Evolution Begins with Elemental Domination

Half a minute later.

On a nearby skyscraper, a lion-maned Warlock controlling a thundercloud met an even more fatal end. His Magic suddenly cut out, the backlash coursing through his body as he plummeted two hundred meters to the ground.

As for the Parasite Bodies that were already being forcefully sustained, they instantly turned into fleshy bombs and exploded one after another, presenting humanity with a grand ”gift.”

Deep beneath the border town of Qixia, the hundred-meter-long giant worm that had been lucky enough to escape underground suddenly stopped squirming. Its ringed maw opened and closed weakly, no longer able to bore through the earth like a tunnel shield machine.

It all happened so suddenly.

The faint will that had shrouded every district of the city abruptly vanished.

People were utterly bewildered and had no idea what was happening, but that didn’t stop some from starting to celebrate their victory.

At the very least, the Holiday Shopping Center, which had served as a defensive hub, had previously blocked and killed four giant worms. They had undoubtedly played a major role in creating the huge deficit in the Bloodthirsty Fungus’s Life Energy.

”A great victory!”

”A great victory in our defense! It’s just as the professor predicted—the weather is the Bloodthirsty Fungus’s greatest enemy. It made a desperate last stand, but it couldn’t find enough Life Energy and just keeled over.”

Amidst their fervent cheers, everyone also quickly realized that the Parasite corpses strewn all over the ground each contained a rich prize.

People who had just been fighting side-by-side began to brawl over these unclaimed treasures.

Even more frenzied was the scene where hundreds, if not thousands, of people swarmed to loot the giant worm that had ransacked a Rune Essence pilot bank.

It was a similar story elsewhere.

The corpse of the giant worm that had devoured a private trading post also drew a mad scramble of looters.

...

After collecting a host of spoils from the forest, Su Chen returned, still processing the final pieces of information the Bloodthirsty Fungus had given him.

’What I can deduce is...’

’One, the Bloodthirsty Fungus, with its ability to fuse, integrate, and modify flesh and blood, undoubtedly obtained its power from an external source—most likely a legacy from a previous era’s civilization.’

’Furthermore, it must be related to the eight-armed deity from the mural, clearly involving an evolutionary system for achieving godhood through the flesh.’

’Two, the extremely harsh weather was indeed a factor in the Bloodthirsty Fungus’s destruction, but perhaps it was just the catalyst. The true underlying reason was, as it said, that the price of its power was too high.’

’This unfathomable flesh-and-blood system was indeed incredibly powerful, but it required a vast, endless supply of Life Energy to sustain it, burning through it like firewood.’

’According to Ruoruo’s autopsies, even a perfect human-beast chimera couldn’t survive for long.’

’The Bloodthirsty Fungus was constantly seeking to evolve, most likely in an attempt to find a way for itself to survive.’

’Facing repeated setbacks and the effects of the harsh weather, it was indeed forced to bet everything on one last gamble.’

’Three, my family’s heirloom Jade Pendant is probably one of those so-called creations from the previous era. As for how we obtained it, that’s an unsolved mystery.’

’In any case, it’s been passed down from generation to generation.’

’Dad even told me that if I ever ended up in prison, I had to find a way to bring it with me, even if it meant breaking the law. That just goes to show how important this ”peace amulet” is.’

’I’ve been converting its feedback for a long time now without any physical discomfort. As for the so-called mad whispers, I’ve never heard a thing. It would be foolishly paranoid to give up this power now. There’s no reason to worry about it.’

’Is the Bloodthirsty Fungus completely dead, or just dormant?’ Su Chen wondered.

Logically speaking, the fruiting bodies of mushrooms on the surface do have short lifespans. They wait for the right time and conditions to spread their spores as far as possible to reproduce and grow.

But just because that time passes doesn’t mean they’ve completely withered and died. At the very least, the underground mycelial network is still lying dormant, silently gathering nutrients in preparation for the next window of opportunity to reproduce.

It was hard to say what the current situation was.

The entity’s consciousness had seemed to be filled with mad whispers.

Given that it involved the threat of a flesh-and-blood curse unwelcome in this era, it was difficult to tell what the Bloodthirsty Fungus’s actual state was.

He probably wouldn’t be seeing it again for a long time.

Or perhaps, this was a final farewell.

”What a pity.”

