Chapter 10

The pink flesh ball struggled to recover from the burning pain, suppressing the itch within its cells. The jar suddenly shattered, causing it to be cut once again, eliciting cries of pain and angry curses.

After a brief wait, sensing no immediate danger outside, it cautiously crept out of the pocket, surveying its surroundings. The flames had charred numerous cells, causing it to shrink a bit but still maintained the size of a goose egg.

It had grown since its birth, after all.

The surroundings were pitch black, with gusts of chilling wind sweeping through, trees engulfed by thick fog emitting faint rustling sounds as if ghosts were murmuring. Large grotesque bugs floated in the mist, twisting and contorting their bodies in an eerie manner.

The pink flesh ball quickly retreated its head, afraid to look further, waiting for the bugs to fly away before venturing out.

“Einstein, I see you! Come out, stop pretending to be dead!” a harsh, thin voice shouted.

The pink flesh ball cautiously peeked out, following the voice, and saw a face covered in dark blood looming before it.

The girl had slid down the rock, lying on her side on the ground, her back arched, straining to reach her head towards the pocket of her shirt. Her hands were still entangled by the black fog, while ghostly faces wormed their way into her eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.

She convulsed, her breathing growing weaker.

“I have glass shards in my pocket. Transform into a scorpion, pick one up, and carve a stroke on my forehead! Once it’s done, I won’t kill you!” The girl coaxed the small creature, desperately attempting to communicate.

In reality, she lacked the strength to even crush an ant. She understood the absurdity of her request and that the creature wouldn’t comprehend such complex commands. But in her desperation, she was willing to try anything.

She contorted her body, offering her forehead to the creature.

“Please, carve it! You are my only hope!” The girl pleaded, lowering herself, then hesitated, chuckling self-deprecatingly.

A dark red blood trickled slowly from her lips.

In this world, there was never such a thing as “hope.” Anything that appeared beautiful was merely a trap set by despair.

The prime example stood before her in the form of the pink creature. Its soft, colorful body, clear and watery eyes, and overall cuteness belied the fact that it was a living abyss, free to roam.

Seeking help from it was undoubtedly a joke!

More remnants forced their way into the girl’s seven orifices, attempting to seize her consciousness. Her body swelled, skin on the verge of splitting, with bulges rapidly moving beneath the surface, resembling worms squirming inside her. Veins shifted from bluish-purple to dark black, emitting a faint stench of decay.

Death was imminent.

If more remnants infiltrated her body, she would burst like a water balloon, splattering putrid blood and flesh around, decaying into a black pool on the ground.

The girl panted heavily, her gaze fixed on the small creature. Tears of blood streamed down her face, adding to the misery and horror of her tattooed visage.

“Never mind, just go,” she uttered.

In that gaze, the girl’s head, strained upright, suddenly drooped and hit the ground.

“You’re lucky you’re not dying by my hand,” she closed her eyes, gritting her teeth to stifle any cries of pain.

The pink flesh ball understood nothing. But it sensed that the girl, the large bug, was nearing death.

Chirp! The flesh ball shook its head, emitting a cheerful sound, then confidently emerged from the pocket, crawling up the girl’s neck along the zipper, and onto her blood-stained face.

Instinctively absorbing the blood, the flesh ball thought it was in for a feast. However, the next moment, it swiftly shook its round head, regurgitating the blood it had just ingested.

Numb from pain, the girl was unaware of the small entity on her face. But the crisp sound of “pah” suddenly brought her back to some semblance of consciousness.

It was too human-like, startlingly out of place.

“Who?” The girl abruptly opened her eyes to find a pink flesh ball perched on her cheek, its big eyes glaring at her with burning fury and a hint of disdain.

Disdain? The girl was taken aback.

After consuming the small snake, the pink flesh ball had evolved to develop a mouth. However, its two long fangs often bit into itself, prompting it to take matters into its own ‘hands’ and remove the teeth.

