"Dr. Brian, are you really going to implant this thing into the child's brain? Isn't that too cruel..."
"Hmph, cruel? When those creatures descend upon the earth, that will be the true cruelty!"
...
Where is this place...
Is it hell...
Gradually, Xia Leng began to regain a bit of consciousness, but his vision was blurry and green, as if he were submerged in a thick, green liquid.
He wanted to breathe but couldn't open his mouth. He tried to see clearly, but his eyelids were too heavy, only managing to open slightly.
In front of him, he could vaguely see two figures in white lab coats, arguing about something. He could barely make out words like invasion, mutation, and modification.
Around him, there were numerous other jars on shelves, each containing humanoid figures in a similar green liquid.
Am I also trapped in a jar...
Xia Leng felt restrained in this narrow space, uncomfortable and unable to stretch his body. He realized that his entire body was pierced with various colored wires, making it impossible to find a comfortable position.
He could hear the two people in lab coats arguing frantically, but he couldn't speak or even breathe.
Boom!
Suddenly!
A loud explosion shook the area, causing some of the green jars to topple and shatter on the ground!
"Dr. Brian, Subject No. 2 has broken through the defenses again!! They've breached the lab, we need to leave now!!"
Shortly after the explosion, another lab-coated figure rushed in, shouting urgently.
"Failed again... Activate the base's self-destruct sequence."
"Doctor! If we activate the self-destruct now, we..."
Roar!!!!
"Hurry! Do you want these things to be exposed to the public? For the sake of humanity, our deaths are insignificant!!"
"Doctor..."
In his blurry, twisted vision, Xia Leng saw one of the lab-coated figures approach a control panel, their hand hovering over a button for a long moment before tremblingly pressing it.
Immediately, the entire spacious room was filled with flashing red lights, signaling extreme danger!
And Xia Leng's last sight was engulfed by the flames that filled his vision...
...
...
The deformed scavenger smashed down the spiked club, and the "food" in front of him finally slumped, motionless.
Excited, the scavenger bent down, ready to lick the warm brain fluid from the wound on Xia Leng's head, not even questioning why the blood was black.
As he brought his mouth closer, the "food" that had clearly been bludgeoned to death suddenly lifted its head, startling the scavenger so much that he nearly fell over!
He saw that Xia Leng's eyes were completely consumed by a deep, dark blackness, with no trace of white left!
It was like a black hole, capable of swallowing everything, making anyone who saw it shudder with fear!
The other deformed scavengers, who had been gnawing on Xia Leng's limbs, began to notice that the flesh and bones in their mouths were becoming harder to bite through, until they could no longer chew anything. Puzzled, they looked up!
They saw that the horrific wounds on Xia Leng's body were now teeming with countless writhing black tendrils, which began to weave together, filling in the missing flesh!
The deformed scavengers were so frightened by this sight that they stopped eating and backed away.
In the post-apocalyptic world, parasites were also terrifying and deadly. They mistook the tendrils for parasites, and some even started frantically sticking their fingers down their throats, trying to vomit up the flesh they had just eaten.
But the scavenger who had smashed Xia Leng's head with the spiked club was blinded by a fierce hunger, determined to tear off a piece of flesh no matter what!
As he opened his rotting mouth, with only a few teeth remaining, to bite into Xia Leng's neck...
Crunch!
Xia Leng suddenly moved faster, viciously biting into the deformed scavenger's neck first!
The sudden pain shocked the scavenger, and he tried to break free, but found he had no strength left.
From the perspective of the other scavengers, they would have seen the deformed scavenger, who had been bitten by Xia Leng, begin to melt like a candle under the scorching sun, dissolving into a mass of blood that was quickly absorbed into Xia Leng's body!
And the transformation from food to predator took less than three seconds...
After devouring the scavenger, the tendrils in Xia Leng's wounds writhed even more frantically!
In a short time, they almost completely healed every wound on his body!
His skin was even smoother than before!!
Finally, the deformed scavengers, terrified by the eerie and horrifying scene before them, let reason triumph over hunger, and none dared approach any closer...
"What's wrong with these guys? Are they not hungry anymore? Or have they learned to be picky?"
The leader, who had been sitting in the back, frustratedly staring at his severed arm, suddenly noticed the crowd in front of him dispersing, their expressions filled with terror.
Curious, he stood up to see what was happening, and his expression quickly mirrored that of the scavengers, shocked, mouth agape as if he could swallow a fist...
He saw that the prey bound to the cross by sharp wire, every wound on their body miraculously healed, even the chest that had been crushed by his kick had almost returned to normal!!
"What the... hell is this?!"
The leader's mind went blank at the sight, wondering if this person was also a Baptized One?!?
In the world of apocalyptic warriors, there was a category known for its incredible healing abilities, capable of regrowing their bodies even if decapitated, as long as the brain remained unharmed!
"No!! That's impossible!"
The leader quickly dismissed his own thoughts. If the person was truly a Baptized One, how had he been knocked out so easily by his kick? Unless this was someone with enhanced brainpower, but then how could the wounds heal so quickly?
Could it be that he was a dual Baptized One, with both warrior and intellect capabilities??
Haha, such a possibility was one in a million, and those who had it were usually in top-tier fortresses or held high positions in mercenary organizations.
Another possibility was that this person was also a potential Baptized One who had been exposed to the Black Rain, triggering hidden abilities when near death.
There were indeed such cases of mutation in the wasteland.
No matter what, the leader quickly regained his composure, his expression gradually turning greedy.
If this person was truly a mutated Baptized One, then his skull must contain a valuable crystal exclusive to Baptized Ones!
Excavating that crystal could fetch a high price at the advanced fortresses, or be used to acquire a prosthetic mechanical arm, or even a potion to enhance his level!!
Thinking of this, he gripped his steel knife tightly with his remaining left hand, grinning as he stepped closer to the prey bound to the cross.
Xia Leng, sensing the approaching presence, slowly lifted his head, his pitch-black eyes locking onto the leader. His mouth mechanically uttered three words.
"Invader..."