Wei Long felt an uneasy weight in his chest as he tried to process everything.
The way he had lost control earlier, the rage, the spite to take the other young dragons to the lower realm, and the glowing veins—none of it was him.
It was almost as if the very creature whose body he now inhabited had taken over for a moment.
He could only assume it was tied to this body's nature: being bio-engineered to be the pinnacle of predation.
Insulting such a creature as impure...
Maybe it was hardwired into this body to lash out at any perceived threat to its pride or survival.
It made sense in a twisted, terrifying way.
Still, as a soldier who prided himself on self-control, Wei Long couldn't let this primitive instinct take over.
He sighed—if his new body allowed such a thing it could mean death—and soon, he opened his eyes.
It was pitch black around him, but his heightened senses caught the faintest glimmer of light ahead.
For now, that was his goal.
Just as he was about to stand, a sharp sensation made his spine go cold.
His body tensed, and then:
Ding!
Hunger: 40% / 100%
Thirst: 20% / 100%
Warning:
Hunger below 50% and thirst below 30% will result in the host losing rationality.
Host will be driven purely by Bio-engineered Dinosaur instincts.
Wei Long barely had time to process the message before his mind was overtaken by a single, primal urge.
EAT.
The word slammed in his brain, blocking out all other thoughts he had.
EAT.
His rationality was swept away in a torrent of hunger.
His vision sharpened, his senses honed, and his small, clawed hands trembled as he rose to his feet.
It was dark, but he didn't care.
The light ahead served as his only guide. His veins began to pulse again, glowing with a strange, unnerving color that shimmered between green and blue, like an otherworldly bioluminescence.
They seemed to hum in rhythm with his heartbeat, making his small, skeletal frame look both haunting and predatory.
Driven by hunger, Wei Long stumbled forward, his tiny feet crunching softly against the forest floor.
Suddenly, his enhanced senses locked onto movement—a faint rustling sound nearby. His sharp, glowing eyes caught sight of a small creature perched on a leaf.
Level 0.8 Mortal Beast: Cicada.
Wei Long didn't think. He lunged, jaws snapping.
The cicada barely had time to flutter its wings before it was swallowed whole.
Hunger: 40.8% / 100%.
Thirst: 20.2% / 100%.
The satisfaction immediately disappeared.
It wasn't enough.
Another rustle.
Another insect.
Wei Long pounced on it with animalistic grace, his sharp claws catching it mid-air before shoving it into his mouth.
Hunger: 41.5% / 100%.
Thirst: 20.5% / 100%.
Still not enough.
He sniffed the air, his predatory senses honing in on the faintest vibrations.
A beetle crawled along the bark of a nearby tree.
Level 0.9 Mortal Beast: Stag Beetle.
Wei Long leapt, biting down on its tough shell. The crunch was satisfying, but the hunger was relentless.
Hunger: 42.4% / 100%.
Thirst: 21.1% / 100%.
Another. Then another.
A swarm of tiny ants moving in a line caught his attention, and without hesitation, he scooped them up by the handful.
The numbers ticked upward, agonizingly slow.
Hunger: 43.2%... 44.7%... 45.9%...
But his hunger was far from sated.
Wei Long's veins pulsed brighter. He stumbled upon a cricket next.
Level 1.0 Mortal Beast: Jungle Cricket.
It tried to leap away, but Wei Long was faster. His jaws clamped down, and the system responded with its cold, mechanical voice.
Hunger: 47.1% / 100%.
Thirst: 23.4% / 100%.
Wei Long's tiny body moved instinctively now, his sharp senses leading him from one prey to the next. He devoured centipedes, spiders, even a strange glowing caterpillar that shimmered like starlight.
Level 1.1 Mortal Beast: Moonlight Caterpillar.
The taste was oddly sweet, but Wei Long didn't care.
All that mattered was the hunger that was dug deep in his mind.
Hunger: 48.5% / 100%.
Thirst: 26.1% / 100%.
Finally, he came across a cluster of moths flitting around a glowing mushroom.
Level 1.2 Mortal Beasts: Lunar Moths.
Wei Long lunged into the cluster, snapping his jaws and catching several at once.
