Chapter 8 - Changes

Its body looked like it was covered in tiny, shiny, black pieces that looked like tiny black tiles all over its body.

In just a few hours, the Black-scaled Catfish had gone through numerous changes. He could almost not recognise it.

Is the finger that miraculous?"

While this thought rang through his mind, his reaction wasn't slow in the slightest as he picked up his pot, easily kicking the jumping fish with a familiar routine, he rushed outside in the dark night.

The pot was severely old and one of its handle had been almost destroyed but it was still usable.

Although the Catfish had changed, it wasn't strong enough to overturn the pot. Lucifer easily grabbed a few twigs of woods he had gathered earlier, placing it under the pot. He added a bit of bone softening herb and lit up the pot, proceeding to boil the Catfish alive.

Despite how calm his expression was, Lucifer's eyes betrayed his growing excitement not even noticing how quite his environment was nor the scarlet moonrays lighting up his surrounding.

Like a kid about to receive his birthday gift. If the finger really worked as he had thought, wouldn't that mean there was an endless supply of evolution progress?

After the time it takes for a photon from the sun to reach the earth, like a pervert incarcerated for several decades, Lucifer latched on to the body of the Black-scale catfish.

It was even heavier than the average Black-scale Catfish. he placed it on a rough stone board.

"Bang!"

The rusty blade of the machete slammed into body of the beast but got stuck in the outermost flesh, just piercing a centimeter into the skin. Smearing more Bone-softening herb, the skin softened rapidly from its effect and the heat.

Using more strength, he diced the body perfectly into three major sections and up to twelve minor sections. Lucifer placed a piece in his mouth without hesitation and in a few second, he sensed as his evolution progress increased as well as the uncomfortable feeling of his inner body, ithing

[Flesh of Mutated beast, Black-scaled Catfish eaten. Evolution Progress increased by 3% ]

* * *

The distinct hydraulic pressure sounds of machinery echoed through the depths of the base. The ventilation half-hidden inside the base wall released massive bursts of steam from its segmented four inter-connected three-meter wide openings.

The powerful reinforced steel metal that radiated with a violet luster slowly lowered behind the metal base gate. Just when it touched the ground, the weight made the entire gate entrance tremble and the ground shook with rocks and dust jumping subtly from the force.

The enchanted Badlands base wasn't that large. The internal structure only had four hundred or so residents. As for whether there was any extra space, not only had the qualifications to live here reached an extremely harsh state, there even complex provisions in place that strictly regulated the number of guests allowed inside.

Back then, the base was one of many nuclear shelters, and this region was named Enchanted. From its size, it seemed like a rather small refuge. However, inside, there was drinking water, food, shelter, medicine, and even clean air; there was everything one needed to survive inside. A refuge that could protect against nuclear warfare and was self-sustaining would be the same in any country: they were not prepared for ordinary folk. The equipment inside was advanced, and they would be periodically replaced.

When the defective evolution of the earth occurred, refuge Enchanted T-12 was not used at all. Not a single one of the influential officials and wealthy individuals that had the knowledge and authority to use the refuge was able to make it to the refuge. But over the years, the base gradually became operative after being discovered.

Forty-nine-year-old Osborn, a Level-2 Super Soldier had almost twenty years of military experience and was also a reliable soldier. Currently, he was at the top of a large well-polished boulder, allowing him to gain a clear line of sight. Everything within an area of over ten kilometers was within the scope of his vision. Sadly, the large dense forest surrounding the base disrupted his sight obviously, the large expanses of greenery signified unpredictable dangers.

The howls of Vile wolves echoed from within the forests with a specific howl louder and stronger than the rest... Osborn immediately looked towards the direction of the noise, and his pupils quickly dilated and contracted, and his eyeballs' shape also seemed to correspondingly change a bit. Without using any binoculars, his eyes locked onto several small black specks several kilometers out. Only now did Osborn raise his binoculars, and from within the lens, he could see several gray and rotting vile wolves.

They were currently roaming restlessly about the edges of the forests. Their eyes emitting reddish glow that seems to absorb the radiance of the scarlet moon. From time to time, they would howl towards the sky.

"Fuck! Those bastards look like they've grown even bigger again." Osborn cursed with his pupils dilated.

These creatures were usually half the height of an adult male and extremely robust but due to the dangers that even Vile wolves have to avoid, they could only rely on feasting on creatures weaker than they are such as mutated rats, giant ants, and... humans.

A Level-1 genetic soldier could barely fight off a Vile wolf even with a machete but it could be possible if one's physique had undergone one evolution or they possess a modified Flintlock and an evolution point invested to improve brain speed activity leading to an improved perception such a person would need a single shot to deal with Savage beasts.

But even then, the process of amassing a single evolution point is almost as difficult as seeing the core of the sun.

These rotting cayotes were able to move about stealthily within the bushes especially at night as they were creatures that were usually nocturnal in nature. However, Osborn did not need to know these things.

Through his experiences, he deduced that there was a recent beast den in the depth of the forest, leading to the massive increase in populations.

Summer was the mating season for the rotten cayotes and vile wolves, therefore there will be that have been recently born also surrounding the base.

From his experience, he knew the true danger wasn't from the bigger Vile wolves but from the smaller ones. They are more agile and smaller, giving them more advantage to sneak into the base unnoticed.

His mission was to defend the base along with his men to avoid more causality than there should have been. Lastly, he had to bring back a few Vile wolves' corpses to be researched within the base.

This wasteland region that stretched roughly a hundred kilometers in circumference was something Osborn knew like the back of his hand. The places that were suitable for different species to live in were things he could recite with his eyes closed. As for his nine-man party, even if they encountered a large wolf pack with over twenty vile wolves, they would still be able to deal with them.

However, the biggest problem lies in how quickly everything changed in this world. Osborn had personally witnessed the gradual enlargement of the rotting wolves. At first, a single bullet would be enough to deal with a mature vile wolf, yet now, they frequently needed to be shot two or three times successively before dying. Their movement speeds were becoming faster, and their bodies were only getting stronger, evolving the more meat they digest.

Even though the situation seemed to still be within the base's control, each time the scarlet moon rises, the bad feeling in his mind would become stronger. What if the wolves became as large as Dark-Tigers, and had the wisdom of man? This thought had crossed Osborn's Mind more than once, making him shiver.

This wasteland region that stretched roughly a hundred kilometers in circumference was something Osborn knew like the back of his hand. The places that were suitable for different species to live in were things he could recite with his eyes closed. As for his nine-man party, even if they encountered a large wolf pack with over twenty vile wolves, they would still be able to deal with them.

However, the biggest problem lies in how quickly everything changed in this world. Osborn had personally witnessed the gradual enlargement of the rotting wolves. At first, a single bullet would be enough to deal with a mature vile wolf, yet now, they frequently needed to be shot two or three times successively before dying. Their movement speeds were becoming faster, and their bodies were only getting stronger, evolving the more meat they digest.

Even though the situation seemed to still be within the base's control, each time the scarlet moon rises, the bad feeling in his mind would become stronger. What if the wolves became as large as Dark-Tigers, and had the wisdom of man? This thought had crossed Osborn'smind more than once, making him shiver.