There was no time to hesitate. Wang Yanfei immediately activated one of the cards with a mere thought. The card displayed a line of text:
"The tendrils of the Forgotten God entwine, mortals shall momentarily forget their limits."
The card's surface depicted a twisted, chaotic image—tendrils intertwining, coiling around a shadowed figure whose back sprouted ethereal wings. The text dissolved like flowing water, and in the next moment, Wang Yanfei felt the entire world slow down.
His eyes captured every minute movement, every tiny detail—he could even see Dr. Lin's index finger pressing the trigger, so slow it seemed frozen in place. At the same time, a surge of indescribable power filled his limbs.
Strength flooded through him. In an instant, Wang Yanfei tore free from his bindings, the ropes snapping under immense force. His left hand shot out like lightning, snatching the firearm from Dr. Lin's grasp. The moment his fingers touched the gun, a sharp, tearing pain ripped through his palm—his bones felt as though they had shattered instantly. Yet, the rush of adrenaline allowed him to ignore the pain. Even the gaping wound in his palm seemed momentarily suppressed.
Without hesitation, he swung his frozen, metallic right arm like a bludgeon, bringing it down with tremendous force onto Dr. Lin's head.
Bang!
A dull thud echoed as Dr. Lin's skull caved in under the impact. His body crumpled to the ground, lifeless.
Wang Yanfei didn't stop to assess the damage. He knew this power wouldn't last long. Gritting his teeth against the pain coursing through his body, he bolted out of the cave. As he emerged into the open, he spotted a group of monkeys working on assembling prosthetic limbs. They held tools in their hands, their movements appearing unnaturally slow—like a movie played in extreme slow motion.
Keeping a low profile, he carefully maneuvered past the creatures, ensuring not to alert them. Once he made it through the cave entrance, he dashed into the wilderness beyond. After sprinting several hundred meters, he finally stopped, his back pressing against a massive boulder as he gasped for breath.
But the moment he allowed himself even a sliver of relief, a tidal wave of excruciating pain crashed over him. His entire body screamed in agony—his legs and arms, in particular, felt like they were being pierced by hundreds of needles at once.
Looking down, he noticed the unnatural bends in his legs and hand—clear signs of severe fractures.
Fighting through the pain, he brought up his status panel:
[Name]: Wang Yanfei
[Race]: Human
[Attributes]:
Body: 0.4 (↓ 0.9)
Spirit: 2.2
[Abilities]:Gift of Fate
Refresh Time: 19:30:34
[Skills]:Tendrils, Spirituality
[Symbiosis]:Liquid Metal (Right Arm)
[Status]:Forgotten Limits (129s), Bone Fractures, Overclocked Heartbeat (3s)
His gaze locked onto "Forgotten Limits", and with a thought, he opened its details:
[Gift of the Forgotten God]: Your speed limit has been lifted. Body (Speed) increased to 10.
His vision then shifted to "Overclocked Heartbeat", triggering another notification:
[Overclocked Heartbeat]: Your heart rate exceeds 400 beats per second. If sustained beyond 10 seconds, your heart will overload and fail. Remaining time: 5 seconds.
-------------------------------------
As his heart rate finally slowed, pain surged through his nerves like an unstoppable tide. Wang Yanfei could no longer endure it—his consciousness slipped, and his head struck the ground hard.
When he awoke, the sky was dim, the wilderness outside the cave shrouded in the evening gloom. His entire body was freezing, and the metallic scent of blood thickened the air around him.
He shifted slightly, finding that his liquid metal arm had finally thawed, but the pain in his limbs was still overwhelming, rendering him nearly immobile.
Reaching up, he removed the heavy metal circlet from his head. The moment it was off, a sense of relief washed over him, as though the faint, ever-present stabbing pain in his mind had also faded.
But his situation was grim—his hands and feet were completely shattered, his bones thoroughly broken with no hope of moving normally. In an environment like this, survival—let alone treatment—was nearly impossible.
Grinding his teeth, he forced himself to stay calm. The liquid metal on his arm began to shift, molding itself into a sharp-edged tool. At the same time, tendrils extended from his back, slithering toward the ground nearby.
With sheer willpower, he started digging.
Each movement sent waves of excruciating pain through his fractured limbs, but he had no other choice. In his current state, even a small predator could easily kill him. His only hope was to buy time by burying himself.
The tendrils and his liquid metal arm worked tirelessly, and soon, a shallow pit large enough to hold him took shape. Gritting his teeth, he slowly dragged himself into the hole, sweat and blood staining the earth beneath him.
As the dirt covered his body bit by bit, he took a deep breath, feeling a fleeting sense of security.
At the stroke of midnight, the familiar Gift of Fate panel appeared in his mind. In the void, twelve cards slowly unfolded before him. Enduring the agony, he instinctively selected one.
The card flipped open, revealing an image of a towering stone giant holding three spheres of light. Words materialized across the surface:
"Long, long ago, the King of the Mountains left behind three trials: Courage, Wisdom, and—"
But before the text could finish, the card trembled violently. The image of the giant rapidly distorted, morphing into a pair of narrow, reptilian eyes.
In the reflection of those snake-like pupils, a shadowy, indistinct figure lurked. A single drop of emerald-green liquid hovered above the eyes, and the text shifted accordingly:
"The serpent's gaze reflects the wounded soul; its venom bestows longevity upon the living."
The card dissolved, transforming into a single droplet of glowing green liquid. It floated down and landed gently on Wang Yanfei's forehead.
The moment it made contact, a chilling sensation rushed into his mind, followed instantly by searing pain. His eyes burned as if needles were stabbing into them.
Then, his world changed.
The lingering warmth in the air manifested into hazy outlines, the stone walls' temperature differences painted intricate patterns before his eyes. Even a tiny insect crawling through a nearby crevice emitted a faint heat signature, clearly visible to him.
A sharp, burning pain flared in his left arm. He could feel his shattered bones knitting themselves back together at an unnatural speed. The agony of bone regrowth sent violent tremors through his body, but the process continued relentlessly.
His right arm—previously nothing but a frozen, metallic prosthetic—began sprouting flesh from the stump, growing like an infant's limb at an accelerated rate. Within moments, his right arm was fully restored.
The liquid metal, now detached, slithered down his new limb, crawling towards his back. Before he could react, it plunged into his spine like a venomous serpent. A sharp jolt shot through his nerves, nearly knocking him unconscious, but almost immediately, a cool sensation spread from his spine, dulling the pain.
Then, a new agony struck—this time, in his legs.
A sensation far worse than any previous fracture wracked his lower body. He glanced down and saw his shattered legs twisting and fusing together.
A deep, visceral cracking sound echoed as his skeletal structure reshaped itself.
"Arghh!" Wang Yanfei let out a guttural scream, cold sweat pouring down his face. His body convulsed violently as his legs continued their terrifying transformation.
The soil burying him was flung away as his body writhed.
Time stretched infinitely as the pain seemed unending. His legs had completely vanished—replaced by a massive, muscular serpent's tail, covered in dark green scales that shimmered under the dim light.
Wang Yanfei lay on the ground, drenched in sweat and dirt. He gasped for air, his new tail twitching slightly in response to his breathing.
With effort, he lifted himself. The sheer weight and length of the serpentine appendage made his movements clumsy.
He had changed. Completely.