When Chen Chu arrived home, Chen Hu was still at school.
He casually tossed his backpack onto the sofa and proceeded upstairs.
Inside the room, the hexagonal salamander, which had grown to 70 centimeters after consuming one of the iron beetles that morning, lay on the floor, silently regarding Chen Chu with its small, black-bean-like eyes.
With anticipation, Chen Chu retrieved a box from his drawer, selected one of the three preserved beetles, grabbed it, and fed it to the hexagonal salamander.
"Let's begin."
Boom!
In response to Chen Chu's confirmation, a violent surge of heat erupted within the hexagonal salamander's body. This energy had been accumulating within it, and as it surged through the creature, its cells divided, compressed, and strengthened.
Deeper within the clone, the fixed gene sequence absorbed the iron beetle and began evolving into a more potent and perfect form.
Click, click, click!
Visible to the naked eye, layer upon layer of light black exoskeletal plates sprouted on the avatar's smooth yet robust surface, resembling scales.
Simultaneously, a sudden rush of heat coursed through Chen Chu's body.
Compared to the initial sensation of weakness, this time the evolutionary energy had increased more than tenfold. Muscles and bones grew stronger at an astonishing pace as the entire body underwent cell division and compression, becoming more explosive, with fortified internal organs.
This evolution persisted for nearly an hour.
Hoo!
Chen Chu exhaled deeply, opening his eyes. His black-and-white eyes gleamed with a vivacious, almost intimidating aura.
Feeling the surging power within him, a smile spread across Chen Chu's face. The boost exceeded his expectations.
Excitedly, he called up the attributes page with a thought.
Level: First Heaven
Constitution: 58
Strength: 60
Dexterity: 52
Spirit: 55
Talent: Soul Split
Cultivation method: Lotus Terrace Meditation [Consummation] Dragon Elephant Kungfu [Level 1] Mind Eye Bright Sword [Level 1 of Saber Art, Mind Eye?]
Body: Hexagonal Heavy Armored Beast
Level: Low-level alien beast [an extraordinary creature that has evolved twice, with an adult body length limit of three meters]
Talent: Strength [powerful muscle fibers and bones, can burst out a hundred times their own strength]
Defense [The body surface has a special structure, and the outer armor with the hardness of steel has a defense that is a hundred times heavier than its volume. Remarks, the defense power of places where the outer armor is weak will decrease to a certain extent]
Evolution value: 0/300
"The four major attributes have all increased by 30 points. That's equivalent to strengthening a regular person's physique by three times, and a single attribute has even surpassed the limit of the first layer."
Chen Chu observed the changes in his attributes and then turned his attention to the clone data below.
The avatar's name had now transformed into Hexagonal Heavy Armored Beast, having no connection with the Salamander anymore. It was classified as a low-level beast with a growth limit of three meters.
Yet, these details didn't matter. What truly excited Chen Chu was the new talent listed below.
"Indeed, it's just as I suspected. I've gained another talent this time," Chen Chu grinned.
With a defense capable of withstanding a hundred times its size and the ability to unleash a hundred times its strength, the avatar could be released with confidence. All it needed was a little caution.
After examining the detailed changes in his attributes, Chen Chu stashed the attribute page and looked at the heavy-armored clone on the floor.
At this moment, the clone's length remained at 70 centimeters, the same as during its first evolution. Its size hadn't altered, but its density and weight had multiplied several times over, making it broader sideways.
Its entire body was now covered in a black exoskeleton-like armor, including the abdomen. However, the back was particularly pronounced, resembling pieces of armor artfully fitted together.
Even the dorsal fin, stretching from the head to the tail, had become broader and thicker, just like the tail, which accounted for a small portion of the body and was enclosed by a black ring-shaped outer armor.
Undergoing evolution, its limbs had grown sturdier and more robust. They, too, were covered in smaller scales, with claws resembling small daggers in sharpness.
The head, once broad and thick, was now covered by black exoskeletal plates. Its eyes were even shielded by prominent browbones, as if wearing a helmet.
Furthermore, the upper and lower jaws extended further forward, revealing two rows of sharp teeth, including four upper and lower canine teeth.
The sides of the head fanned out, and the three pairs of feather-like horns, once resembling small wings, had transformed entirely into rigid horn-like structures. Their color was now a deep crimson, akin to blood, lending a somewhat menacing appearance.
At this moment, the heavy-armored beast clone looked like a ferocious mutant creature. It was hard to believe that it had once been a palm-sized salamander.
Suddenly, the sound of the door opening downstairs echoed.
Chen Hu noticed the backpack on the sofa and called upstairs, "Brother, you're back."
From upstairs, Chen Chu replied, "Yes, you can start cooking. I have something to do and will be going out for a while."
"Okay."
With a casual wave to dismiss Chen Hu, Chen Chu searched his closet for a backpack and then carefully guided the heavy armored beast to curl up inside it.
As he lifted the backpack by the strap, he felt its weight sinking into his hand, and the strap made an audible sound of strain. Judging by the sensation, Chen Chu estimated that the heavy armored beast weighed at least 80 kilograms, an astonishing figure.
Nevertheless, this weight posed no problem for him, given that his physique was five times stronger than that of an average person.
Cautiously holding the backpack to prevent any damage to it, Chen Chu headed out, walking toward the river located a few hundred meters away, facing the sun.
Normally, releasing a mutant beast involved sneaking out in the middle of the night to create a mysterious atmosphere. Then, upon returning at night, unexpected events and other stories could unfold, like a hero saving a damsel in distress, which would adhere more closely to the established routine.
Musing on these thoughts, Chen Chu arrived at the riverside after a short while and descended along the embankment.
Glancing around and finding no one in sight, he felt reassured. He gently placed the backpack on the ground and unzipped it. With a rustling sound, the black, peculiar beast entered the river through the weeds.
Grrrrrrrr! After releasing a few bubbles, the armored beast swam along the riverbed.
Suddenly, another underwater scene unfolded before Chen Chu's eyes.
From the perspective of the heavy armored beast, the surroundings seemed blurry, but within ten meters, it could clearly make out the water area more than two meters deep, thanks to the sunlight. Algae swayed gently, and small fish darted about. Abruptly, a large fish weighing several kilograms appeared, causing the smaller fish to scatter.
Just as the fish swam past the heavy armored beast, it was seized by the suddenly revealed creature and was swiftly torn into two pieces by its powerful bite.
With the fish in its mouth, the heavy armored beast continued to swim along the small river under Chen Chu's guidance, heading toward the main river several dozen miles away.
Deeper waters held larger fish, and wider rivers boasted richer resources. The heavy armored beast would feast today to ensure its sustenance.
At this moment, the heavy armored beast sensed a faint exhilaration, akin to a bird taking flight or a fish leaping from the water. It had been cooped up in the room for far too long, suffering both spatial confinement and food scarcity.
If it had received enough food, the heavy armored beast's clone could have evolved at least ten days earlier. However, due to Chen Chu's constraints, the night hours had been largely wasted.