The warm glow of their wings illuminated his terrifying, glowing veins as he chewed.
Hunger: 50.1% / 100%.
Thirst: 30.2% / 100%.
For the first time since the system's warning, Wei Long felt his mind clear.
Swoosh!
The pounding hunger subsided, and the insistent voice in his head faded. He stopped moving, his body trembling slightly from the frenzy.
Wei Long blinked, his rationality returning as he looked at the carnage around him.
Scattered wings, crushed shells, and broken leaves marked his path.
He stared at his small claws, still faintly glowing, and let out a shaky exhale.
"What... what was that?" he muttered.
Shaking his head, Wei Long suppressed the panic. "Focus," he muttered under his breath.
He needed to regain control.
He couldn't afford another episode.
The bio-engineered dinosaur within him was like a shadow stretching its claws across his mind. If he let hunger or thirst or pride weaken his hold, he'd lose himself again.
He needed a plan.
He looked around, scanning the forest with a soldier's discipline.
Shelter. Water. Food. Territory.
These were his priorities.
Always the basics first—foundation before expansion. His gaze locked on a faint trail leading back to where he had come.
The cave.
The path twisted through gnarled roots and fallen leaves, an uneven trail marked by his earlier stumble.
Soon, the massive tree he had noticed before came into view, its colossal roots cradling the yawning mouth of the cave.
The shadows inside were deep and impenetrable.
Wei Long stepped cautiously toward the entrance. His clawed toes scraped against the rough bark of roots, and a faint thud-thud echoed as he pressed against the ground to stabilize himself.
The air inside the cave was cool, carrying a faint dampness that clung to his skin. Drip. Drip. Water droplets fell in slow intervals from the jagged ceiling, disappearing into the earth below.
Wei Long ran his claws along the walls, testing the solidity. His claws met resistance—hard earth and rock. The cave was stable. He nodded to himself.
"Good enough, there's water too."
But his satisfaction waned as he thought deeper.
A single entrance made it both a refuge and a potential trap.
If something larger—or smarter—came hunting, he'd be caught. Wei Long stepped back out into the dappled forest light. The idea of making another hole as another exit plan was on his head, but he grimaced, glancing at his small, clawed hands.
He wasn't strong enough yet to dig through rock. For now, his camouflage ability would have to be his fallback.
Ding.
A faint, glowing screen appeared in Wei Long's peripheral vision.
He groaned as he read the updated status:
Hunger: 50% / 100%
Thirst: 30.1% / 100%
"Shit," he cursed softly.
His eyes darkened, and for a brief moment, the edges of his vision shimmered with a ghostly green aura.
He clenched his jaw and fought the creeping influence of his bio-engineered side.
"I need to hunt."
The forest greeted him with a flurry of sensations: the distant rustle of leaves, the faint hum of insects, and the musty smell of damp earth.
Moving with quiet precision, he scanned his surroundings. His sharp, reptilian eyes quickly spotted a scurrying trail of ants disappearing into a nearby hollow log.
He lunged, his claws digging into the rotten wood with a CRACK!
Dozens of wriggling insects scrambled for safety, but Wei Long was faster. He snapped them on time.
They tasted bitter, almost metallic.
He grimaced but swallowed.
Soon, his status updated:
Hunger: 50.4% / 100%
Thirst: 30.7% / 100%
"Not enough," he muttered. "I need more."
Larger prey meant greater risk, though. He wasn't sure if his weakened state could handle it.
For now, he focused on smaller targets: beetles hiding under rocks, a caterpillar clinging to a low-hanging branch.
The monotonous crunch of chitin became a rhythm that soothed his mind, if not his hunger.
By the time he returned to the cave, the sun hung low in the sky, casting long shadows across the forest floor.
In his claws and arms, he carried the fruits of his hunt: a bundle of limp insects, their legs dangling lifelessly.
Wei Long trudged in
to his shelter. His claws clicked against the cave floor as he dropped his haul in a pile.
He hadn't eaten everything, saving some for another purpose in his head.
He checked his current status.
Hunger: 51.1% / 100%.
Thirst: 32% / 100%.