, which should have been human, had turned into a Sucker… Han Fei remembered that Sucker vividly; wasn’t it from the Xenospecies Octopus?

Furthermore, Zhang Hai’s startling speed was very similar to those Xenospecies that had taken over human bodies!

“Various organisms being absorbed and fused…” Han Fei suddenly understood the meaning behind Zhang Hai’s words. This was a characteristic of the Xenospecies. Although he didn’t know how Zhang Hai had managed to integrate this trait into himself, it definitely had something to do with that mangled Xenospecies corpse he had been bashing earlier.

He suddenly noticed that Zhang Hai’s teeth seemed to be stained with a viscous red fluid. A wave of nausea hit him as a thought occurred: when they found Zhang Hai, had he actually been devouring that Xenospecies? And… that red fluid probably contained his own blood as well.

Han Fei didn’t have the chance to vomit. Zhang Hai licked his lips and threw him into the Gelatinous Substance.

Only then did the remaining students react. Their leader, the one who was supposed to guide them all, had turned into a monster!

But before they could run, Zhang Hai lunged at them.

As one boy collapsed to the ground, his eyes remained wide with lingering regret: If only I had believed Su Lifeng…

Many students had shared this thought, but compared to the others, those who had actually been given the chance to survive by following Su Lifeng were the most foolish of all.

Zhang Hai’s lips twitched, and that terrifying Sucker slowly vanished, his appearance returning to normal.

However, only Zhang Hai knew that this part of his body was no longer human. If the areas where those Suckers were located were sliced open, they would reveal the same Gelatinous Substance as the Xenospecies.

Yet, he found this biological structure absolutely exquisite. Zhang Hai hadn’t expected that his simple desire to study the Xenospecies would lead to such an accidental windfall. This feeling of being superior to ordinary humans on a biological level gave him a surge of confidence.

Of course, he also knew that his current transformation was likely only in its earliest stages. Furthermore, after the Xenospecies absorbed various organisms, they seemed to eventually fuse all those traits together, whereas he had only gained the characteristics of an octopus.

The Xenospecies evolved through continuous absorption, but he had no idea how to evolve himself.

From the look of things, killing people wouldn’t bring about any changes in him.

“I hope Su Lifeng knows something.” The only thing Zhang Hai felt regretful about now was that Su Lifeng knew more than he did. For instance, Su Lifeng had already entered the facility ahead of him…

Cheng Xiaomei was not a stupid girl. After shaking off Feng Shen and running for a while, she once again felt something wrong with her hand.

Then, she saw the blood on it.

That blood definitely wasn’t hers… Amidst her terror, Cheng Xiaomei thought back and suddenly remembered Feng Shen.

She had indeed felt her fingers brush against something, and then Feng Shen had stopped chasing her. Later, from a distance, she had even heard his blood-curdling screams.

Cheng Xiaomei looked at her hand; she felt as though her knuckles had become soft.

In a fit of dread, Cheng Xiaomei slowly reached out, gripped one of her fingers, and bent it back toward the back of her hand.

Under normal circumstances, her finger would reach its limit after being bent back about fifteen degrees. Now, however, she watched with wide eyes as her finger folded directly against the back of her hand. Not only did it not hurt, but it also felt powerful, smooth, and supple-like a sea snake…

“Ah!” Cheng Xiaomei was startled by her own transformation. Her head buzzed, and she didn’t even notice which direction she was running in…

“I’ve turned into a monster!” This terrifying thought was the only thing left in her mind.

Inside the Metal Building, Su Lifeng had already led Jiang Yushi deep into the interior.

The surrounding light gradually dimmed. Jiang Yushi pulled out her phone, only to find that it was useless after being soaked in the sea for so long.

However, she then remembered that her watch had a brief illumination function and proactively turned it on.

Even so, she didn’t dare to look at her surroundings.

Su Lifeng had already killed several Xenospecies along the way, but they hadn’t found a single one of the bodies that had been dragged inside.

This indicated that the corpses had all been moved further in.

If they weren’t being used for transformation, then what were they for?

And what about the people like Yu Yihang who had disappeared and never resurfaced? They must have been subjected to the same treatment by the Xenospecies, right?

At this thought, Jiang Yushi became frightened of the sight they were about to encounter. If Su Lifeng hadn’t been holding her hand the entire time, she probably wouldn’t have been able to keep walking.

Su Lifeng, on the other hand, didn’t have as many stray thoughts, because the more Xenospecies he killed, the more wary he became. After those Black Threads entered his body, his physical strength had clearly recovered to its peak, and he couldn’t even feel the wound on his abdomen anymore.

Once creatures with such characteristics fully matured, their threat would be unimaginable. Su Lifeng could also see that these Xenospecies were still in a “groping” phase regarding the organisms of Earth.

“Save me… save me…”

Su Lifeng stopped in his tracks. He suddenly heard a very familiar voice coming from ahead.

Jiang Yushi froze as well. Before she could react, Su Lifeng had already cautiously walked over.

It really was her!

The moment he saw the Girl, Su Lifeng knew she was beyond saving.

She was entangled in numerous Black Threads that stretched off to unknown locations.

Besides her, there were many other people nearby, all of whom were similarly entwined with these Black Threads.

Su Lifeng suddenly realized that the Black Thread itself seemed to be the true form of the Xenospecies.

But the Xenospecies he had killed were only short segments. This mass composed of so many Black Threads was clearly no ordinary Xenospecies.

In an instant, a term suddenly flashed through Su Lifeng’s mind: Queen Ant.