Chapter 8

While this creature was still weak, killing it was the best choice!

The girl made her decision with a slight squint. But before acting, she wanted to confirm her speculation. So, she overturned a nearby rock, extracting a massive, entirely black scorpion from the pungent soil.

“Can one transform based on what they eat, possessing such a bizarre ability?”

With one hand gripping the venomous scorpion, the other hand opened the glass jar, her voice carrying a profound chill, “Eat, let me see.”

The pink flesh ball wavered its four legs on the left side for a moment, then the four on the right, its eight eyes roaming on its round head, merging like droplets, forming a single eye, then two, four…

It behaved like a child receiving a gift for the first time, marveling at its body in excitement, emitting a thrilled low hum.

Yet, its joyous moments were always fleeting. Minutes later, a more intense itch exploded in every cell. The energy consumed by its transformation far exceeded its capacity.

The pink flesh ball suddenly stiffened, then emitted a sharp, piercing low hum.

The eight slender limbs rapidly regressed, merging the eight small eyes into one large eye, oozing a few damp tears. It reverted to its original form, trembling in unbearable pain.

At that moment, a large, dark figure suddenly descended from above, its hard exoskeleton colliding with the glass, creating a clinking sound. The scent of an unfamiliar toxic insect permeated the cramped space, exceeding normal levels.

The pink flesh ball immediately ceased trembling, its teary eyes swiftly locking onto the prey. Simultaneously, it found itself locked in as well.

A pair of pincers clamped down on the pink flesh ball, forcefully pulling it closer, as a set of mouthparts fiercely pierced its body.

Meanwhile, the pink flesh ball launched a counterattack. It sprayed a stream of pink silk, entangling the prey’s head, constricting its body to immobilize the mouthparts, preparing to inject venom.

However, just before executing its lethal move, the pink flesh ball’s soft flesh quivered, freezing in place. A venomous needle struck from behind, piercing into its round rear, a stream of venom flowing in.

Comfort… Every cell’s itch was soothed, dopamine releasing joyfully within.

Chirp, chirp… Each gentle hum from the pink flesh ball carried a slight tremor, swirling around in the glass jar, its tense body blissfully relaxing into a soft pancake.

The act of counter-killing the prey came to a halt. This was the most enjoyable moment.

Similar to the Ghost-Faced Spider, the scorpion’s venom was not an unlimited resource. After a few minutes, this dark “milk bottle” was also emptied. The pink flesh ball let out a regretful hum before spitting out more pink silk, tightly wrapping the large scorpion into a ball.

While the silk spit out by the Ghost-Faced Spider was a derivative used for hunting, purely a tool, the silk produced by the pink flesh ball was a part of its body, alive, each strand pulsating with life.

While ensnaring the prey, these delicate threads also engaged in feeding.

They secreted digestive enzymes and toxins, swiftly dissolving the prey, greedily sucking up nutrients. The threads would sometimes fight over food, intertwining messily, forming tangles that couldn’t be unraveled.

Unable to untangle, they resorted to devouring each other, eventually transforming into a ball enveloped in nutritious liquid. The pink flesh ball promptly fused with this ball, becoming one.

The sensation of fullness made it shudder in comfort, its body softening into a pancake shape, with a bulge in the center, resembling a poached egg.

Moments later, driven by instinct, it sprouted two large pincers, its rear elongating into a venomous stinger dripping viscous toxin. The energy gained from consuming the prey was now depleted in this moment.

The pink flesh ball squealed in frustration, its soft flesh trembling uncontrollably. It was unable to rein in this transformation for now.

The girl held the glass jar up to her eyes, observing everything carefully.

Through the glass, the small creature actually seemed to be making eye contact with her, the anger and wildness gone from its large eyes, replaced by a hint of familiarity. It appeared as if it had misunderstood something.

“Do you think I’m raising you?” The girl’s lips curved slightly, her smile cold.

Nevertheless, she placed a recently caught snake into the glass jar.

The pink scorpion immediately clamped its pincers around the snake’s slender body, the stinger plunging in as well. The snake thrashed its triangular head, fiercely biting the pink scorpion’s back, injecting venom rapidly.

Chirp! This prey turned out to be a “milk bottle” as well!

The pink scorpion emitted joyful chirps, obediently lying still, allowing the snake to attack. Minutes later, having eaten its fill and drunk its fill, content and serene, it then spat out silk to wrap the snake, dissolving it for absorption.

Even in the form of a scorpion, it could still utilize the skills of a spider.

Before it could savor the joy of a full meal, its body gradually elongated, transforming into a pink snake, its sharp head and venomous fangs indicating its danger.

Setting down the glass jar, the girl exhaled slowly. Several experiments had confirmed her suspicions. This was not merely a bug but a monster. Its evolution was straightforward and brutal, with no upper limit.

