Lu Yan stood there, still reeling from Tang Xunan's comment about "you girls."
Feeling conflicted, he turned to Zhou Qiming. "Quick, remove that 'female' setting from my profile."
Zhou Qiming scratched his head. "But we're still at Dragon Maiden Lake. Should we delete it now? What if you end up pregnant?"
After a moment's thought, Lu Yan found some sense in what was said and dropped the idea.
A few of them gathered around the golden snake. Chen Shier fetched a container from the car, muttering, "I don't mean to take it away, just keeping it in this box."
The serpent was placed inside a glass box, glistening like a delectable jelly in the sunlight.
Items extracted from pollutants like this were always considered valuable.
Zhou Qiming cleared his throat. "I suggest we give this to Dr. Lu. After all, he brought reinforcements, and we didn't do much."
The rest agreed.
For some reason, they suspected something between Lu Yan and Tang Xunan.
Tang Xunan didn't take the item back to the research facility, which spoke volumes.
In their circle, few might recognize what a nearby pollutant looked like, but everyone knew Tang Xunan.
However, he preferred solitude after losing his last teammate over a decade ago. His striking golden eyes and iconic dragon wings made him hard to miss, leaving people wondering.
Having a somewhat close bond, Lu Yan accepted, "Alright, I'll give each of you 2000 contribution points as if buying it."
He wasn't one to take advantage of favors, expressing genuine gratitude.
On their way back, Lu Yan cooked dinner: four dishes and a soup that smelled heavenly. Chen Shier found it so delicious he almost cried out for "Mom."
As the RV left the village, the mist returned to shroud the mountainous area around Dragon Maiden Lake. No way out, no way in.
The detective glanced back. "Is it really safe leaving Mr. Zhao behind? He's the only normal one there..."
There was a hint of worry in his tone.
"It's his choice," Lu Yan replied. "For him, it's the best option."
Zhou Qiming dropped Lu Yan off at K City.
Instead of going to the Disease Prevention and Control Center, Lu Yan went home and logged into the Apocalypse Forum, transferring his contribution points to the other three.
Just as he was about to log off, a new message popped up.
"[Tyrant wants to add you as a friend? Accept/Reject]"
Lu Yan hesitated but chose to accept.
A few minutes later, a message appeared in the chat box.
Tyrant: Do you like cross-dressing?
Due to immense mental stress, many Awakened individuals faced some issues.
Tang Xunan knew Lu Yan was a male, but twice he had seen him as a high school girl. This left Tang Xunan utterly confused.
Lu Yan: ?
Several days later...
A not-so-wide road was covered in mist, and two figures, one tall and one short, walked along it.
The shorter one spoke slowly, "Evolution actually has direction. Just like how, ages ago, all life stemmed from a single cell. After millions of years, different classifications emerged."
Their voice alternated between male and female, with an ageless quality, quite peculiar.
"For you, the ultimate form of evolution is... Are you even listening?"
Beside them, Shen Qingyang yawned, extending a dark tentacle from their waist, lifting their white shirt. "Teacher, tired."
They were genuinely exhausted. Even the eyeballs on their tentacle were half-closed.
Due to late-night study sessions of high school textbooks, Shen Qingyang never got enough sleep lately. One of their biggest regrets in life was having only a middle school education, feeling inferior in front of Lu Yan.
Unfortunately, they hadn't had the chance to study back then, missing the time for education.
It was only now they started high school.
The Seer never expected that after trying to persuade for so long, Shen Qingyang would only agree to join them because of a score of 705 on the college entrance examination.
With a contamination level over 7000, the Seer's combat capabilities weren't that high due to a mutation in their brain.
Shen Qingyang could handle ten tentacles against them in a fight.
So, the Seer had no real leverage.
After a brief pause, with a sinister tone, "If you keep this attitude, I won't teach you how to solve that hyperbolic equation."
Shen Qingyang promptly retracted their tentacle, speaking earnestly, "Teacher, continue."
With pollutants over 7000 levels studying, humans had no excuse not to strive.
The Seer felt somewhat relieved.
Their only eye slightly narrowed, "I've been planning this for thirty years. Dragon Maiden Lake was our first step. Allowing the mutated Dragon Maiden to breed the Kingfisher, devouring it, will further your ascent to godhood."
"By my calculations, the Kingfisher's gestation should be almost complete."
Shen Qingyang wasn't particularly interested in becoming a god, but they indeed had nothing to do.
"The evolution of pollutants inevitably involves devouring one's own kind. You'll need to eat more."
"Though I don't know why, that Kingfisher didn't parasitize you. But among all the initial forms in this sequence, you're closest to divinity."
A hint of madness glimmered in the Seer's eyes, "One day, this world will be ours."
...
Two pollutants walked for a while until, at the end of their sight, a small village appeared.
Having been away from water for too long, even though there was a layer of mist around, Shen Qingyang still felt uncomfortable.