Su Chen silently mourned its passing. ’It’s a real shame to lose such a great ”supply captain.”’

Ten-odd minutes later.

He leaped back over the city wall from the forest and returned to the border town of Qixia.

Before him was a scene of utter chaos and destruction.

In the distance, a massive crater had formed in the middle of a street.

A few minutes earlier, figures had swarmed like ants, leaping one after another into the bottom of the pit, all to fight over the Rune Essence and crystal ores inside the giant worm’s stomach.

But perhaps an open flame had ignited the putrid gases in its stomach, because a toxic, fiery cloud suddenly erupted from the pit with a deafening BOOM, killing many people on the spot.

Death, in turn, had given birth to new wealth.

After a brief moment of sobriety, greed drove people mad once again. Even before the toxic fog could dissipate, more people began to surge toward the crater.

”...Please remain calm! The spoils of war will be collected and distributed to everyone...” a voice blared from a loudspeaker. More and more Law Enforcement Teams and guard squads were rushing over to maintain order.

This was the new normal in the apocalypse.

Humanity, already so ravaged, could hardly withstand such a test.

The current order was just a thin layer of paper, hastily pasted over the cracks. The road ahead was long and arduous.

Su Chen didn’t linger to watch. Yan Ruoruo had sent him a telepathic message; they were already back in the border town.

The moment they reunited, someone couldn’t wait to share some good news.

”On the way back, we stumbled upon the corpse of a fallen chimera! We just picked up a whole bunch of Runes and a sparkling Wood Treasure Pearl for free!” Pang Peng laughed heartily.

Cao Yutang couldn’t help but complain, ”I don’t know if this has anything to do with your heaven-defying luck, but even finding free corpses to loot? Seriously?”

The sudden crash of the Bloodthirsty Fungus’s distributed consciousness, which it could no longer sustain, had certainly benefited quite a few people. At the very least, this small team had also picked up a gift from the heavens.

”Looks like I’ll have to keep mooching off your luck in the future,” Su Chen said with a smile.

As the group caught up, the conversation inevitably turned to the collapse of the Bloodthirsty Fungus’s consciousness. Ruoruo remained silent, not daring to jump to any conclusions.

However, the prevailing public opinion was that factors like the massive Life Energy deficit and the critical blow from the weather had forced the ill-timed Bloodthirsty Fungus to exit the stage.

Additionally, Yan Ruoruo had her own gains from her deep pursuit, and with Yan Ziqian’s help, she had successfully killed the Werewolf chimera.

This trip, they had truly made a fortune.

”Alright, how about you all part ways here?”

Su Chen glanced at his watch. The border town was a mess, and he had no intention of staying. He couldn’t be bothered with the petty scraps in the crater, so he planned to head back to the campsite first and figure out the afternoon’s schedule from there.

His words, of course, were directed at the three who were about to leave the team.

When they had set out earlier, even Gong Jun had come along, which was essentially a farewell for their last mission together. Now that they were in town with convenient roads, there was no reason for them to detour all the way back to the base.

”This...”

Cao Yutang hesitated, feeling a bit hurt. He had been thinking of asking Su Chen what he’d gained to gauge his current strength, but instead, he was met with a blunt order to leave.

”In that case, farewell.”

The couple, Du Rui and Zhou Tong, didn’t have much to say either. They had already had their farewell meal; there was no point in going back on their word.

After so many years of friendship, they still deserved some courtesy.

Yan Ziqian even took them to the Forward Base. After he produced a letter of introduction from the Second Assault Brigade, it saved them the trouble of having to travel to the city center to report in.

As a talent from the agriculture department, Du Rui had his own plans. Dongfu University’s various colleges were all recruiting relevant experts, and reporting to the College of Agriculture would undoubtedly be a step up for him.

After seeing the three off, the now-disbanded team from Jingcheng University followed Su Chen back to the campsite.

The group made their way through the forest at the foot of the mountain.

The clamor of the town was left far behind.

The wind rustled through the treetops, carrying the fresh scent of grass and wood. Perhaps because their harvest had been so bountiful, many of them felt a genuine sense of natural refreshment.

The sunlight was warm in the forest, and birds chirped from the high branches.

It was hard to say whether it was because the parasite swarm incident was over or because of the tall figure leading the way, but they felt an inexplicable sense of peace.