“Now you’re eating scorpions, snakes. What about later? Will you start eating humans?”

The girl stared at the snake in the glass jar, her tone icy, “After eating humans, will you turn into one?”

“After becoming human, will you lurk among us, drooling at the thought of us?”

“You’ll draw near, lead us to the shadows, and tear open our throats.”

“You’ll sink your venomous fangs into our skin, draining us of our blood.”

“Then you’ll devour our flesh, casually discarding the bones in dirty, dark corners.”

“The entire city will become your slaughterhouse, human remains piling up into putrid mountains.”

“Wherever you pass, it will turn into hell.”

The girl gave a cryptic smile, murmuring, “For monsters like us, one is more than enough, don’t you think?” A dark glint flashed swiftly in her pitch-black eyes.

The snake in the jar slowly transformed back into a round flesh ball, its two eyes merging into one. It couldn’t understand the girl’s words, yet it could communicate with her through its eyes.

“Feed me, feed me! I’m hungry!”

The large eye was bright and understood well. It tried to widen as much as possible, blinking slowly, resembling a newborn baby, pure and innocent. Its world revolved solely around feeding, with nothing else, which made it all the more terrifying.

It was an abyss that could never be filled!

The girl silently locked eyes with the small creature, her smile growing colder by the moment. Suddenly, she loosened her grip, allowing the glass jar to plummet straight into the fire.

With a muffled bang, sparks flew, and the heat surged. The pink flesh ball screeched in pain, tears streaming from its large eyes, pleadingly looking at the girl for help.

“Save me!” Its eyes seemed to speak.

The girl picked up a stick, gathering the blazing firewood around the glass jar.

“Save you? Impossible. Meeting me, consider yourself unlucky,” the girl murmured with a low, cruel laugh, her pitch-black eyes devoid of mercy.

The pink flesh ball cried out for help while frantically trying to escape within the jar, its soft flesh sizzling as it moved back and forth. This was a pain it had never experienced before, with the moisture in every cell evaporating, turning into scorching hot steam, causing the cell walls to burst.

It oozed pinkish liquid, its tender flesh shriveling and cracking, its recently gained weight slowly deflating.

Its fleeing speed increased, morphing into a spider one moment, a scorpion the next, then a small snake. It used the spider’s fangs to bite, the scorpion’s pincers to strike, and the snake’s head to ram…

It tried every means to break out of the glass jar, tears streaming from its desperate eyes!

It climbed out of the abyss frantically, not seeking such a pitiful end!

Chirp! Chirp! Shrill screams echoed continuously from the bonfire, terribly intense. The girl remained unmoved, her eyes flickering with an eerie light.

As the sky darkened, a thick, viscous black mist enveloped the forest like a creeping tide, gradually swallowing everything. The eerie wind rustled through, unsettling.

The girl perked up, alert, scanning her surroundings.

Faint sounds of twigs snapping could be heard in the dense fog.

The girl swiftly used a stick to pry the glass jar out, ignoring the scorching heat, grabbing it and stuffing it into the pocket of her tactical vest. Fortunately, the outfit was waterproof and fireproof, preventing any holes from being burned through.

“Master, is that you?” the girl called out into the dense black fog.

“How many times have I told you, don’t speak when you hear something, find a hidden spot first. You, you… with you looking like this, how can I be at ease,” the compassionate face of the old man slowly emerged from the thick fog.

“It’s this late, besides the two of us, who would dare come to such a place. I recognized your voice,” he continued.

Pouting, the girl looked cute and mischievous. However, her face was covered in tattoos, giving her a ghostly appearance; making a cute expression only made her look fierce, lacking any charm.

The old man quietly averted his gaze from his young apprentice’s face, letting out a sigh.

The girl touched the jar in her pocket, feeling somewhat gloomy.

She was so close to killing this little monster. It was truly bad timing for the old man to return. If he saw the small creature’s ability to evolve and transform, he would undoubtedly want to take it back to nurture it. The consequences of nurturing it were something he wouldn’t consider.

If she interfered, it would only raise his suspicions, jeopardizing all the previous planning.

The girl dared not reveal her true thoughts, restraining herself from touching the jar, feigning a low mood as she asked, “Master, how can we truly defeat those monsters? Can we clear all the dungeons?”

The old man lowered his gaze to the blazing bonfire, and slowly replied, “To defeat those monsters, first, you must transform yourself into a monster.”

“Transform myself into a monster?” The girl repeated, hugging her knees, trembling slightly.

“Is that really necessary?” Her voice betrayed an unmistakable fear.

“It is the only way.”

The old man gazed at his innocent young apprentice, a calculating glint briefly passing through his murky eyes.