Opening its mouth, the creature spat out some blood, emitting faint “pah pah pah” sounds. Surprisingly, the large bug was quite unappetizing!

Girl: …

Blood wasn’t tasty, but was the flesh any better?

The pink flesh ball, still healing from burns and in need of energy, hesitated to relinquish such a large prey. Transforming into a scorpion, it crawled to the girl’s temple, extending a pincer to clamp onto her earlobe.

Girl: “What the heck are you doing?”

The pincer tightened, twisted left and right, then yanked forcefully.

“What the heck!” The girl’s voice suddenly deepened, rough and heavy, like brass and iron.

The pincer twisted off a tiny piece of flesh, swiftly stuffing it into its mouth.

“So, you do eat flesh! If I survive this ordeal, you’re finished!” The girl cursed vehemently, her voice low and hoarse.

“Pah!” The response she received was one of contempt, not just mentally but in a very literal sense.

The pink flesh ball spat out the small morsel of flesh, its forked, elongated tongue extending outside its mouth, trembling slightly, its big eyes squinting in distaste.

That large bug was just too unappetizing!

With a somewhat regretful glance at the girl, the pink flesh ball prepared to leave. Healing from burns had depleted too much of its energy, and it was itching like crazy! It needed to find another prey quickly.

“Don’t go! Come back! Twist off a piece of flesh on my forehead! Right in the middle of my eyebrows!” The girl’s rough, urgent voice called out as she looked up at the small creature.

The pink flesh ball crawled down the zipper of the combat suit, then moved forward towards the hips. Ahead was a massive bulge, resembling a small mountain blocking its path, hard in texture and emanating heat.

For the still weak pink flesh ball, overcoming this “mountain” presented a challenge. It tentatively poked its head, stuck out its forked tongue, preparing to find an alternative route.

The girl lifted her hips, her voice hoarse, “Einstein, come back! Help a brother out, I’ll take care of you!”

She tried to muster a kind smile, but her face contorted. If previously she had spoken to the bug out of survival necessity, now it was to maintain a clear mind. As long as her will remained unbroken, she could hold on until the very end.

Continuing to lift her hips, she attempted to dislodge the small creature.

The pink flesh ball grew dizzy from the shaking, a flood of resentment and new grievances overwhelming it.

This large bug wanted to kill it, the flesh wasn’t even tasty, it was a nightmare!

It swung the poisonous needles on its tail, viciously jabbing at the bulge ahead.

For a person, there is a type of pain considered the most excruciating in the world. If pain could be graded, this one would be at the top!

“Ah!!!!”

The “girl” let out a piercing scream that shattered through the thick fog, soaring into the sky. The extreme pain unleashed her full potential, her body suddenly jolting, inadvertently breaking free from the black fog binding her hands.

Reacting swiftly, as soon as she felt her hands loosen, she stood up and fiercely slashed her fingertip across her forehead, marking a bloody line.

The final stroke of the seal was complete! The ghostly faces that surged like a tide retreated in an instant, vanishing into the dense fog.

In the nick of time, the girl was saved.

The pink scorpion that had been perched on her hips slid down the pant leg, tumbling around dizzily, reverting to its round shape.

The girl dropped to all fours, panting heavily, coughing up a bit of blood. She appeared like a half-dead dog, but her mouth broke into a series of low, joyous chuckles, thoroughly relieved.

After a few seconds of laughter, her expression suddenly shifted, and she straightened up, pulling down her pants to inspect her sensitive area. The intense pain persisted, causing swelling, but fortunately, her special abilities prevented any permanent disability.

“What the heck! You dare sting me!”

The “girl” grabbed the small creature and delivered a few resounding slaps to its round head.

The pink flesh ball’s eyes sparkled as it chirped in distress.

“Dare you insult me again!”

The “girl” swung her arm and landed a few more hefty slaps.

“What the heck, what the heck!” Just to clarify, this wasn’t the girl speaking.

In a fit of rage, the pink flesh ball mimicked the voice of the large bug, stringing together a series of sounds. Although it understood nothing, it could sense from the tone that these strange sounds had a certain intimidating effect.

