I am the Clone of a Death Row Inmate

Chapter 63: Chapter 63: Setting Out on the Brahma River Journey

A mighty river, its waves so wide, a foul stench drifts from either side.

Su Ze gazed at the great river before him. The water was murky and littered with floating trash. ’This is the legendary Holy River?’ he thought.

Su Ze had long heard tales about this Holy River, so sacred in the eyes of the Luofan people. He’d heard many legends about the Brahma River.

It was said that the Luofan people loved to bathe in the Brahma River, wash their clothes on its banks, and dump their daily household waste—even the contents of their chamber pots—into its waters. Industrial wastewater was also discharged directly into it.

Even more absurdly, their funerary culture dictated that they soak corpses in the river before cremation, after which they would scatter the ashes into the Brahma River.

Some truly impoverished families would simply toss the bodies directly into the river, leaving them to bloat and decompose, becoming food for the mutated beasts of the Brahma River.

This was a river that blended household garbage, sewage, industrial effluent, corpses, and ashes... along with many other unimaginable things. It was said that a single drop of its water contained the entire periodic table.

Despite the severe pollution, the creatures within had not gone extinct. Instead, the Brahma River had formed a unique and inimitable ecosystem. The animals that survived had all evolved to be tough-skinned and incredibly resilient.

In short, anything that could survive in here was a total badass.

The Brahma River was home to many unique mutated beasts found in no other body of water—aberrations forged by their environment.

Curiously, the mutated beasts of the Brahma River almost never came ashore to attack humans, and they rarely attacked boats on the river. Some, like the Brahma River Turtle, were even easily domesticated.

”Boss, let’s get on. The boat’s ready,” Mr. Ya said, pointing to a pleasure boat.

They had arrived at the banks of the Brahma River early in the morning. Mr. Ya had used his connections to find a boat owner, negotiate a price, and pay a deposit. After an hour’s wait, the boat was finally prepared.

Su Ze sized up the vessel. It was a bit old, but it would do. He wasn’t here for a vacation, after all.

It had originally been a medium-sized fishing boat, now converted into a small yacht. The rental price for a boat like this, complete with two Tier-1 Brahma River Turtles to pull it, was 100,000 a day.

The boat came with a crew, a chef, and so on.

”Let’s go.” Su Ze boarded first, with Mr. Ya following close behind, already starting a livestream on his phone.

Mr. Ya had already changed his stream title to: ”A Journey on the Brahma River: Hunting for the Holy River’s Monster!”

The boat soon set off, gliding over the calm surface of the river. Su Ze stood on the deck, inhaling the stench rising from the Brahma River’s water. He felt none of the leisurely pleasure one might expect from a river cruise.

If he could help it, he wouldn’t touch a single drop of this water.

Mr. Ya, on the other hand, was pointing his camera at the placid water and talking a mile a minute, hyping up his viewers by claiming he was out here to find the Brahma River monster that had caused such a stir a few years ago.

Su Ze stood on deck in the wind for a while, finding it all rather dull, and turned to go rest inside the boat.

He entered his cramped cabin, swallowed two Strengthening Elixirs, and practiced his Swan Dance for a while, only to find the space was too small to move freely.

The deck had enough space, but he couldn’t exactly practice out there either.

’Forget it, I’ll just rest...’ Su Ze gave up on practicing and lay down on his bed to think.

By his count, it had been over twenty days since he’d transmigrated to this world. Looking back on his experiences, he felt stifled and powerless.

He was constantly being pushed along, always forced to be reactive.

Forget about grand ideas like controlling his own destiny; he couldn’t even manage to live a single peaceful day.

There was always only one path laid out before him, as if a man-eating beast was perpetually chasing him from behind. If he didn’t run forward, he would die.

He couldn’t stop to enjoy the scenery, nor was there ever a second path for him to choose.

From the moment he arrived, locked up in Pan Shi Prison, his only option had been to find a way to escape.

Not escaping meant death. A failed escape also meant death.

Later, trapped in Heiyan City with the Zhao Family and the Filth Earth Organization hunting for him all over town, his only choice was to take a risk and follow Liou Wenxin’s group to escape to Luofan Country.

The few days he spent living in a rented house with Liou Wenxin and Mrs. Yun in Mengka City had been the only peaceful time since his transmigration—even though he still had to be cautious and keep a low profile, afraid to reveal his identity or spend the money he had.

But sadly, even that life didn’t last more than a few days. He was forced to flee to the Black Rock Mountain Range, where, in the presence of two Saint-level hegemons, his, Liou Wenxin’s, and Mrs. Yun’s fates were decided arbitrarily. Ye Muni had traded a single favor with Amida for the right to deal with him.

Although he had survived until now through a combination of sheer luck and quick thinking, the Zhao Family, Ye Muni, and the Filth Earth Organization were still hunting him.

He was sick and tired of this life on the run.

He hoped that one day, his thoughts would be filled with ”What do I want to do?” instead of ”What do I need to do?”

’I have to increase my strength as quickly as possible. I need to get stronger.’

’It’s been several days since I finished absorbing the Undying Salamander extract. It’s time to put the next extract on the agenda.’

Other Evolvers, after absorbing an extract, might have to undergo a long period of training to strengthen their bodies and build up their foundation. Only then could they be confident in successfully absorbing the next one.

Su Ze, however, had no such concerns. Every extract he absorbed was top-tier, granting him massive boosts to his constitution.

Plus, his Divine Grace of Evolution skill allowed him to absorb one more extract than other Evolvers of the same level, giving him an extra opportunity to enhance his physical attributes.

Besides, he hadn’t slacked on his training or his use of elixirs.

Therefore, there was no chance of failure when he absorbed an extract.

’First, I need to narrow down the options for my next extract...’ Su Ze had discussed this with Liou Wenxin before; his next extract needed to grant an area-of-effect attack skill.

He pulled out his phone, logged onto a website called the ”Evolution Wiki,” and started searching for suitable Tier-2 S-Class mutated beasts.

At times like this, he really missed having Liou Wenxin around. When he ran into these kinds of problems, all he had to do was ask, and she would give him the best answer.

...

Su Ze didn’t emerge from his room until dinnertime.

He had already narrowed down his options for the next extract and picked out a few of the best choices.

The next step was to acquire the target extract, either through hunting or trading.

Dinner wasn’t exactly delicious, but it was edible. To be able to eat a meal like this in Luofan was something Su Ze was already quite content with.

The Luofan people liked to eat with their hands, a habit Su Ze didn’t share. Thankfully, the chef had accommodated his preferences and prepared utensils for him.

After dinner, Mr. Ya pulled Su Ze aside and said conspiratorially, ”Boss, I’m planning to do an underwater livestream tonight. Want to come have some fun?”

”No, no.” Su Ze quickly refused. He felt a deep-seated revulsion toward the Brahma River’s water.

”Don’t worry, I’m a master of the Water Escape Skill! I guarantee not a single drop will touch you!” Mr. Ya said confidently.