The men with swollen bellies were aimless, their eyes vacant, and nobody even spared them a glance.
Shen Qingyang couldn't help but frown, "They smell really bad."
After all, they were humans in the third stage of mutation.
"Don't mind them; they're just the Dragon Maiden's breeding stock," the prophet said calmly. "Let's head to Dragon Maiden Lake. Although it's also a perfect evolved entity, it won't be your match. Besides, you need to hone yourself through combat."
By the shores of Dragon Maiden Lake, Zhao Cheng was still chatting with his daughter. The Dragon Maiden suddenly straightened up, her murky pupils still devoid of irises but now carrying a hint of vigilance for no apparent reason.
She gently nudged her father, "Let's go."
Zhao Cheng was puzzled, "Go where?"
The Dragon Maiden couldn't speak much, only pointing towards the nearby woods and repeating, "Go."
Though puzzled, Zhao Cheng followed her into the woods.
Meanwhile, the Dragon Maiden submerged herself in the lake, surrounded by hundreds of small Dragon Maidens.
A couple of minutes later, two people arrived at the shore.
The prophet cleared his throat, and the face on his back strangely echoed Zhao Cheng's voice, calling out, "Yuan Yuan—are you there? Daddy's here to see you."
However, the Dragon Maiden Lake remained serene, only churning slightly.
"No use trying to deceive her," the prophet said, "Let's make a move."
Shen Qingyang acknowledged and her lower body started contorting, transforming into a mass of octopus-like tentacles.
These tentacles were long and thick, making Shen Qingyang taller overall. One of the pitch-black tentacles extended beneath the water's surface, creating a splatter of droplets.
Underneath the lake, the little Dragon Maidens screamed and lunged towards it. Yet, the sharp teeth capable of tearing through flesh couldn't even leave a mark on the surface of this tentacle.
A second tentacle followed suit, plunging into the water.
While Dragon Maiden Lake was vast, the Dragon Maiden's serpent tail was even longer.
Shen Qingyang's tentacle effortlessly reached her. Then, like a hunting net, it tightened ruthlessly.
She hauled the Dragon Maiden out of the lake.
The prophet felt somewhat surprised, sensing that the Dragon Maiden appeared much weaker than he had imagined. Shen Qingyang's tentacle pierced through her snake tail, pinning her firmly to the ground. The prophet glanced at her abdomen, quickly becoming uncontrollably enraged: "What happened to the brood you were nurturing?!" Blood stained the grassy shore as the Dragon Maiden's gills, which she used to breathe on land, were slashed off. The suffocation and intense pain from her tail made her unable to hold back cries of agony.
Zhao Cheng couldn't see, unaware of what was happening, but that didn't stop him from hearing his daughter's cries for help. In that moment, his mind went blank, everything else forgotten.
The Dragon Maiden heard his furious shout: "What are you doing?! Let go of my daughter!"
"Don't... don't come out...!" The Dragon Maiden tried to shield him, but the situation didn't allow her to do so! Zhao Cheng had never run this fast, displaying a speed and strength not typical for an elderly person.
In that instant, even he didn't realize it—Zhao Cheng awakened as a Harbinger. But a newly awakened Harbinger was terribly weak. Without Shen Qingyang acting, the prophet seized Zhao Cheng by the neck, lifting him high.
"It's him who made you pluck nails, scrape scales, peel gills, and open the abdomen?" The prophet's tone dripped with amusement.
The Dragon Maiden, disregarding her own injuries, angrily reached out towards the prophet, swiftly being knocked aside by a third tentacle launched by Shen Qingyang. She crawled on the ground, coughing up mouthfuls of blood.
The prophet turned to Shen Qingyang, stating, "See, this is the consequence of being driven by emotions. Emotions are the most useless thing in this world. All relationships are only divided into useful and useless."
Shen Qingyang pondered, still wearing a smile. "Is that so?"
Advancing, the prophet pressed Zhao Cheng's face against the Dragon Maiden's side. "Who did you give the kingfisher to?" The prophet's voice was cold and chilling. "Tell me."
The Dragon Maiden continued to groan, struggling to crawl toward her father.
"Oh, forgot you can't speak. Let me change the question." The prophet grabbed Zhao Cheng's hair, asking, "Who brought you to Dragon Maiden Lake?"
Zhao Cheng was in a terrible state, tremblingly reaching out to pat the Dragon Maiden's hand. "Yuan Yuan, long ago, daddy told you... there'd come a time when Daddy would leave you first. Aging, sickness, and death, they're all normal things. You must maintain your dignity. Daddy's so happy to see you again. It's like... the first time I held you, so small..."
The prophet had zero interest in the father-daughter sentiment, finding it reminiscent of nauseating memories. "Speak up," he interrupted their conversation.
Spitting in the prophet's face, Zhao Cheng exclaimed, "I won't tell you, you scum!" Then, using both hands, he forcefully twisted his own neck.
Talent 273 - Gigantism.
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