The girl: …

The anger dissipated in an instant, leaving behind a mix of laughter and tears.

“What the heck!” The little creature repeated, its voice incredibly tender with a hint of childish innocence.

The girl’s raised hand gently descended, patting the small creature’s head.

“What am I even arguing with you for. You don’t understand a thing!” She sighed, placing the small creature on a nearby large rock.

Then, she swiftly removed her clothes, crouched down on all fours, arching her back. Her slender body wrapped in a thin layer of muscle revealed the protruding shape of her spine. The sharp, bony ridges were distinct, resembling a series of spikes.

The girl let out a beastly growl, her arched back almost folding in half. The most severely bent section of her spine suddenly pierced through the skin with a tearing sound.

Her growl escalated into a harrowing scream. Cold sweat mixed with dark blood trickled down her skin like raindrops.

The pink flesh ball, which had contemplated sneaking away, stood frozen in shock by this eerie spectacle. It widened its eyes, observing intently.

Everything happening in this world was the best material for the creature to learn from. It needed to pay attention to its surroundings and absorb everything happening around it.

As the spine pierced through the skin, creating a cut that rapidly expanded across her entire back, a blood-drenched body emerged from the split skin, slowly standing upright.

This new body, born from the previous slender one, was robust, tall, agile, with muscles stacked powerfully, exuding immense strength. Its pale skin bore no trace of tattoos, appearing smooth and pristine.

He emitted an immensely satisfying groan, wiping the blood from his face, revealing sharp and alluring features. His eyes were pitch black, with a deep, dark gaze akin to a predatory beast.

His aura was more dangerous than the thick fog around him. Stretching his arms, he yawned lazily, emitting a deep, hearty chuckle.

Having narrowly escaped death, it was indeed worth a laugh.

Stepping forward, he emerged from the now deflated sack of skin, stained with a pool of pus and blood, picking up his clothes from the ground and swiftly dressing.

“Soul Summons,” his voice low and throaty, a command that caused a significant amount of the black fog to reconvene. Ghostly faces emerged from the mist, silently shrieking with expressions of bitterness, eagerly diving into the skin bag.

The girl, now transformed into a man, took a few steps back, arms folded across his chest, watching the scene unfold with a curious fascination.

The empty skin bag slowly inflated as each ghostly face filled it up, resembling an inflating balloon, gradually taking shape as the wound on the back began to heal.

After a few minutes, a girl covered in tattoos stood before the man. Her body appeared like a desiccated mummy, eye sockets hollow without eyeballs, just two dark voids. As her mouth opened, an eerie mist exuded, within which ghostly faces twisted and turned.

“Ahhhhh!!!”

The girl’s mouth was also a dark void, lacking teeth, tongue, or throat. Her piercing screams weren’t singular but composed of countless discordant, high-pitched, and eerie shrieks.

More ghostly faces dove into the seemingly bottomless pit of her mouth, taking residence and filling the girl’s body. She was no longer a desiccated mummy.

Sound waves reverberated, dispersing the black fog, revealing the surrounding trees. The abandoned phone in the grass continued to emit light, illuminating this eerie corner.

Dry leaves fell from the treetops, swirling down, casting a multitude of ghostly shadows.

“Seal!”

As soon as the man’s command fell, the ghostly faces that had surged from all directions dissipated with a resounding force. The girl continued to scream, her voice incredibly piercing.

“Silence!” the man coldly reprimanded.

The girl in the midst of her shrieks immediately clamped her mouth shut, and the word “seal” on her forehead flashed with a brilliant white light, dispersing the fierce and malevolent ghostly faces hovering around. An expression of bitterness froze on the girl’s face, like a mask she couldn’t remove.

The pink flesh ball was left dumbfounded, mouth agape, its forked tongue hanging foolishly outside.

“You too, be quiet,” the man glanced at it, his tone no longer icy but now tinged with a hint of amusement.